byhke corxrv 

^ohio > 




MONTGOMERY Co. 



THE 



HISTOEY 



DARKE COUNTY. 



OHIO, 



CONTAINING 






A History of the County; its Cities, Towns, etc.; General and Locals 

Statistics; Portraits of Early Settlers and Prominent Men; 

History of the Northwest Territory; History of Ohio; 

Map of Darke County ; Constitution of the United 

States, Miscellaneous Matters, etc., etc. 



ILLTJSTEATED. 



CHICAGO: 

W. H. BEERS & CO. 

1880. 



X 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1880, by 
W. H. BEERS & CO., 

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. 




PREFACE. 



TN presenting this volume to the residents of Darke County, we have reason to believe 
that it will be in the hands of our friends. A friendly disposition was manifested 
toward our representatives during its compilation, and we trust the result of our labors 
may be in no sense a disappointment. 

In this history, we have endeavored to record only facts, gleaned from the most 
authentic sources, and have been aided by efficient historians and those associated with 
the earlier rise and progress of the county to the present time. We have labored to 
introduce the reader to the wigwam of the red man, seat him by the hearthstone of the 
pioneers, to trace a history of the county's organization, and to faithfully represent the 
present condition of Darke County while entering the last decade but one of the nine- 
teenth century. Ten years more would have made the record of many facts and inci- 
dents, which we present herewith, an impossibility. Memory is one of the faculties that 
first shows signs of decay, and, even among those of the "old guard" still living, another 
decade would have found many a link rusted out from their chain of recollections. 

The general history of the county was compiled by Prof. W. H. McIntosh, assisted by 
H. Freeman. The introductory chapter on "The History of Darke County" is from 
the pen of John Wharry, of Greenville, now the oldest resident of the town in which 
he has lived more than half a century — who was cotemporary, as elsewhere stated, not 
only with the settlement of that town and township, but with actors in events that pre- 
ceded by many years the settlement of the town and county. When Mr. Wharry was 
first requested to contribute a chapter to this work, his intention was to deal with the 
town and township of Greenville from its first settlement to the year 1840. But he has 
gleaned from earlier times, and advanced to a later period in his delineation of events 
and persons, all of which will be found interesting and valuable to our readers. 



PREFACE. 

We are indebted, for reliable data of war times to Capt. Charles <i. Matchett, 
who had practical experience in many events of those stormy days; to Prs. John E. 
and William II. Matchett for important assistance rendered in the preparation of the 

history of the Medical Societies and other prominent points; to Prof. J. T. Martz for 
a carefully prepared article on Educational History ; to Messrs. T. H. McCune and W. 
H. BlRELEY, who furnished valuable early church and religious data; to JOSEPH Cole. 
for facts furnished for the history of Washington Township; to the officials of the county , 
the city officials, township officers and the citizens of Darke County generally. 

We thus publicly take the liberty to express an appreciation of the kindness and. 
unselfish interest that has been shown us in the preparation of a volume which we trust 
will meet the approval of our readers and add to their libraries a book of valuable 

reference. 

The Publishers. 



#2 




CONTENTS. 



HISTORY NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 



Page. 

History Northwest Territory 19 

Geographical Position 19 

Early Explorations 20 

Discovery of the Ohio 32 

English Explorations and Set- 
tlements 34 

American Settlements 59 

Division of the Northwest Ter- 
ritory 65 

Tecumseh and the War of 1812 69 
Black Hawk and the Black 
Hawk War 73 



Page. 

History of Ohio 93 

French History 96 

Ordinance of 1787, No. 32 105 

The War of 1812 122 

Banking 126 

The Canal System 128 

Ohio Land Tracts 129 

Improvements 132 

Boundary Lines 136 

Organization of Counties, and 

Early Events 137 

Governors of Ohio 160 



Page. 
History of Ohio : 

Ancient Works 174 

Some General Characteristics...l77 

Outline Geology of Ohio 179 

Ohio's Rank During the War..lS2 
A Brief Mention of Prominent 

Ohio Generals 191 

Some Discussed Subjects 196 

Conclusion 200 



Page. 

Source of the Mississippi 22 

La Salle Landing on the Shore of 

Green Bay 24 

Buffalo Hunt 26 

Trapping 28 

Mouth of the Mississippi 31 



IJLLiUSTRATIONS. 

Page. 

High Bridge 33 

Pontiac, the Ottawa Chieftain 42 

Indians Attacking Frontiersmen.. 55 
Present Site Lake Street Bridge, 

Chicago, 1833 58 

A Pioneer Dwelling 60 



Page 

Lake Bluff. f-2 

Tecumseh, the Shawanoe Chieftain 6S 

Indians Attacking a Stockade 71 

Black Hawk, the Sac Chieftain 74 

Perry's Monument, Cleveland 91 

Niagara Falls 92 



HISTORY* OF DARKE COUNTY. 



Page. 

Indian History — Organization and 

Early Settlements of the 

County, and Early History of 

Greenville — Township and 

City, by John Wharry 207 

Fort Greenville 210 

Formation of Darke County. ..215 
Darke County, by Prof. W. H. 

Mcintosh 243 

Introduction 243 

Line of Organization — Concur- 
rent Events 245 

Pioneers — Their Record, Inci- 
dents of the Times, 180S to 

1816 249 

Personal Reminiscences 251 

The County Seat 255 

County Buildings 257 

Darke County from 1816 to 1824 

— Progress of Settlement, 263 

Reminiscence — Land Prices 
and Payments — Farming Im- 
plements — Condition of Coun- 
ty in 1824 271 

Climate 276 



Page 

Darke in 1824 280 

Early Preachers — Education 
— Marriage — Customs and 

Marriages, etc 281 

Darke County in 1840— Cele- 
bration — Commemoration — 
Mass Meeting at Greenville..287 
Geographical — Situation — Area 

— Township — Villages 292 

Agriculture, Trade & Markets.,299 

The Statistics of 1853 :;nl 

History of the Darke County 

Agricultural Society 302 

Geology 310 

Civil List, Officers and their 

Duties 317 

The Underground Railroad in 

Darke County 322 

Roads, Turnpikes and Rail- 
roads 325 

Banks and Bankers 335 

The Press of Darke County 337 

Education — Public and Private 
Schools 340 



Page. 

Societies 343 

Roll of Pioneers 345 

Darke County During the War 

of the Rebellion 352 

Patterson Township 385 

Wabash Township 387 

Allen Township 390 

Mississinawa Township 391 

Jackson Township 392 

Brown Township 40n 

York Township 405 

Richland Township 409 

Wayne Township 413 

Adams Township 416 

Greenville and Greenville 

Township from 1840 423 

Washington Township 43S 

German Township 444 

Neave Township 449 

Van Buren Township 451 

Franklin Township 453 

Monroe Township 455 

Twin Township 458 

Butler Township 462 

Harrison Township .465 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



Adams Town 

Brown 

Butler 




Page. 

717 

661 


Jackson Township 


Page. 

736 

762 




1 




707 




1 






758 

74'^ 


•Greenville 


■ 


472 

689 


Harrison 




646 



Page. 

Van Buren Township 727 

Wabash " 761 

Washington " 751 

Wayne " 600 

York " 760 



C< INTENTS. 

LITHOGRAPHIC PORTRAITS. 



Page. Page. 

William Allen 115 Geo. W. Moore 205 

Ji hn Dovor 138 J. R. Holland 223 

Benry St. Clair 169 H. A. Kepner 241 

L. M.Buchwalter, M. D 187 John M. Kress 259 



Page. 

Clinton Rush 277 

A. A. Irelan 295 

David Putman 332 

Sarah Putman 333 



HIS(ELl,\Ni:OI>». 



Page. 

Map of Darke County Front. 

Constitution of the United States... 79 
Population of the United States....203 
Area of the United States 203 



Page. 

Area of the Principal Countries in 
the World 203 

Population of the Principal Coun- 
tries in the World 203 



Page. 

Miles of Railroad in Operation 203 

Population of Ohio 202 

Population of Darke County 204 

Business References 705 




The Northwest Territory. 



GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION. 

When the Northwestern Territory was ceded to the United States 
by Virginia in 1784, it embraced only the territory lying between the 
Ohio and the Mississippi Rivers, and north to the northern limits of the 
United States. It coincided with the area now embraced in the States 
of Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, and that portion of 
Minnesota lying on the east side of the Mississippi River. The United 
States itself at that period extended no farther west than the Mississippi 
River ; but by the purchase of Louisiana in 1803, the western boundary 
of the United States was extended to the Rocky Mountains and the 
Northern Pacific Ocean. The new territory thus added to the National 
domain, and subsequently opened to settlement, has been called the 
" New Northwest," in contradistinction from the old " Northwestern 
Territory." 

In comparison with the old Northwest this is a territory of vast 
magnitude. It includes an area of 1,887,850 square miles ; being greater 
in extent than the united areas of all the Middle and Southern States, 
including Texas. Out of this magnificent territory have been erected 
eleven sovereign States and eight Territories, with an aggregate popula- 
tion, at the present time, of 13,000,000 inhabitants, or nearly one third of 
the entire population of the United States. 

Its lakes are fresh-water seas, and the larger rivers of the continent 
flow for a thousand miles through its rich alluvial valleys and far- 
stretching prairies, more acres of which are arable and productive of the 
highest percentage of the cereals than of any other area of like extent 
on the globe. 

For the last twenty years the increase of population in the North- 
west has been about as three to one in any other portion of the United 
States. 

(19) 



20 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 



EARLY EXPLORATIONS. 

In the year 1541, DeSoto first saw the Great West in the New 
World. He, however, penetrated no farther north than the 35th parallel 
of latitude. The expedition resulted in his death and that of more than 
half his army, the remainder of whom found their way to Cuba, thence 
to Spain, in a famished and demoralized condition. DeSoto founded no 
settlements, produced no results, and left no traces, unless it were that 
he awakened the hostility of the red man against the white man, and 
disheartened such as might desire to follow up the career of discovery 
for better purposes. The French nation were eager and ready to seize 
upon any news from this extensive domain, and were the first to profit by 
DeSoto's defeat. Yet it was more than a century before any adventurer 
took advantage of these discoveries. 

In 1616, four years before the pilgrims " moored their bark on the 
wild New England shore," Le Caron, a French Franciscan, had pene- 
trated through the Iroquois and Wyandots (Hurons) to the streams which 
run into Lake Huron ; and in 1634, two Jesuit missionaries founded the 
first mission among the lake tribes. It was just one hundred years from 
the discovery of the Mississippi by DeSoto (1541) until the Canadian 
envoys met the savage nations of the Northwest at the Falls of St. Mary, 
below the outlet of Lake Superior. This visit led to no permanent 
result; yet it was not until 1659 that any of the adventurous fur traders 
attempted to spend a Winter in the frozen wilds about the great lakes, 
nor was it until 1660 that a station was established upon their borders by 
Mesnard, who perished in the woods a few months after. In 1665, Claude 
Allouez built the earliest lasting habitation of the white man among the 
Indians of the Northwest. In 1668, Claude Dablon and James Marquette 
founded the mission of Sault Ste. Marie at the Falls of St. Mary, and two 
years afterward, Nicholas Perrot, as agent for M. Talon, Governor Gen- 
eral of Canada, explored Lake Illinois (Michigan) as far south as the 
present City of Chicago, and invited the Indian nations to meet him at a 
grand council at Sault Ste. Marie the following Spring, where they were 
taken under the protection of the king, and formal possession was taken 
of the Northwest. This same year Marquette established a mission at 
Point St. Ignatius, where was founded the old town of Michillimackinac. 

During M. Talon's explorations and Marquette's residence at St. 
Ignatius, they learned of a great river away to the west, and fancied 
— as all others did then — that upon its fertile banks whole tribes of God's 
children resided, to whom the sound of the Gospel had never come. 
Filled with a wish to go and preach to them, and in compliance with a 



THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 21 

request of M. Talon, who earnestly desired to extend the domain of his 
king, and to ascertain whether the river flowed into the Gulf of Mexico 
or the Pacific Ocean, Marquette with Joliet, as commander of the expe- 
dition, prepared for the undertaking. 

On the 13th of May, 1673, the explorers, accompanied by five assist- 
ant French Canadians, set out from Mackinaw on their daring voyage of- 
discovery. The Indians, who gathered to witness their departure, were 
astonished at the boldness of the undertaking, and endeavored to dissuade 
them from their purpose by representing the tribes on the Mississippi as 
exceedingly savage and cruel, and the river itself as full of all sorts of 
frightful monsters ready to swallow them and their canoes together. But, 
nothing daunted by these terrific descriptions, Marquette told them he 
was willing not only to encounter all the perils of the unknown region 
they were about to explore, but to lay down his life in a cause in which 
the salvation of souls was involved ; and having prayed together they 
separated. Coasting along the northern shore of Lake Michigan, the 
adventurers entered Green Bay, and passed thence up the Fox River and 
Lake Winnebago to a village of the Miamis and Kickapoos. Here Mar- 
quette was delighted to find a beautiful cross planted in the middle of the 
town ornamented with white skins, red girdles and bows and arrows, 
which these good people had offered to the Great Manitou, or God, to 
thank him for the pity he had bestowed on them during the Winter in 
giving them an abundant " chase." This was the farthest outpost to 
which Dablon and Allouez had extended their missionary labors the 
year previous. Here Marquette drank mineral waters and was instructed 
in the secret of a root which cures the bite of the venomous rattlesnake. 
He assembled the chiefs and old men of the village, and, pointing to 
Joliet, said: " My friend is an envoy of France, to discover new coun- 
tries, and I am an ambassador from God to enlighten them with the truths 
of the Gospel." Two Miami guides were here furnished to conduct 
them to the Wisconsin River, and they set out from the Indian village on 
the 10th of^ June, amidst a great crowd of natives who had assembled to 
witness their departure into a region where no white man had ever yet 
ventured. The guides, having conducted them across the portage, 
returned. The explorers launched their canoes upon the Wisconsin! 
which they descended to the Mississippi and proceeded down its unknown 
waters. What emotions must have swelled their breasts as they struck 
out into the broadening current and became conscious that they were 
now upon the bosom of th 3 Father of Waters. The mystery was about 
to be lifted from the long-sought river. The scenery in that locality is 
beautiful, and on that delightful seventeenth of June must have been 
clad in all its primeval loveliness as it had been adorned by the hand of 



22 



THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 



Nature. Drifting rapidly, it is said that the bold bluffs on either hand 
" reminded them of the castled shores of their own beautiful rivers of 
France." By-and-by, as they drifted along, great herds of buffalo appeared 
on the banks. On going to the heads of the valley they could see a 
country of the greatest beauty and fertility, apparently destitute of inhab- 
itants yet presenting the appearance of extensive manors, under the fas- 
tidious cultivation of lordly proprietors. 




SOURCE OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 



On June 25, they went ashore and found some fresh traces of men upon 
the sand, and a path which led to the prairie. The men remained in the 
boat, and Marquette and Joliet followed the path till they discovered a 
village on the banks of a river, and two other villages on a hill, within a 
half league of the first, inhabited by Indians. They were received most 
hospitably by these natives, who had never before seen a white person. 
After remaining a few days they re-embarked and descended the river to 
about latitude 33°, where they found a village of the Arkansas, and being 
satisfied that the river flowed into the Gulf of Mexico, turned their course 



THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 23 

up the river, and ascending the stream to the mouth of the Illinois, 
rowed up that stream to its source, and procured guides from that point 
to the lakes. " Nowhere on this journey," says Marquette, " did we see 
such grounds, meadows, woods, stags, buffaloes, deer, wildcats, bustards, 
swans, ducks, parroquets, and even beavers, as on the Illinois River." 
The party, without loss or injury, reached Green Bay in September, and 
reported their discovery — one of the most important of the age, but of 
which no record was preserved save Marquette's, Joliet losing his by 
the upsetting of his canoe on his way to Quebec. Afterward Marquette 
returned to the Illinois Indians by their request, and ministered to them 
until 1675. On the 18th of May, in that year, as he was passing the 
mouth of a stream — going with his boatmen up Lake Michigan — he asked 
to land at its mouth and celebrate Mass. Leaving his men with the canoe, 
he retired a short distance and began his devotions. As much time 
passed and he did not return, his men went in search of him, and found 
him upon his knees, dead. He had peacefully passed away while at 
prayer. He was buried at this spot. Charlevoix, who visited the place 
fifty years after, found the waters had retreated from the grave, leaving 
the beloved missionary to repose in peace. The river has since been 
called Marquette. 

While Marquette and his companions were pursuing their labors in 
the West, two men, differing widely from him and each other, were pre- 
paring to follow in his footsteps and perfect the discoveries so well begun 
by him. These were Robert de La Salle and Louis Hennepin. 

After La Salle's return from the discovery of the Ohio River (see 
the narrative elsewhere), he established himself again among the French 
trading posts in Canada. Here he mused long upon the pet project of 
those ages — a short way to China and the East, and was busily planning an 
expedition up the great lakes, and so across the continent to the Pacific, 
when Marquette returned from the Mississippi. At once the vigorous mind 
of LaSalle received from his and his companions' stories the idea that by fol- 
lowing the Great River northward, or by turning up some of the numerous 
western tributaries, the object could easily be gained. He applied to 
Frontenac, Governor General of Canada, and laid before him the plan, 
dim but gigantic. Frontenac entered warmly into his plans, and saw that 
LaSalle's idea to connect the great lakes by a chain of forts with the Gulf 
of Mexico would bind the country so wonderfully together, give un- 
measured power to France, and glory to himself, under whose adminis- 
tration he earnestly hoped all would be realized. 

LaSalle now repaired to France, laid his plans before the King, who 
warmly approved of them, and made him a Chevalier. He also received 
from all the noblemen the warmest wishes for his success. The Chev- 



24 



THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 



alier returned to Canada, and busily entered upon his work. He at 
once rebuilt Fort Frontenac and constructed the first ship to sail on 
these fresh-water seas. On the 7th of August, 1679, having been joined 
by Hennepin, he began his voyage in the Griffin up Lake Erie. He 
passed over this lake, through the straits beyond, up Lake St. Clair and 
into Huron. In this lake they encountered heavy storms. They were 
some time at Michillimackinac, where LaSalle founded a fort, and passed 
on to Green Bay, the " Baie des Puans " of the French, where he found 
a large quantity of furs collected for him. He loaded the Griffin with 
these, and placing her under the care of a pilot and fourteen sailors, 




LA SALLE LANDING ON THE SHORE OF GREEN BAY. 

started her on her return voyage. The vessel was never afterward heard 
of. He remained about these parts until early in the Winter, when, hear- 
ing nothing from the Griffin, he collected all the men — thirty working 
men and three monks — and started again upon his great undertaking. 

By a short portage they passed to the Illinois or Kankakee, called by 
the Indians, "Theakeke," wolf, because of the tribes of Indians called 
by that name, commonly known as the Mahingans, dwelling there. The 
French pronounced it Kialdki, which became corrupted to Kankakee. 
"Falling down the said river by easy journeys, the better to observe the 
country," about the last of December they reached a village of the Illi- 
nois Indians, containing some five hundred cabins, but at that moment 



THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 25 

no inhabitants. The Seur de LaSalle being in want of some breadstuffs, 
took advantage of the absence of the Indians to help himself to a suffi- 
ciency of maize, large quantities of which he found concealed in holes 
under the wigwams. This village was situated near the present village 
of Utica in LaSalle County, Illinois. The corn being securely stored, 
the voyagers again betook themselves to the stream, and toward evening, 
on the 4th day of January, 1680, they came into a lake which must have 
been the lake of Peoria. This was called by the Indians Pim-i-te-wi, that 
is, a place where there are many fat beasts. Here the natives were met 
with in large numbers, but they were gentle and kind, and having spent 
some time with them, LaSalle determined to erect another fort in that 
place, for he had heard rumors that some of the adjoining tribes were 
trying to disturb the good feeling which existed, and some of his men 
were disposed to complain, owing to the hardships and perils of the travel. 
He called this fort " Crevecoeur , ' > (broken-heart), a name expressive of the 
very natural sorrow and anxiety which the pretty certain loss of his ship, 
Griffin, and his consequent impoverishment, the danger of hostility on the 
part of the Indians, and of mutiny among his own men, might well cause 
him. His fears were not entirely groundless. At one time poison was 
placed in his food, but fortunately was discovered. 

While building this fort, the Winter wore away, the prairies began to 
look green, and LaSalle, despairing of any reinforcements, concluded to 
return to Canada, raise new means and new men, and embark anew in 
the enterprise. For this purpose he made Hennepin the leader of a party 
to explore the head waters of the Mississippi, and he set out on his jour- 
ney. This journey was accomplished with the aid of a few persons, and 
was successfully made, though over an almost unknown route, and in a 
bad season of the year. He safely reached Cana <ia, and set out again for 
the object of his search. 

Hennepin and his party left Fort Crevecoeur on the last of February, 
1680. When LaSalle reached this place on his return expedition, he 
found the fort entirely deserted, and he was obliged to return again to 
Canada. He embarked the third time, and succeeded. Seven days after 
leaving the fort, Hennepin reached the Mississippi, and paddling up the 
icy stream as best he could, reached no higher than the Wisconsin River 
by the 11th of April. Here he and his followers were taken prisoners by a 
band of Northern Indians, who treated them with great kindness. Hen- 
nepin's comrades were Anthony Auguel and Michael Ako. On this voy- 
age they found several beautiful lakes, and " saw some charming prairies." 
Their captors were the Isaute or Sauteurs, Chippewas, a tribe of the Sioux 
nation, who took them up the river until about the first of May, when 
they reached some falls, which Hennepin christened Falls of St. Anthony 



26 



THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 



in honor of his patron saint. Here they took the land, and traveling 
nearly two hundred miles to the northwest, brought them to their villages. 
Here they were kept about three months, were treated kindly by their 
captors, and at the end of that time, were met by a band of Frenchmen, 




BUFFALO HUNT. 



headed by one Seur de Luth, who, in pursuit of trade and game, had pene- 
trated thus far by the route of Lake Superior ; and with these fellow- 
countrymen Hennepin and his companions were allowed to return to the 
borders of civilized life in November, 1680, just after LaSalle had 
returned to the wilderness on his second trip. Hennepin soon after went 
to France, where he published an account of his adventures. 



THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 27 

The Mississippi was first discovered by De Soto in April, 1541, in his 
vain endeavor to find gold and precious gems. In the following Spring, 
De Soto, weary with hope long deferred, and worn out with his wander- 
ings, fell a victim to disease, and on the 21st of May died. His followers, 
reduced by fatigue and disease to less than three hundred men, wandered 
about the country nearly a year, in the vain endeavor to rescue them- 
selves by land, and finally constructed seven small vessels, called brig- 
antines, in which they embarked, and descending the river, supposinglt 
would lead them to the sea, in July they came to the sea (Gulf of 
Mexico), and by September reached the Island of Cuba. 

They were the first to see the great outlet of the Mississippi; but, 
bemg so weary and discouraged, made no attempt to claim the country, 
and hardly had an intelligent idea of what they had passed through. 

To La Salle, the intrepid explorer, belongs the honor of givino- the 
first account of the mouths of the river. His great desire was to possess 
this entire country for his king, and in January, 1682, he and his band of 
explorers left the shores of Lake Michigan on their third attempt, crossed 
the Portage, passed down the Illinois River, and on the 6th of February 
reached the banks of the Mississippi. 

On the 13th they commenced their downward course, which they 
pursued with but one interruption, until upon the 6th of March they dis- 
covered the three great passages by which the river discharges its waters 
into the gulf. La Salle thus narrates the event : 

" We landed on the bank of the most western channel, about three 
leagues (nine miles) from its mouth. On the seventh, M. de La Salle 
went to reconnoiter the shores of the neighboring sea, and M. de Tonti 
meanwhile examined the great middle channel. They found the main 
outlets beautiful, large and deep. On the eighth we reascended the river, 
a little above its confluence with the sea, to find a dry place beyond the 
reach of inundations. The elevation of the North Pole was here about 
twenty-seven degrees. Here we prepared a column and a cross, and to 
the column were affixed the arms of France with this inscription : 

" Louis Le Grand, Roi de Fiance et de Navarre, regne ; Le neuvieme April, 1682." 

The whole party, under arms, chanted the Te Deum, and then, after 
a salute and cries of "Vive le Roi," the column was erected by M. de 
La Salle, who, standing near it, proclaimed in a loud voice the authority of 
the King of France. La Salle returned and laid the foundations of the Mis- 
sissippi settlements in Illinois ; thence he proceeded to France, where 
another expedition was fitted out, of which he was commander, and in two 
succeeding voyages failed to find the outlet of the river by sailing along 
the shore of the gulf. On the third voyage he was killed, through the 



28 



THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 



treachery of his followers, and the object of his expeditions was not 
accomplished until 1699, when D'Iberville, under the authority of the 
crown, discovered, on the second of March, by way of the sea, the mouth 
of the " Hidden River." This majestic stream was called by the natives 
" Malbouchia," and by the Spaniards, " la Palissade" from the great 



■MS/ - 



Jg/ 




L .ii 




TRAPPING. 

number of trees about its mouth. After traversing the several outlets, 
and satisfying himself as to its certainty, he erected a fort near its western 
outlet, and returned to France. 

An avenue of trade was now opened out which was fully improved. 
In 1718, New Orleans was laid out and settled by some European colo- 
nists. In 1762, the colony was made over to Spain, to be regained by 
France under the consulate of Napoleon. In 1803, it was purchased by 



THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 29 

the United States for the sum of fifteen million dollars, and the territory 
of Louisiana and commerce of the Mississippi River came under the 
charge of the United States. Although LaSalle's labors ended in defeat 
and death, he had not worked and suffered in vain. He had thrown 
open to France and the world an immense and most valuable country ; 
had established several ports, and laid the foundations of more than one 
settlement there. " Peoria, Kaskaskia and Cahokia, are to this day monu- 
ments of LaSalle's labors ; for, though he had founded neither of them 
(unless Peoria, which was built nearly upon the site of Fort Crevecoeur,) 
it was by those whom he led into the West that these places were 
peopled and civilized. He was, if not the discoverer, the first settler of 
the Mississippi Valley, and as such deserves to be known and honored." 

The French early improved the opening made for them. Before the 
year 1698, the Rev. Father Gravier began a mission among the Illinois, 
and founded Kaskaskia. For some time this was merely a missionary 
station, where none but natives resided, it being one of three such vil- 
lages, the other two being Cahokia and Peoria. What is known of 
these missions is learned from a letter written by Father Gabriel Marest, 
dated " Aux Cascaskias, autrement dit de l'lmmaculate Conception de 
la Sainte Vierge, le 9 Novembre, 1712." Soon after the founding of 
Kaskaskia, the missionary, Pinet, gathered a flock at Cahokia, while 
Peoria arose near the ruins of Fort Crevecoeur. This must have been 
about the year 1700. The post at Vincennes on the Oubache river, 
(pronounced Wa-bS, meaning summer cloud moving swiftly') was estab- 
lished in 1702, according to the best authorities.* It is altogether prob- 
able that on LaSalle's last trip he established the stations at Kaskaskia 
and Cahokia. In July, 1701, the foundations of Fort Ponchartrain 
were laid by De la Motte Cadillac on the Detroit River. These sta- 
tions, with those established further north, were the earliest attempts to 
occupy the Northwest Territory. At the same time efforts were being 
made to occupy the Southwest, which finally culminated in the settle- 
ment and founding of the City of New Orleans by a colony from England 
in 1718. This was mainly accomplished through the efforts of the 
famous Mississippi Company, established by the notorious John Law, 
who so quickly arose into prominence in France, and who with his 
scheme so quickly and so ignominiously passed away. 

From the time of the founding of these stations for fifty years the 
French nation were engrossed with the settlement of the lower Missis- 
sippi, and the war with the Chicasaws, who had, in revenge for repeated 

•There is considerable dispute about this date, some asserting it was founded as late as 1742. When 
the new court house at Vincennes was erected, all authorities on the subject were carefully examined, and 
J702 fixed upon as the correct date. It was accordingly engraved on the corner-stone of the court house. 



30 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 

injuries, cut off the entire colony at Natchez. Although the company- 
did little for Louisiana, as the entire West was then called, yet it opened 
the trade through the Mississippi River, and started the raising of grains 
indigenous to that climate. Until the year 1750, but little is known of 
the settlements in the Northwest, as it was not until this time that the 
attention of the English was called to the occupation of this portion of the 
New World, which they then supposed they owned. Vivier, a missionary 
among the Illinois, writing from " Aux Illinois," six leagues from Fort 
Chartres, June 8, 1750, says: "We have here whites, negroes and 
Indians, to say nothing of cross-breeds. There are five French villages, 
and three villages of the natives, within a space of twenty-one leagues 
situated between the Mississippi and another river called the Karkadaid 
(Kaskaskias). In the five French villages are, perhaps, eleven hundred 
whites, three hundred blacks and some sixty red slaves or savages. The 
three Illinois towns do not contain more than eight hundred souls all 
told. Most of the French till the soil; they raise wheat, cattle, pigs and 
horses, and live like princes. Three times as much is produced as can 
be consumed ; and great quantities of grain and flour are sent to New 
Orleans." This city was now the seaport town of the Northwest, and 
save in the extreme northern part, where only furs and copper ore were 
found, almost all the products of the country found their way to France 
by the mouth of the Father of Waters. In another letter, dated Novem- 
ber 7, 1750, this same priest says : " For fifteen leagues above the 
mouth of the Mississippi one sees no dwellings, the ground being too low 
to be habitable. Thence to New Orleans, the lands are only partially 
occupied. New Orleans contains black, white and red, not more, I 
think, than twelve hundred persons. To this point come all lumber, 
bricks, salt-beef, tallow, tar, skins and bear's grease ; and above all, pork 
and flour from the Illinois. These things create some commerce, as forty 
vessels and more have come hither this year. Above New Orleans, 
plantations are again met with ; the most considerable is a colony of 
Germans, some ten leagues up the river. At Point Coupee, thirty-five 
leagues above the German settlement, is a fort. Along here, within five 
or six leagues, are not less than sixty habitations. Fifty leagues farther 
up is the Natchez post, where we have a garrison, who are kept prisoners 
through fear of the Chickasaws. Here and at Point Coupee, they raise 
excellent tobacco. Another hundred leagues brings us to the Arkansas, 
where we have also a fort and a garrison for the benefit of the river 
traders. * * * From the Arkansas to the Illinois, nearly five hundred 
leagues, there is not a settlement. There should be, however, a fort at 
the Oubache (Ohio), the only path by which the English can reach the 
Mississippi. In the Illinois country are numberless mines, but no one to 



THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 



31 



work them as they deserve." Father Marest, writing from the post at 
Vincermesin 1812, makes the same observation. Vivier also says : " Some 
individuals dig lead near the surface and supply the Indians and Canada. 
Two Spaniards now here, who claim to be adepts, say that our mines are 
like those of Mexico, and that if we would dig deeper, we should find 
silver under the lead ; and at any rate the lead is excellent. There is also 
in this country, beyond doubt, copper ore, as from time to time large 
pieces are found in the streams." 




MOUTH OF THE MISSISSIPPI. 



At the close of the year 1750, the French occupied, in addition to the 
lower Mississippi posts and those in Illinois, one at Du Quesne, one at 
the Mauinee in the country of the Miamis, and one at Sandusky in what 
may be termed the Ohio Valley. In the northern part of the Northwest 
they had stations at St. Joseph's on the St. Joseph's of Lake Michigan, 
at Fort Ponchartiain (Detroit), at Michillimackanac or Massillimacanac, 
Fox River of Green Bay, and at Sault Ste. Marie. The fondest dreams of 
LaSalle were now fully realized. The French alone were possessors of 
this vast realm, basing their claim on discovery and settlement. Another 
nation, however, was now turning its attention to this extensive country, 



32 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 

and hearing of its wealth, began to lay plans for occupying it and for 
securing the great profits arising therefrom. 

The French, however, had another claim to this country, namely, the 



DISCOVERY OF THE OHIO. 

This " Beautiful " river was discovered by Robert Cavalier de La- 
Salle in 1669, four years before the discovery of the Mississippi by Joliet 
and Marquette. 

While LaSalle was at his trading post on the St. Lawrence, he found 
leisure to study nine Indian dialects, the chief of which was the Iroquois. 
He not only desired to facilitate his intercourse in trade, but he longed 
to travel and explore the unknown regions of the West. An incident 
soon occurred which decided him to fit out an exploring expedition. 

While conversing with some Senecas, he learned of a river called the 
Ohio, which rose in their country and flowed to the sea, but at such a 
distance that it required eight months to reach its mouth. In this state- 
ment the Mississippi and its tributaries were considered as one stream. 
LaSalle believing, as most of the French at that period did, that the great 
rivers flowing west emptied into the Sea of California, was anxious to 
embark in the enterprise of discovering a route across the continent to 
the commerce of China and Japan. 

He repaired at once to Quebec to obtain the approval of the Gov- 
ernor. His eloquent appeal prevailed. The Governor and the Intendant, 
Talon, issued letters patent authorizing the enterprise, but made no pro- 
vision to defray the expenses. At this juncture the seminary of St. Sul- 
pice decided to send out missionaries in connection with the expedition, 
and LaSalle offering to sell his improvements at LaChine to raise money, 
the offer was accepted by the Superior, and two thousand eight hundred 
dollars were raised, with which LaSalle purchased four canoes and the 
necessary supplies for the outfit. 

On the 6th of July, 1669, the party, numbering twenty-four persons, 
embarked in seven canoes on the St. Lawrence; two additional canoes 
carried the Indian guides. In three days they were gliding over the 
bosom of Lake Ontario. Their guides conducted them directly to the 
Seneca village on the bank of the Genesee, in the vicinity of the present 
City of Rochester, New York. Here they expected to procure guides to 
conduct them to the Ohio, but in this they were disappointed. 

The Indians seemed unfriendly to the enterprise. LaSalle suspected 
that the Jesuits had prejudiced their minds against his plans. After 
waiting a month in the hope of gaining their object, they met an Indian 



THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 



33 



from the Iroquois colony at the head of Lake Ontario, who assured them 
that they could there find guides, and offered to conduct them thence. 

On their way they passed the mouth of the Niagara River, when they 
heard for the first time the distant thunder of the cataract. Arriving 







HIGH BRIDGE, LAKE BLUFF, LAKE COUNTY, ILLINOIS. 



among the Iroquois, they met with a friendly reception, and learned 
from a Shawanee prisoner that they could reach the Ohio in six weeks. 
Delighted with the unexpected good fortune, they made ready to resume 
their journey ; but just as they were about to start they heard of the 
arrival of two Frenchmen in a neighboring village. One of them proved 
to be Louis Joliet, afterwards famous as an explorer in the West. Hs 



34 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 

had been sent by the Canadian Government to explore the copper mines 
on Lake Superior, but had failed, and was on his way back to Quebec. 
He gave the missionaries a map of the country he had explored in the 
lake region, together with an account of the condition of the Indians in 
that quarter. This induced the priests to determine on leaving the 
expedition and going to Lake Superior. LaSalle warned them that the 
Jesuits were probably occupying that field, and that they would meet 
with a cold reception. Nevertheless they persisted in their purpose, and 
after worship on the lake shore, parted from LaSalle. On arriving at 
Lake Superior, they found, as LaSalle had predicted, the Jesuit Fathers, 
Marquette and Dablon, occupying the field. 

These zealous disciples of Loyola informed them that they wanted 
no assistance from St. Sulpice, nor from those who made him their patron 
saint ; and thus repulsed, they returned to Montreal the following June 
without having made a single discovery or converted a single Indian. 

After parting with the priests, LaSalle went to the chief Iroquois 
village at Onondaga, where he obtained guides, and passing thence to a 
tributary of the Ohio south of Lake Erie, he descended the latter as far 
as the falls at Louisville. Thus was the Ohio discovered by LaSalle, the 
persevering and successful French explorer of the West, in 1669. 

The account of the latter part of his journey is found in an anony- 
mous paper, which purports to have been taken from the lips of LaSalle 
himself during a subsequent visit to Paris. In a letter written to Count 
Frontenac in 1667, shortly after the discovery, he himself says that he 
discovered the Ohio and descended it to the falls. This was regarded as 
an indisputable fact by the French authorities, who claimed the Ohio 
Valley upon another ground. When Washington was sent by the colony 
of Virginia in 1753, to demand of Gordeur de St. Pierre why the French 
had built a fort on the Monongahela, the haughty commandant at Quebec 
replied : " We claim the country on the Ohio by virtue of the discoveries 
of LaSalle, and will not give it up to the English. Our orders are to 
make prisoners of every Englishman found trading in the Ohio Valley." 



ENGLISH EXPLORATIONS AND SETTLEMENTS. 

When the new year of 1750 broke in upon the Father of Waters 
and the Great Northwest, all was still wild save at the French posts 
already described. In 1749, when the English first began to think seri- 
ously about sending men into the West, the greater portion of the States 
of Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota were yet 
under the dominion of the red men. The English knew, however, pretty 



THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 35 

conclusively of the nature of the wealth of these wilds. As early as 
1710, Governor Spotswood, of Virginia, had commenced movements to 
secure the country west of the Alleghenies to the English crown. In 
Pennsylvania, Governor Keith and James Logan, secretary of the prov- 
ince, from 1719 to 1731, represented to the powers of England the neces- 
sity of securing the Western lands. Nothing was done, however, by that 
power save to take some diplomatic steps to secure the claims of Britain 
to this unexplored wilderness. 

England had from the outset claimed from the Atlantic to the Pacific, 
on the ground that the discovery of the seacoast and its possession was a 
discovery and possession of the country, and, as is well known, her grants 
to the colonies extended " from sea to sea." This was not all her claim. 
She had purchased from the Indian tribes large tracts of land. This lat- 
ter was also a strong argument. As early as 1684, Lord H oward, Gov- 
ernor of Virginia, held a treaty with the six nations. These were the 
great Northern Confederacy, and comprised at first the Mohawks, Onei- 
das, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas. Afterward the Tuscaroras were 
taken into the confederacy, and it became known as the Six Nations. 
They came under the protection of the mother country, and again in 
1701, they repeated the agreement, and in September, 1726, a formal deed 
was drawn up and signed by the chiefs. The validity of this claim has 
often been disputed, but never successfully. In 1744, a purchase was 
made at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, of certain lands within the " Colony of 
Virginia," for which the Indians received .£200 in gold and a like sum in 
goods, with a promise that, as settlements increased, more should be paid. 
The Commissioners from Virginia were Colonel Thomas Lee and Colonel 
William Beverly. As settlements extended, the promise of more pay was 
called to mind, and Mr. Conrad Weiser was sent across the mountains with 
presents to appease the savages. Col. Lee, and some Virginians accompa- 
nied him with the intention of sounding the Indians upon their feelings 
regarding the English. They were not satisfied with their treatment, 
and plainly told the Commissioners why. The English did not desire the 
cultivation of the country, but the monopoly of the Indian trade. In 
1748, the Ohio Company was formed, and petitioned the king for a grant 
of land beyond the Alleghenies. This was granted, and the government 
of Virginia was ordered to grant to them a half million acres, two hun- 
dred thousand of which were to be located at once. Upon the 12th of 
June, 1749, 800,000 acres from the line of Canada north and west was 
made to the Loyal Company, and on the 29th of October, 1751, 100,000 
acres were given to the Greenbriar Company. All this time the French 
were not idle. They saw that, should the British gain a foothold in the 
West, especially upon the Ohio, they might not only prevent the French 



30 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 

settling upon it, but in time would come to the lower posts and so gain 
possession of the whole country. Upon the 10th of May, 1774, Vaud- 
reuil, Governor of Canada and the French possessions, well knowing the 
consequences that must arise from allowing the English to build trading 
posts in the Northwest, seized some of their frontier posts, and to further 
secure the claim of the French to the West, he, in 1749, sent Louis Cel- 
eron with a party of soldiers to plant along the Ohio River, in the mounds 
and at the mouths of its principal tributaries, plates of lead, on which 
were inscribed the claims of France. These were heard of in 1752, and 
within the memory of residents now living along the " Oyo," as the 
beautiful river was called by the French. One of these plates was found 
with the inscription partly defaced. It bears date August 16, 1749, and 
a copy of the inscription with particular account of the discovery of the 
plate, was sent by DeWitt Clinton to the American Antiquarian Society, 
among whose journals it may now be found.* These measures did not, 
however, deter the English from going on with their explorations, and 
though neither party resorted to arms, yet the conflict was gathering, and 
it was only a question of time when the storm would burst upon the 
frontier settlements. In 1750, Christopher Gist was sent by the Ohio 
Company to examine its lands. He went to a village of the Twigtwees, 
on the Miami, about one hundred and fifty miles above its mouth. He 
afterward spoke of it as very populous. From there he went down 
the Ohio River nearly to the falls at the present City of Louisville, 
and in November he commenced a survey of the Company's lands. Dur- 
ing the Winter, General Andrew Lewis performed a similar work for the 
Greenbriar Company. Meanwhile the French were busy in preparing 
their forts for defense, and in opening roads, and also sent a small party 
of soldiers to keep the Ohio clear. This party, having heard of the Eng- 
lish post on the Miami River, early in 1652, assisted by the Ottawas and 
Chippewas, attacked it, and, after a severe battle, in which fourteen of 
the natives were killed and others wounded, captured the garrison. 
(They were probably garrisoned in a block house). The traders were 
carried away to Canada, and one account says several were burned. This 
fort or post was called by the English Pickawillany. A memorial of the 
king's ministers refers to it as " Pickawillanes, in the center of the terri- 
tory between the Ohio and the Wabash. The name is probably some 
variation of Pickaway or Picqua in 1773, written by Rev. David Jones 
Pickaweke." 

- The following Is a translation of the inscription on the plate: "In the year 1749. reign of Louis XV., 
King of France, we. Celeron, commandant of a detachment by Monsieur the Marquis of Galllsonieie, com- 
mander-in-chief of New France, to establish tranquility in certain Indian villages of these cantons, have 
buried this plate at the confluence of the Toradakoin, this twenty- ninth of July, near the river Ohio, otherwise 
Beautiful River, as a monument of renewal of possession which we have taken of the said river, and all its 
tributaries; inasmuch as the preceding Kings of Frauce have enjoyed it, and maintained it by their arms and 
treaties; especially by those of Ryswick, Utrecht, and Aix La Chapelle." 



THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 37 

This was the first blood shed between the French and English, and 
occurred near the present City of Piqua, Ohio, or at least at a point about 
forty-seven miles north of Dayton. Each nation became now more inter- 
ested in the progress of events in the Northwest. The English deter- 
mined to purchase from the Indians a title to the lands they wished to 
occupy, and Messrs. Fry (afterward Commander-in-chief over Washing- 
ton at the commencement of the French War of 1775-1763), Lomax and 
Patton were sent in the Spring of 1752 to hold a conference with the 
natives at Logstown to learn what they objected to in the treaty of Lan- 
caster already noticed, and to settle all difficulties. On the 9th of June, 
these Commissioners met the red men at Logstown, a little village on the 
north bank of the Ohio, about seventeen miles below the site of Pitts- 
burgh. Here had been a trading point for many years, but it was aban- 
doned by the Indians in 1750. At first the Indians declined to recognize 
the treaty of Lancaster, but, the Commissioners taking aside Montour, 
the interpreter, who was a son of the famous Catharine Montour, and a 
chief among the six nations, induced him to use his influence in their 
favor. This he did, and upon the 13th of June they all united in signing 
a deed, confirming the Lancaster treaty in its full extent, consenting to a 
settlement of the southeast of the Ohio, and guaranteeing that it should 
not be disturbed by them. These were the means used to obtain the first 
treaty with the Indians in the Ohio Valley. 

Meanwhile the powers beyond the sea were trying to out-manoeuvre 
each other, and were professing to be at peace. The English generally 
outwitted the Indians, and failed in many instances to fulfill their con- 
tracts. They thereby gained the ill-will of the red men, and further 
increased the feeling by failing to provide them with arms and ammuni- 
tion. Said an old chief, at Easton, in 1758 : " The Indians on the Ohio 
left you because of your own fault. When we heard the French were 
coming, we asked you for help and arms, but we did not get them. The 
French came, they treated us kindly, and gained our affections. The 
Governor of Virginia settled on our lands for his own benefit, and, when 
we wanted help, forsook us.'' 

At the beginning of 1653, the English thought they had secured by 
title the lands in the West, but the French had quietly gathered cannon 
and military stores to be in readiness for the expected blow. The Eng- 
lish made other attempts to ratify these existing treaties, but not until 
the Summer could the Indians be gathered together to discuss the plans 
of the French. They had sent messages to the French, warning them 
away ; but they replied that they intended to complete the chain of forts 
already begun, and would not abandon the field. 

Soon after this, no satisfaction being obtained from the Ohio regard- 



38 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 

ing the positions and purposes of the French, Governor Dinwiddie of 
Virginia determined to send to them another messenger and learn from 
them, if possible, their intentions. For this purpose he selected a young 
man, a surveyor, who, at the early age of nineteen, had received the rank 
of major, and who was thoroughly posted regarding frontier life. This 
personage was no other than the illustrious George Washington, who then 
held considerable interest in Western lands. He was at this time just 
twenty-two years of age. Taking Gist as his guide, the two, accompanied 
by four servitors, set out on their perilous inarch. They left Will's 
Creek on the 10th of November, 1753, and on the 22d reached the Monon- 
gahela, about ten miles above the fork. From there they went to 
Logstown, where Washington had a long conference with the chiefs of 
the Six Nations. From them he learned the condition of the French, and 
also heard of their determination not to come down the river till the fol- 
lowing Spring. The Indians were non-committal, as they were afraid to 
turn either way, and, as far as they could, desired to remain neutral. 
Washington, finding nothing could be done with them, went on to 
Venango, an old Indian town at the mouth of French Creek. Here the 
French had a fort, called Fort Machault. Through the rum and flattery 
of the French, he nearly lost all his Indian followers. Finding nothing 
of importance here, he pursued his way amid great privations, and on the 
11th of December reached the fort at the head of French Creek. Here 
he delivered Governor Dinwiddie's letter, received his answer, took his 
observations, and on the 16th set out upon his return journey with no one 
but Gist, his guide, and a few Indians who still remained true to him, 
notwithstanding the endeavors of the French to retain them. Their 
homeward journey was one of great peril and suffering from the cold, yet 
they reached home in safety on the 6th of January, 1754. 

From the letter of St. Pierre, commander of the French fort, sent by 
Washington to Governor Dinwiddie, it was learned that the French would 
not give up without a struggle. Active preparations were at once made 
in all the English colonies for the coming conflict, while the French 
finished the fort at Venango and strengthened their lines of fortifications, 
and gathered their forces to be in readiness. 

The Old Dominion was all alive. Virginia was the center of great 
activities ; volunteers were called for, and from all the neighboring 
colonies men rallied to the conflict, and everywhere along the Potomac 
men were enlisting under the Governor's proclamation — which promised 
two hundred thousand acres on the Ohio. Along this river they were 
gathering as far as Will's Creek, and far beyond this point, whither Trent 
had come for assistance for his little band of forty-one men, who were 



THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 39 

working away in hunger and want, to fortify that point at the fork of 
the Ohio, to which both parties were looking with deep interest. 

" The first birds of Spring filled the air with their song ; the swift 
river rolled by the Allegheny hillsides, swollen by the melting snows of 
Spring and the April showers. The leaves were appearing ; a few Indian 
scouts were seen, but no enemy seemed near at hand ; and all was so quiet, 
that Frazier, an old Indian scout and trader, who had been left by Trent 
in command, ventured to his home at the mouth of Turtle Creek, ten 
miles up the Monongahela. But, though all was so quiet in that wilder- 
ness, keen eyes had seen the low intrenchment rising at the fork, and 
swift feet had borne the news of it up the river ; and upon the morning 
of the 17th of April, Ensign Ward, who then had charge of it, saw 
upon the Allegheny a sight that made his heart sink — sixty batteaux and 
three hundred canoes filled with men, and laden deep with cannon and 
stores. * * * That evening he supped with his captor, Contrecceur, 
and the next day he was bowed off by the Frenchman, and with his men 
and tools, marched up the Monongahela." 

The French and Indian war had begun. The treaty of Aix la 
■ Chapelle, in 1748, had left the boundaries between the French and 
English possessions unsettled, and the events already narrated show the 
French were determined to hold the country watered by the Mississippi 
and its tributaries ; while the English laid claims to the country by virtue 
of the discoveries of the Cabots, and claimed all the country from New- 
foundland to Florida, extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The 
first decisive blow had now been struck, and the first attempt of the 
English, through the Ohio Company, to occupy these lands, had resulted 
disastrously to them. The French and Indians immediately completed 
the fortifications begun at the Fork, which they had so easily captured, 
and when completed gave to the fort the name of DuQuesne. Washing- 
ton was at Will's Creek when the news of the capture of the fort arrived. 
He at once departed to recapture it. On his way he entrenched him- 
self at a place called the " Meadows," where he erected a fort called 
by him Fort Necessity. From there he surprised and captured a force of 
French and Indians marching against him, but was soon after attacked 
in his fort by a much superior force, and was obliged to yield on the 
morning of July 4th. He was allowed to return to Virginia. 

The English Government immediately planned four campaigns ; one 
against Fort DuQuesne ; one against Nova Scotia ; one against Fort 
Niagara, and one against Crown Point. These occurred during 1755-6, 
and were not successful in driving the French from their possessions. 
The expedition against Fort DuQuesne was led by the famous General 
Braddock, who, refusing to listen to the advice of Washington and those 



40 '-THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 

acquainted with Indian warfare, suffered such an inglorious defeat. This 
occurred on the morning of July 9th, and is generally known as the battle 
of Monongahela, or " Braddock's Defeat." The war continued with 
various vicissitudes through the years 1756-7 ; when, at the commence- 
ment of 1758, in accordance with the plans of William Pitt, then Secre- 
tary of State, afterwards Lord Chatham, active preparations were made to 
carry on the war. Three expeditions were planned for this year : one, 
under General Amherst, against Louisburg ; another, under Abercrombie, 
against Fort Ticonderoga ; and a third, under General Forbes, against 
Fort DuQuesne. On the 26th of July, Louisburg surrendered after a 
desperate resistance of more than forty days, and the eastern part of the 
Canadian possessions fell into the hands of the British. Abercrombie 
captured Fort Frontenac, and when the expedition against Fort DuQuesne, 
of which Washington had the active command, arrived there, it was 
found in flames and deserted. The English at once took possession, 
rebuilt the fort, and in honor of their illustrious statesman, changed the 
name to Fort Pitt. 

The great object of the campaign of 1759, was the reduction of 
Canada. General Wolfe was to lay siege to Quebec ; Amherst was to 
reduce Ticonderoga and Crown Point, and General Prideaux was to 
capture Niagara. This latter place was taken in July, but the gallant 
Prideaux lost his life in the attempt. Amherst captured Ticonderoga 
and Crown Point without a blow ; and Wolfe, after making the memor- 
able ascent to the Plains of Abraham, on September 13th, defeated 
Montcalm, and on the 18th, the city capitulated. In this engagement 
Montcolm and Wolfe both lost their lives. De Levi, Montcalm's successor, 
marched to Sillery, three miles above the city, with the purpose of 
defeating the English, and there, on the 28th of the following April, was 
fought one of the bloodiest battles of the French and Indian War. It 
resulted in the defeat of the French, and the fall of the City of Montreal. 
The Governor signed a capitulation by which the whole of Canada was 
surrendered to the English. This practically concluded the war, but it 
was not until 1763 that the treaties of peace between France and England 
were signed. This was done on the 10th of February of that year, and 
under its provisions all the country east of the Mississippi and north of 
the Iberville River, in Louisiana, were ceded to England. At the same 
time Spain ceded Florida to Great Britain. 

On the 13th of September, 1760, Major Robert Rogers was sent 
from Montreal to take charge of Detroit, the only remaining French post 
in the territory. He arrived there on the 19th of November, and sum- 
moned the place to surrender. At first the commander of the post, 
Beletre, refused, but on the 29th, hearing of the continued defeat of the 



THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 41 

French arms, surrendered. Rogers remained there until December 23d 
under the personal protection of the celebrated chief, Pontiac, to whom, 
no doubt, he owed his safety. Pontiac had come here to inquire the 
purposes of the English in taking possession of the country. He was 
assured that they came simply to trade with the natives, and did not 
desire their country. This answer conciliated the savages, and did much 
to insure the safety of Rogers and his party during their stay, and while, 
on their journey home. 

Rogers set out for Fort Pitt on December 23, and was just one 
month on the way. His route was from Detroit to Maumee, thence 
across the present State of Ohio directly to the fort. This was the com- 
mon trail of the Indians in their journeys from Sandusky to the fork of 
the Ohio. It went from Fort Sandusky, where Sandusky City now is, 
crossed the Huron river, then called Bald Eagle Creek, to " Mohickon 
John's Town" on Mohickon Creek, the northern branch of White 
Woman's River, and thence crossed to Beaver's Town, a Delaware town 
on what is now Sandy Creek. At Beaver's Town were probably one 
hundred and fifty warriors, and not less than three thousand acres of 
cleared land. From there the track went up Sandy Creek to and across 
Big Beaver, and up the Ohio to Logstown, thence on to the fork. 

The Northwest Territory was now entirely under the English rule. 
New settlements began to be rapidly made, and the promise of a large 
trade was speedily manifested. Had the British carried out their promises 
with the natives none of those savage butcheries would have been perpe- 
trated, and the country would have been spared their recital. 

The renowned chief, Pontiac, was one of the leading spirits in these 
atrocities. We will now pause in our narrative, and notice the leading 
events in his life. The earliest authentic information regarding this 
noted Indian chief is learned from an account of an Indian trader named 
Alexander Henry, who, in the Spring of 1761, penetrated his domains as 
far as Missillimacnac. Pontiac was then a great friend of the French, 
but a bitter foe of the English, whom he considered as encroaching on his 
hunting grounds. Henry was obliged to disguise himself as a Canadian 
to insure safety, but was discovered by Pontiac, who bitterly reproached 
him and the English for their attempted subjugation of the West. He 
declared that no treaty had been made with them ; no presents sent 
them, and that he would resent any possession of the West by that nation. 
He was at the time about fifty } r ears of age, tall and dignified, and was 
civil and military ruler of the Ottawas, Ojibwas and Pottawatamies. 

The Indians, from Lake Michigan to the borders of North Carolina, 
were united in this feeling, and at the time of the treaty of Paris, ratified 
February 10, 1763, a general conspiracy was formed to fall suddenly 



42 



THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 




PONTIAC, THE OTTAWA CHIEFTAIN. 



THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 43 

upon the frontier British posts, and with one blow strike every man dead. 
Pontiac was the marked leader in all this, and was the commander 
of the Chippewas, Ottawas, Wyandots, Miamis, Shawanese, Delawares 
and Mingoes, who had, for the time, laid aside their local quarrels to unite 
in this enterprise. 

The blow came, as near as can now be ascertained, on May 7, 1768. 
Nine British posts fell, and the Indians drank, " scooped up in the hollow 
of joined hands," the blood of many a Briton. 

Pontiac's immediate field of action was the garrison at Detroit. 
Here, however, the plans were frustrated by an Indian woman disclosing 
the plot the evening previous to his arrival. Everything was carried out, 
however, according to Pontiac's plans until the moment of action, when 
Major Gladwyn, the commander of the post, stepping to one of the Indian 
chiefs, suddenly drew aside his blanket and disclosed the concealed 
musket. Pontiac, though a brave man, turned pale and trembled. He 
saw his plan was known, and that the garrison were prepared. Pie 
endeavored to exculpate himself from any such intentions ; but the guilt 
was evident, and he and his followers were dismissed with a severe 
reprimand, and warned never to again enter the walls of the post. 

Pontiac at once laid siege to the fort, and until the treaty of peace 
between the British and the Western Indians, concluded in August, 1764, 
continued to harass -and besiege the fortress. He organized a regular 
commissariat department, issued bills of credit written out on bark, 
which, to his credit, it may be stated, were punctually redeemed. At 
the conclusion of the treaty, in which it seems he took no part, he went 
further south, living many years among the Illinois. 

He had given up all hope of saving his country and race. After a 
time he endeavored to unite the Illinois tribe and those about St. Louis 
in a war with the whites. His efforts were fruitless, and only ended in a 
quarrel between himself and some Kaskaskia Indians, one of whom soon 
afterwards killed him. His death was, however, avenged by the northern 
Indians, who nearly exterminated the Illinois in the wars which followed. 

Had it not been for the treachery of a few of his followers, his plan 
for the extermination of the whites, a masterly one, would undoubtedly 
have been carried out. 

It was in the Spring of the year following Rogers' visit that Alex- 
ander Henry went to Missillimacnac, and everywhere found the strongest 
feelings against the English, who had not carried out their promises, and 
were doing nothing to conciliate the natives. Here he met the chief, 
Pontiac, who, after conveying to him in a speech the idea that their 
French father would awake soon and utterly destroy his enemies, said : 
" Englishman, although you have conquered the French, you have not 



44 THJfi NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 

yet conquered us ! We are not your slaves ! These lakes, these woods, 
these mountains, were left us by our ancestors. They are our inheritance, 
and we will part with them to none. Your nation supposes that we, like 
the white people, can not live without bread and pork and beef. But you 
ought to know that He, the Great Spirit and Master of Life, has provided 
food for us upon these broad lakes and in these mountains." 

He then spoke of the fact that no treaty had been made with them, 
no presents sent them, and that he and his people were yet for war. 
Such were the feelings of the Northwestern Indians immediately after 
the English took possession of their country. These feelings were no 
doubt encouraged by the Canadians and French, who hoped that yet the 
French arms might prevail. The treaty of Paris, however, gave to the 
English the right to this vast domain, and active preparations were going 
on to occupy it and enjoy its trade and emoluments. 

In 1762, France, by a secret treaty, ceded Louisiana to Spain, to pre- 
vent it falling into the hands of the English, who were becoming masters 
of the entire West. The next year the treaty of Paris, signed at Fon- 
tainbleau, gave to the English the domain of the country in question. 
Twenty years after, by the treaty of peace between the United States 
and England, that part of Canada lying south and west of the Great 
Lakes, comprehending a large territory which is the subject of these 
sketches, was acknowledged to be a portion of the United States ; and 
twenty years still later, in 1803, Louisiana was ceded by Spain back to 
France, and by France sold to the United States. 

In the half century, from the building of the Fort of Crevecoeur by 
LaSalle, in 1680, up to the erection of Fort Chartres, many French set- 
tlements had been made in that quarter. These have already been 
noticed, being those at St. Vincent (Vincennes), Kohokia or Cahokia, 
Kaskaskia and Prairie du Rocher, on the American Bottom, a large tract 
of rich alluvial soil in Illinois, on the Mississippi, opposite the site of St. 
Louis. 

By the treaty of Paris, the regions east of the Mississippi, including 
all these and other towns of the Northwest, were given over to England ; 
but they do not appear to have been taken possession of until 1765, when 
Captain Stirling, in the name of the Majesty of England, established him- 
self at Fort Chartres bearing with him the proclamation of General Gage, 
dated December 30, 1764, which promised religious freedom to all Cath- 
olics who worshiped here, and a right to leave the country with their 
effects if they wished, or to remain with the privileges of Englishmen. 
It was shortly after the occupancy of the West by the British that the 
war with Pontiac opened. It is already noticed in the sketch of that 
chieftain- By it many a Briton lost his life, and many a frontier settle- 



THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 45 

ment in its infancy ceased to exist. This was not ended until the year 
1764, when, failing to capture Detroit, Niagara and Fort Pitt, his confed- 
eracy became disheartened, and, receiving no aid from the French, Pon- 
tiac abandoned the enterprise and departed to the Illinois, among whom 
he afterward lost his life. 

As soon as these difficulties were definitely settled, settlers began 
rapidly to survey the country and prepare for occupation. During the 
year 1770, a number of persons from Virginia and other British provinces 
explored and marked out nearly all the valuable lands on the Mononga- 
hela and along the banks of the Ohio as far as the Little Kanawha. This 
was followed by another exploring expedition, in which George Washing- 
ton was a party. The latter, accompanied by Dr. Craik, Capt. Crawford 
and others, on the 20th of October, 1770, descended the Ohio from Pitts- 
burgh to the mouth of the Kanawha ; ascended that stream about fourteen 
miles, marked out several large tracts of land, shot several buffalo, which 
were then abundant in the Ohio Valley, and returned to the fort. 

Pittsburgh was at this time a trading post, about which was clus- 
tered a village of some twenty houses, inhabited by Indian traders. This 
same year, Capt. Pittman visited Kaskaskia and its neighboring villages. 
He found there about sixty-five resident families, and at Cahokia only 
forty-five dwellings. At Fort Chartres was another small settlement, and 
at Detroit the garrison were quite prosperous and strong. For a year 
or two settlers continued to locate near some of these posts, generally 
Fort Pitt or Detroit, owing to the fears of the Indians, who still main- 
tained some feelings of hatred to the English. The trade from the posts 
Was quite good, and from those in Illinois large quantities of pork and 
flour found their way to the New Orleans market. At this time the 
policy of the British Government was strongly opposed to the extension 
of the colonies west. In 1763, the King of England forbade, by royal 
proclamation, his colonial subjects from making a settlement beyond the 
sources of the rivers which fall into the Atlantic Ocean. At the instance 
of the Board of Trade, measures were taken to prevent the settlement 
without the limits prescribed, and to retain the commerce within easy 
reach of Great Britain. 

The commander-in-chief of the king's forces wrote in 1769 : " In the 
course of a few years necessity will compel the colonists, should they 
extend their settlements west, to provide manufactures of some kind for 
themselves, and when all connection upheld by commerce with the mother 
country ceases, an independency in their government will soon follow." 

In accordance with this policy, Gov. Gage issued a proclamation 
in 1772, commanding the inhabitants of Vincennes to abandon their set- 
tlements and join some of the Eastern English colonies. To this they 



46 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 

strenuously objected, giving good reasons therefor, and -were allowed to 
remain. The strong opposition to this policy of Great Britain led to its 
change, and to such a course as to gain the attachment of the French 
population. In December, 1773, influential citizens of Quebec petitioned 
the king for an extension of the boundary lines of that province, which 
was granted, and Parliament passed an act on June 2, 1774, extend- 
ing the boundary so as to include the territory tying within the present 
States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Michigan. 

In consequence of the liberal policy pursued by the British Govern- 
ment toward the French settlers in the West, they were disposed to favor 
that nation in the Avar which soon followed with the colonies ; but the 
early alliance between France and America soon brought them to the side 
of the war for independence. 

In 1774, Gov. Dunmore, of Virginia, began to encourage emigration 
to the Western lands. He appointed magistrates at Fort Pitt under the 
pretense that the fort was under the government of that commonwealth. 
One of these justices, John Connelly, who possessed a tract of land in the 
Ohio Valley, gathered a force of men and garrisoned the fort, calling it 
Fort Dunmore. This and other parties were formed to select sites for 
settlements, and often came in conflict with the Indians, who yet claimed 
portions of the valley, and several battles followed. These ended in the 
famous battle of Kanawha in July, where the Indians were defeated and 
driven across the Ohio. 

During the years 1775 and 1776, by the operations of land companies 
and the perseverance of individuals, several settlements were firmly estab- 
lished between the Alleghanies and the Ohio River, and western land 
speculators were busy in Illinois and on the Wabash. At a council held 
in Kaskaskia on July 5, 1773, an association of English traders, calling 
themselves the " Illinois Land Company," obtained from ten chiefs of the 
Kaskaskia, Cahokia and Peoria tribes two large tracts of land lying on 
the east side of the Mississippi River south of the Illinois. In 1775, a mer- 
chant from the Illinois Country, named Viviat, came to Post Vincennes 
as the agent of the association called the " Wabash Land Company." On 
the 8th of October he obtained from eleven Piankeshaw chiefs, a deed for 
37,497,600 acres of land. This deed was signed by the grantors, attested 
by a number of the inhabitants of Vincennes, and afterward recorded in 
the office of a notary public at Kaskaskia. This and other land com- 
panies had extensive schemes for the colonization of the West ; but all 
were frustrated by the breaking out of the Revolution. On the 20th of 
April, 1780, the two companies named consolidated under the name of the 
"United Illinois and Wabash Land Company." They afterward made 



THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 47 

strenuous efforts to have these grants sanctioned by Congress, but all 
signally failed. 

When the War of the Revolution commenced, Kentucky was an unor- 
ganized country, though there were several settlements within her borders. 

In Hutchins' Topography of Virginia, it is stated that at that time 
" Kaskaskia contained 80 houses, and nearly 1,000 white and black in- 
habitants — the whites being a little the more numerous. Cahokia con- 
tains 50 houses and 300 white inhabitants, and 80 negroes. There were 
east of the Mississippi River, about the year 1771 " — when these observa- 
tions were made — " 300 white men capable of bearing arms, and 230 
negroes." 

From 1775 until the expedition of Clark, nothing is recorded and 
nothing known of these settlements, save what is contained in a report 
made by a committee to Congress in June, 1778. From it the following 
extract is made : 

"Near the mouth of the River Kaskaskia, there is a village which 
appears to have contained nearly eighty families from the beginning of 
the late revolution. There are twelve families in a small village at la 
Prairie du Rochers, and near fifty families at the Kahokia Village. There 
are also four or five families at Fort Chartres and St. Philips, which is five 
miles further up the river." 

St. Louis had been settled in February, 1764, and at this time con- 
tained, including its neighboring towns, over six hundred whites and one 
hundred and fifty negroes. It must be remembered that all the country 
west of the Mississippi was now under French rule, and remained so until 
ceded again to Spain, its original owner, who afterwards sold it and the 
country including New Orleans to the United States. At Detroit there 
were, according to Capt. Carver, who was in the Northwest from 1766 to 
1768, more than one hundred houses, and the river was settled for more 
than twenty miles, although poorly cultivated — the people being engaged 
in the Indian trade. This old town has a history, which we will here 
relate. 

It is the oldest town in the Northwest, having been founded by 
Antoine de Lamotte Cadillac, in 1701. It was laid out in the form of an 
oblong square, of two acres in length, and an acre and a half in width. 
As described by A. D. Frazer, who first visited it and became a permanent 
resident of the place, in 1778, it comprised within its limits that space 
between Mr. Palmer's store (Conant Block) and Capt. Perkins' house 
(near the Arsenal building), and extended back as far as the public barn, 
and was bordered in front by the Detroit River. It was surrounded by 
oak and cedar pickets, about fifteen feet long, set in the ground, and had 
four gates — east, west, north and south. Over the first three of these 



48 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 

gates were block houses provided with four guns apiece, each a six- 
pounder. Two six-gun batteries were planted fronting the river and in a 
parallel direction with the block houses. There were four streets running 
east and west, the main street being twenty feet wide and the rest fifteen 
feet, while the four streets crossing these at right angles were from ten 
to fifteen feet in width. 

At the date spoken of by Mr. Frazer, there was no fort within the 
enclosure, but a citadel on the ground corresponding to the present 
northwest corner of Jefferson Avenue and Wayne Street. The citadel was 
inclosed by pickets, and within it were erected barracks of wood, two 
stories high, sufficient to contain ten officers, and also barracks sufficient 
to contain four hundred men, and a provision store built of brick. The 
citadel also contained a hospital and guard-house. The old town of 
Detroit, in 1778, contained about sixty houses, most of them one story, 
with a few a story and a half in height. They were all of logs, some 
hewn and some round. There was one building of splendid appearance, 
called the " King's Palace," two stories high, which stood near the east 
gate. It was built for Governor Hamilton, the first governor commissioned 
by the British. There were two guard-houses, one near the west gate and 
the other near the Government House. Each of the guards consisted of 
twenty -four men and a subaltern, who mounted regularly every morning 
between nine and ten o'clock, Each furnished four sentinels, who were 
relieved every two hours. There was also an officer of the day, who pjr- 
formed strict duty. Each of the gates was shut regularly at sunset; 
even wicket gates were shut at nine o'clock, and all the keys were 
delivered into the hands of the commanding officer. They were opened 
in the morning at sunrise. No Indian or squaw was permitted to enter 
town with any weapon, such as a tomahawk or a knife. It was a stand- 
ing order that the Indians should deliver their arms and instruments of 
every kind before they were permitted to pass the sentinel, and they were 
restored to them on their return. No more than twenty-five Indians were 
allowed to enter the town at any one time, and they were admitted only 
at the east and west gates. At sundown the drums beat, and all the 
Indians were required to leave town instantly. There was a council house 
near the water side for the purpose of holding council with the Indians. 
The population of the town was about sixty families, in all about two 
hundred males and one hundred females. This town was destroyed by 
fire, all except one dwelling, in 1805. After which the present " new" 
town was laid out. 

On the breaking out of the Revolution, the British held every post of 
importance in the West. Kentucky was formed as a component part of 
Virginia, and the sturdy pioneers of the West, alive to their interests, 



THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 49 

and recognizing the great benefits of obtaining the control of the trade in 
this part of the New World, held steadily to their purposes, and those 
within the commonwealth of Kentucky proceeded to exercise their 
civil privileges, by electing John Todd and Richard Gallaway, 
burgesses to represent them in the Assembly of the parent state. 
Early in September of that year (1777) the first court was held 
in Harrodsburg, and Col. Bowman, afterwards major, who had arrived 
in August, was made the commander of a militia organization which 
had been commenced the March previous. Thus the tree of loyalty 
was growing. The chief spirit in this far-out colony, who had represented 
her the year previous east of the mountains, was now meditating a move 
unequaled in its boldness. He had been watching the movements of the 
British throughout the Northwest, and understood their whole plan. He 
saw it was through their possession of the posts at Detroit, Vincennes, 
Kaskaskia, and other places, which would give them constant and easy 
access to the various Indian tribes in the Northwest, that the British 
intended to penetrate the country from the north and south, and annihi- 
late the frontier fortresses. This moving, energetic man was Colonel, 
afterwards General, George Rogers Clark. He knew the Indians were not 
unanimously in accord with the English, and he was convinced that, could 
the British be defeated and expelled from the Northwest, the natives 
might be easily awed into neutrality; and by spies sent for the purpose, 
he satisfied himself that the enterprise against the Illinois settlements 
might easily succeed. Having convinced himself of the certainty of the 
project, he repaired to the Capital of Virginia, which place he reached on 
November 5th. While he was on his way, fortunately, on October 17th, 
Burgoyne had been defeated, and the spirits of the colonists greatly 
encouraged thereby. Patrick Henry was Governor of Virginia, and at 
once entered heartily into Clark's plans. The same plan had before been 
agitated in the Colonial Assemblies, but there was no one until Clark 
came who was sufficiently acquainted with the condition of affairs at the 
scene of action to be able to guide them. 

Clark, having satisfied the Virginia leaders of the feasibility of his 
plan, received, on the 2d of January, two sets of instructions — one secret, 
the other open — the latter authorized him to proceed to enlist seven 
companies to go to Kentucky, subject to his orders, and to serve three 
months from their arrival in the West. The secret order authorized him 
to arm these troops, to procure his powder and lead of General Hand 
at Pittsburgh, and to proceed at once to subjugate the country. 

With these instructions Clark repaired to Pittsburgh, choosing rather 
to raise his men west of the mountains, as he well knew all were needed 
in the colonies in the conflict there. He sent Col. W. B. Smith to Hoi- 



50 THE NORTHWEST TEEU1TOBY. 

ston for the same purpose, but neither succeeded in raising the required 
number of men. The settlers in these parts were afraid to leave their 
own firesides exposed to a vigilant foe, and but few could be induced to 
join the proposed expedition. With three companies and several private 
volunteers, Clark at length commenced his descent of the Ohio, which he 
navigated as far as the Falls, where he took possession of and fortified 
Corn Island, a small island between the present Cities of Louisville, 
Kentucky, and New Albany, Indiana. Remains of this fortificaiion may 
yet be found. At this place he appointed Col. Bowman to meet him 
with such recruits as had reached Kentucky by the southern route, and 
as many as could be spared from the station. Here he announced to 
the men their real destination. Having completed his arrangements, 
and chosen his party, he left a small garrison upon the island, and on the 
24th of June, during a total eclipse of the sun, which to them augured 
no good, and which fixes beyond dispute the date of starting, he with 
his chosen band, fell down the river. His plan was to go b\* water as 
far as Fort Massac or Massacre, and thence march direct to Kaskaskia. 
Here he intended to surprise the garrison, and after its capture go to 
Cahokia, then to Vincennes, and lastly to Detroit. Should he fail, he 
intended to march directly to the Mississippi River and cross it into the 
Spanish country. Before his start he received two good items of infor- 
mation : one that the alliance had been formed between France and the 
United States ; and the other that the Indians throughout the Illinois 
country and the inhabitants, at the various frontier posts, had been led to 
believe by the British that the " Long Knives" or Virginians, were the 
most fierce, bloodthirsty and cruel savages that ever scalped a foe. With 
this impression on their minds, Clark saw that proper management would 
cause them to submit at once from fear, if surprised, and then from grati- 
tude would become friendly if treated with unexpected leniency. 

The march to Kaskaskia was accomplished through a hot July sun, 
and the town reached on the evening of July 4. He captured the fort 
near the village, and soon after the village itself by surprise, and without 
the loss of a single man or by killing any of the enemy. After sufficiently 
working upon the fears of the natives, Clark told them they were at per- 
fect liberty to worship as they pleased, and to take whichever side of the 
great conflict they would, also he would protect them from any barbarity 
from British or Indian foe. This had the desired effect, and the inhab- 
itants, so unexpectedly and so gratefully surprised by the unlooked 
for turn of affairs, at once swore allegiance to the American arms, and 
when Clark desired to go to Cahokia on the 6th of July, they accom- 
panied him, and through their influence the inhabitants of the place 
surrendered, and gladly placed themselves under his protection. Thus 



THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 51 

the two important posts in Illinois passed from the hands of the English 
into the possession of Virginia. 

In the person of the priest at Kaskaskia, M. Gibault, Clark found a 
powerful ally and generous friend. Clark saw that, to retain possession 
of tke Northwest and treat successfully with the Indians within its boun- 
daries, he must establish a government for the colonies he had taken. 
St. Vincent, the next important post to Detroit, remained yet to be taken 
before the Mississippi Valley was conquered. M. Gibault told him that 
he would alone, by persuasion, lead Vincennes to throw off its connection 
with England. Clark gladly accepted his offer, and on the 14th of July, 
in company with a fellow-townsman, M. Gibault started on his mission of 
peace, and on the 1st of August returned with the cheerful intelligence 
that the post on the " Oubache " had taken the oath of allegiance to 
the Old Dominion. During this interval, Clark established his courts, 
placed garrisons at Kaskaskia and Cahokia, successfully re-enlisted his 
men, sent word to have a fort, which proved the germ of Louisville, 
erected at the Falls of the Ohio, and dispatched Mr. Rocheblave, who 
had been commander at Kaskaskia, as a prisoner of war to Richmond. 
In October the County of Illinois was established by the Legislature 
of Virginia, John Todd appointed Lieutenant Colonel and Civil Governor, 
and in November General Clark and his men received the thanks of 
the Old Dominion through their Legislature. 

In a speech a few days afterward, Clark made known fully to the 
natives his plans, and at its close all came forward and swore alle- 
giance to the Long Knives. While he was doing this Governor Hamilton, 
having made his various arrangements, had left Detroit and moved down 
the Wabash to Vincennes intending to operate from that point in reducing 
the Illinois posts, and then proceed on down to Kentucky and drive the 
rebels from the West. Gen. Clark had, on the return of M. Gibault, 
dispatched Captain Helm, of Fauquier County, Virginia, with an attend- 
ant named Henry, across the Illinois prairies to command the fort. 
Hamilton knew nothing of the capitulation of the post, and was greatly 
surprised on his arrival to be confronted by Capt. Helm, who, standing at 
the entrance of the fort by a loaded cannon ready to fire upon his assail- 
ants, demanded upon what terms Hamilton demanded possession of the 
fort. Being granted the rights of a prisoner of war, he surrendered to 
the British General, who could scarcely believe his eyes when he saw the 
force in the garrison. 

Hamilton, not realizing the character of the men with whom he was 
contending, gave up his intended campaign for the Winter, sent his four 
hundred Indian warriors to prevent troops from coming down the Ohio, 



52 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 

and to annoy the Americans in all ways, and sat quietly down to pass the 
Winter. Information of all these proceedings having reached Clark, he 
saw that immediate and decisive action was necessary, and that unless 
he captured Hamilton, Hamilton would capture him. Clark received the 
news on the 29th of January, 1779, and on February 4th, having suffi- 
ciently garrisoned Kaskaskia and Cahokia, he sent down the Mississippi 
a " battoe," as Major Bowman writes it, in order to ascend the Ohio and 
Wabash, and operate with the land forces gathering for the fray. 

On the next day, Clark, with his little force of one hundred and 
twenty men, set out for the post, and after incredible hard marching 
through much mud, the ground being thawed by the incessant spring 
rains, on the 22d reached the fort, and being joined by his " battoe," at 
once commenced the attack on the post. The aim of the American back- 
woodsman was unerring, and on the 24th the garrison surrendered to the 
intrepid boldness of Clark. The French were treated with great kind- 
ness, and gladly renewed their allegiance to Virginia. Hamilton was 
sent as a prisoner to Virginia, where he was kept in close confinement. 
During his command of the British frontier posts, he had offered prizes 
to the Indians for all the scalps of Americans they would bring to him, 
and had earned in consequence thereof the title " Hair-buyer General," 
by which he was ever afterward known. 

Detroit was now without doubt within easy reach of the enterprising 
Virginian, could he but raise the necessary force. Governor Henry being 
apprised of this, promised him the needed reinforcement, and Clark con- 
cluded to wait until he could capture and sufficiently garrison the posts. 
Had Clark failed in this bold undertaking, and Hamilton succeeded in 
uniting the western Indians for the next Spring's campaign, the West 
would indeed have been swept from the Mississippi to the Allegheny 
Mountains, and the great blow struck, which had been contemplated from 
the commencement, by the British. 

" But for this small army of dripping, but fearless Virginians, the 
union of all the tribes from Georgia to Maine against the colonies might 
have been effected, and the whole current of our history changed." 

At this time some fears were entertained by the Colonial Govern- 
ments that the Indians in the North and Northwest were inclining to the 
British, and under the instructions of Washington, now Commander-in- 
Chief of the Colonial army, and so bravely fighting for American inde- 
pendence, armed forces were sent against the Six Nations, and upon the 
Ohio frontier, Col. Bowman, acting under the same general's orders, 
marched against Indians within the present limits of that State. These 
expeditions were in the main successful, and the Indians were compelled 
to sue for peace. 



THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 53 

During this same year (1779) the famous " Land Laws" of Virginia 
were passed. The passage of these laws was of more consequence to the 
pioneers of Kentucky and the Northwest than the gaining of a few Indian 
conflicts. These laws confirmed in main all grants made, and guaranteed 
to all actual settlers their rights and privileges. After providing for the 
settlers, the laws provided for selling the balance of the public lands at 
forty cents per acre. To carry the Land Laws into effect, the Legislature 
sent four Virginians westward to attend to the various claims, over many 
of which great confusion prevailed concerning their validity. These 
gentlemen opened their court on October 13, 1779, at St. Asaphs, and 
continued until April 26, 1780, when they adjourned, having decided 
three thousand claims. They were succeeded by the surveyor, who 
came in the person of Mr. George May, and assumed his duties on the 
10th day of the month whose name he bore. With the opening of the 
next year (1780) the troubles concerning the navigation of the Missis- 
sippi commenced. The Spanish Government exacted such measures in 
relation to its trade as to cause the overtures made to the United States 
to be rejected. The American Government considered they had a right 
to navigate its channel. To enforce their claims, a fort was erected below 
the mouth of the Ohio on the Kentucky side of the river. The settle- 
ments in Kentucky were being rapidly filled by emigrants. It was dur- 
ing this year that the first seminary of learning was established in the 
West in this young and enterprising Commonwealth. 

The settlers here did not look upon the building of this fort in a 
friendly manner, as it aroused the hostility of the Indians. Spain had 
been friendly to the Colonies during their struggle for independence, 
and though for a while this friendship appeared in danger from the 
refusal of the free navigation of the river, yet it was finally settled to the 
satisfaction of both nations. 

The Winter of 1779-80 was one of the most unusually severe ones 
ever experienced in the West. The Indians always referred to it as the 
"Great Cold." Numbers of wild animals perished, and not a few 
pioneers lost their lives. The following Summer a party of Canadians 
and Indians attacked St. Louis, and attempted to take possession of it 
in consequence of the friendly disposition of Spain to the revolting 
colonies. They met with such a determined resistance on the part of the 
inhabitants, even the women taking part in the battle, that they were 
compelled to abandon the contest. They also made an attack on the 
settlements in Kentucky, but, becoming alarmed in some unaccountable 
manner, they fled the country in great haste. 

About this time arose the question in the Colonial Congress con- 
cerning the western lands claimed by Virginia, New York, Massachusetts 



54 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 

and Connecticut. The agitation concerning this subject finally led New 
York, on the 19th of February, 1780, to pass a law giving to the dele- 
gates of that State in Congress the power to cede her western lands for 
the benefit of the United States. This law was laid before Congress 
during the next month, but no steps were taken concerning it until Sep- 
tember 6th, when a resolution passed that body calling upon the States 
claiming western lands to release their claims in favor of the whole body. 
This basis formed the union, and was the first after all of those legislative 
measures which resulted in the creation of the States of Ohio, Indiana, 
Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. In December of the same 
year, the plan of conquering Detroit again arose. The conquest might 
have easily been effected by Clark had the necessary aid been furnished 
him. Nothing decisive was done, yet the heads of the Government knew 
that the safety of the Northwest from British invasion lay in the capture 
and retention of that important post, the only unconquered one in the 
territory. 

Before the close of the year, Kentucky was divided into the Coun- 
ties of Lincoln, Fayette and Jefferson, and the act establishing the Town 
of Louisville was passed. This same year is also noted in the annals of 
American history as the year in which occurred Arnold's treason to the 
United States. 

Virginia, in accordance with the resolution of Congress, on the 2d 
day of January, 1781, agreed to yield her western lands to the United 
States upon certain conditions, which Congress would not accede to, and 
the Act of Cession, on the part of the Old Dominion, failed, nor was 
anything farther done until 1783. During all that time the Colonies 
were busily engaged in the struggle with the mother country, and in 
consequence thereof but little heed was given to the western settlements. 
Upon the 16th of April, 1781, the first birth north of the Ohio River of 
American parentage occurred, being that of Mary Heckewelder, daughter 
of the widely known Moravian missionary, whose band of Christian 
Indians suffered in after years a horrible massacre by the hands of the 
frontier settlers, who had been exasperated by the murder of several of 
their neighbors, and in their rage committed, without regard to humanity, 
a deed which forever afterwards cast a shade of shame upon their lives. 
For this and kindred outrages on the part of the whites, the Indians 
committed many deeds of cruelty which darken the years of 1771 and 
1772 in the history of the Northwest. 

During the year 1782 a number of battles among the Indians and 
frontiersmen occurred, and between the Moravian Indians and the Wyan- 
dots. In these, horrible acts of cruelty were practised on the captives, 
many of such dark deeds transpiring under the leadership of the notorious 



THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 



55 



frontier outlaw, Simon Girty, whose name, as well as those of his brothers, 
was a terror to women and children. These occurred chiefly in the Ohio 
valleys. Cotemporary with them were several engagements in Kentucky, 
in which the famous Daniel Boone engaged, and who, often by his skill 
and knowledge of Indian warfare, saved the outposts from cruel destruc- 




INDIANS ATTACKING FKONTIEKSJIEN. 

tion. By the close of the year victory had perched upon the American 
banner, and on the 30th of November, provisional articles of peace had 
been arranged between the Commissioners of England and her uncon- 
querable colonies. Cornwallis had been defeated on the 19th of October 
preceding, and the liberty of America was assured. On the 19th of 
April following, the anniversary of the battle of Lexington, peace was 



56 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 

proclaimed to the array of the United States, and on the 3d of the next 
September, the definite treaty which ended our revolutionary struggle 
was concluded. By the terras of that treaty, the boundaries of the West 
were as follows : On the north the line was to extend along the center of 
the Great Lakes ; from the western point of Lake Superior to Long Lake ; 
thence to the Lake of the Woods ; thence to the head of the Mississippi 
River; down its center to the 81st parallel of latitude, then on that line 
east to the head of the Appalachicola River ; down its center to its junc- 
tion with the Flint ; thence straight to the head of St. Mary's River, and 
thence down along its center to the Atlantic Ocean. 

Following the cessation of hostilities with England, several posts 
were still occupied by the British in the North and West. Among these 
was Detroit, still in the hands of the enemy. Numerous engagements 
with the Indians throughout Ohio and Indiana occurred, upon whose 
lands adventurous whites would settle ere the title had been acquired by 
the proper treaty. 

To remedy this latter evil, Congress appointed commissioners to 
treat with the natives and purchase their lands, and prohibited the set- 
tlement of the territory until this could be done. Before the close of the 
year another attempt was made to capture Detroit, which was, however, 
not pushed, and Virginia, no longer feeling the interest in the Northwest 
she had formerly done, withdrew her troops, having on the 20th of 
December preceding authorized the whole of her possessions to be deeded 
to the United States. This was done on the 1st of March following, and 
the Northwest Territory passed from the control of the Old Dominion. 
To Gen. Clark and his soldiers, however, she gave a tract of one hundred 
and fifty thousand acres of land, to be situated any where north of the 
Ohio wherever they chose to locate them. They selected the region 
opposite the falls of the Ohio, where is now the dilapidated village of 
Clarksville, about midway between the Cities of New Albany and Jeffer- 
son ville, Indiana. 

While the frontier remained thus, and Gen. Haldimand at Detroit 
refused to evacuate alleging that he had no orders from his King to do 
so, settlers were rapidly gathering about the inland forts. In the Spring 
of 1784, Pittsburgh was regularly laid out, and from the journal of Arthur 
Lee, who passed through the town soon after on his way to the Indian 
council at Fort Mcintosh, we suppose it was not very prepossessing in 
appearance. He says : 

" Pittsburgh is inhabited almost entirely by Scots and Irish, who 
live in paltry log houses, and are as dirty as if in the north of Ireland or 
even Scotland. There is a great deal of trade carried on, the goods being 
bought at the vast expense of forty-five shillings per pound from Phila- 



THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 57 

delphia and Baltimore. They take in the shops flour, wheat, skins and 
money. There are in the town four attorneys, two doctors, and not a 
priest of any persuasion, nor church nor chapel." 

Kentucky at this time contained thirty thousand inhabitants, and 
was beginning to discuss measures for a separation from Virginia. A 
land office was opened at Louisville, and measures were adopted to take 
defensive precaution against the Indians who were yet, in some instances, 
incited to deeds of violence by the British. Before the close of this year, 
1784, the military claimants of land began to occupy them, although no 
entries were recorded until 1787. 

The Indian title to the Northwest was not yet extinguished. They 
held large tracts of lands, and in order to prevent bloodshed Congress 
adopted means for treaties with the original owners and provided for the 
surveys of the lands gained thereby, as well as for those north of the 
Ohio, now in its possession. On January 31, 1786, a treaty was made 
with the Wabash Indians. The treaty of Fort Stanwix had been made 
in 1784. That at Fort Mcintosh in 1785, and through these much land 
was gained. The Wabash Indians, however, afterward refused to comply 
with the provisions of the treaty made with them, and in order to compel 
their adherence to its provisions, force was used. Daring the year 1786, 
the free navigation of. the Mississippi came up in Congress, and caused 
various discussions, which resulted in no definite action, only serving to 
excite speculation in regard to the western lands. Congress had promised 
bounties of land to the soldiers of the Revolution, but owing to the 
unsettled condition of affairs along the Mississippi respecting its naviga- 
tion, and the trade of the Northwest, that body had, in 1783, declared 
its inability to fulfill these promises until a treaty could be concluded 
between the two Governments. Before the close of the year 1786, how- 
ever, it was able, through the treaties with the Indians, to allow some 
grants and the settlement thereon, and on the 14th of September Con- 
necticut ceded to the General Government the tract of land known as 
the " Connecticut Reserve," and before the close of the following year a 
large tract of land north of the Ohio was sold to a company, who at once 
took measures to settle it. By the provisions of this grant, the company 
were to pay the United States one dollar per acre, subject to a deduction 
of one-third for bad lands and other contingencies. They received 
750,000 acres, bounded on the south by the Ohio, on the east by the 
seventh range of townships, on the west by the sixteenth range, and on 
the north by a line so drawn as to make the grant complete without 
the reservations. In addition to this, Congress afterward granted 100,000 
acres to actual settlers, and 214,285 acres as army bounties under the 
resolutions of 1789 and 1790. 



58 



THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 



While Dr. Cutler, one of the agents of the company, was pressing 
its claims before Congress, that body was bringing into form an ordinance 
for the political and social organization of this Territory. When the 
cession was made by Virginia, in 1784, a pJan was offered, but rejected. 
A motion had been made to strike from the proposed plan the prohibition 
of slavery, which prevailed. The plan was then discussed and altered, 
and finally passed unanimously, with the exception of South Carolina. 
By this proposition, the Territory was to have been divided into states 




PRESENT SITE OF LAKE STREET BRIDGE, CHICAGO, VS 1833. 



by parallels and meridian lines. This, it was thought, would make ten 
states, which were to have been named as follows — beginning at the 
northwest corner and going southwardly : Sylvania, Michigania, Cher- 
sonesus, Assenisipia, Mesopotamia, Illenoia, Saratoga, Washington, Poly- 
potamia and Pelisipia. 

There was a more serious objection to this plan than its category of 
names, — the boundaries. The root of the difficulty was in the resolu- 
tion of Congress passed in October, 1780, which fixed the boundaries 
of the ceded lands to be from one hundred to one hundred and fifty miles 



THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 



59 



square. These resolutions being presented to the Legislatures of Vir- 
ginia and Massachusetts, they desired a change, and in July, 1786, the 
subject was- taken up in Congress, and changed to favor a division into 
not more than five states, and not less than three. This was approved by 
the State Legislature of Virginia. The subject of the Government was 
again taken up by Congress in 1786, and discussed throughout that year 
and until July, 1787, when the famous "Compact of 1787" was passed, 
and the foundation of the government of the Northwest laid. This com- 
pact is fully discussed and explained in the history of Illinois in this book, 
and to it the reader is referred. 

The passage of this act and the grant to the New England Company 
was soon followed by an application to the Government by John Cleves 
Symmes, of New Jersey, for a grant of the land between the Miamis. 
This gentleman had visited these lands soon after the treaty of 1786, and, 
being greatly pleased with them, offered similar terms to those given to the 
New England Company. The petition was referred to the Treasury 
Board with power to act, and a contract was concluded the following 
year. During the Autumn the directors of the New England Company 
were preparing to occupy their grant the following Spring, and upon the 
23d of November made arrangements for a party of forty-seven men, 
under the superintendency of Gen. Rufus Putnam, to set forward. Six 
boat-builders were to leave at once, and on the first of January the sur- 
veyors and their assistants, twenty-six in number, were to meet at Hart- 
ford and proceed on their journey westward ; the remainder to follow as 
soon as possible. Congress, in the meantime, upon the 3d of October, 
had ordered seven hundred troops for defense of the western settlers, and 
to prevent unauthorized intrusions ; and two days later appointed Arthur 
St. Clair Governor of the Territory of the Northwest. 

AMERICAN SETTLEMENTS. 

The civil organization of the Northwest Territory was now com^ 
plete, and notwithstanding the uncertainty of Indian affairs, settlers from 
the East began to come into the country rapidly. The New England 
Company sent their men during the Winter of 1787-8 pressing on over 
the Alleghenies by the old Indian path which had been opened into 
Braddock's road, and which has since been made a national turnpike 
from Cumberland westward. Through the weary winter days they toiled 
on, and by April were all gathered on the Yohiogany, where boats had 
been built, and at once started for the Muskingum. Here they arrived 
on the 7th of that month, and unless the Moravian missionaries be regarded 
as the pioneers of Ohio, this little band can justly claim that honor. 



60 



THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 



Gen. St. Clair, the appointed Governor of the Northwest, not having 
yet arrived, a set of laws were passed, written out, and published by- 
being nailed to a tree in the embryo town, and Jonathan Meigs appointed 
to administer them. 

Washington in writing of this, the first American settlement in the 
Northwest, said : " No colony in America was ever settled under 
such favorable auspices as that which has just commenced at Muskingum. 
In formation,- property and strength will be its characteristics. I know 
many of its settlers personally, and there never were men better calcu- 
lated to promote the welfare of such a community.'" 



%£J# 




MB59f 

m 



A PIONEER DWELLING. 



On the 2d of July a meeting of the directors and agents was held 
on the banks of the Muskingum, " for the purpose of naming the new- 
born city and its squares." As yet the settlement was known as the 
"Muskingum," but that was now changed to the name Marietta, in honor 
of Marie Antoinette. The square upon which the block - houses stood 
was called "Campus Martins ;" square number 19, "Capitolium ;" square 
number 61, ".Cecilia;" and the great road through the covert way, " Sacra 
Via.'" Two days after, an oration was delivered by James M. Varnum, 
who with S. H. Parsons and John Armstrong had been appointed to the 
judicial bench of the territory on the 16th of October, 1787. On July 9, 
Gov. St. Clair arrived, and the colony began to assume form. The act 
of 1787 provided two district grades of government for the Northwest, 



THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 61 

under the first of which the whole power was invested in the hands of a 
governor and three district judges. This was immediately formed upon 
the Governor's arrival, and the first laws of the colony passed on the 25th 
of July. These provided for the organization of the militia, and on the 
next day appeared the Governor's proclamation, erecting all that country 
that had been ceded by the Indians east of the Scioto River into the 
County of Washington. From that time forward, notwithstanding the 
doubts yet existing as to the Indians, all Marietta prospered, and on the 
2d of September the first court of the territory was held with imposing 
ceremonies. 

The emigration westward at this time was very great. The com- 
mander at Fort Harmer, at the mouth of the Muskingum, reported four 
thousand five hundred persons as having passed that post between Feb- 
ruary and June, 1788 — many of whom would have purchased of the 
"Associates," as the New England Company was called, had they been 
ready to receive them. 

On the 26th of November, 1787, Symmes issued a pamphlet stating 
the terms of his contract and the plan of sale he intended to adopt. In 
January, 1788, Matthias Denman, of New Jersey, took an active interest 
in Symmes' purchase, and located among other tracts the sections upon 
which Cincinnati has been built. Retaining one-third of this locality, he 
sold the other two-thirds to Robert Patterson and John Filson, and the 
three, about August, commenced to lay out a town on the spot, which 
was designated as being opposite Licking River, to the mouth of which 
they proposed to have a road cut from Lexington. The naming of the 
town is thus narrated in the "Western Annals " : — " Mr. Filson, who had 
been a schoolmaster, was appointed to name the town, and, in respect to 
its situation, and as if with a prophetic perception of the mixed race that 
were to inhabit it in after days, he named it Losantiville, which, being 
interpreted, means : ville, the town ; anti, against or opposite to ; os, the 
mouth ; L. of Licking." 

Meanwhile, in July, Symmes got thirty persons and eight four-horse 
teams under way for the West. These reached Limestone (now Mays- 
ville) in September, where were several persons from Redstone. Here 
Mr. Symmes tried to found a settlement, but the great freshet of 1789 
caused the " Point," as it was and is yet called, to be fifteen feet under 
water, and the settlement to be abandoned. The little band of settlers 
removed to the mouth of the Miami. Before Symmes and his colony left 
the " Point," two settlements had been made on his purchase. The first 
was by Mr. Stiltes, the original projector of the whole plan, who, with a 
colony of Redstone people, had located at the mouth of the Miami, 
whither Symmes went with his Maysville colony. Here a clearing had 



62 



THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 



been made by the Indians owing to the great fertility of the soil. Mr. 
Stiltes with his colony came to this place on the 18th of November, 1788, 
with twenty-six persons, and, building a block-house, prepared to remain 
through the Winter. They named the settlement Columbia. Here they 
were kindly treated by the Indians, but suffered greatly from the flood 
of 1789. 

On the 4th of March, 1789, the Constitution of the United States 
went into operation, and on April 30, George Washington was inaug- 
urated President of the American people, and during the next Summer, 
an Indian war was commenced by the tribes north of the Ohio. The 
President at first used pacific means ; but these failing, he sent General 
Harmer against the hostile tribes. He destroyed several villages, but 




LAKE BLUFF. 

The frontage of Lake Bluff Grounds on Lake Michigan, with one hundred and seventy feet of gradual ascent. 



was defeated in two battles, near the present City of Fort Wayne, 
Indiana. From this time till the close of 1795, the principal events were 
the wars with the various Indian tribes. In 1796, General St. Clair 
was appointed in command, and marched against the Indians ; but while 
he was encamped on a stream, the St. Mary, a branch of the Maumee, 
he was attacked and defeated with the loss of six hundred men. 

General Wayne was now sent against the savages. In August, 1794, 
he met them near the rapids of the Maumee, and gained a complete 
victory. This success, followed by vigorous measures, compelled the 
Indians to sue for peace, and on the 30th of July, the following year, the 
treaty of Greenville was signed by the principal chiefs, by which a large 
tract of country was ceded to the United States. 

Before proceeding in our narrative, we will pause to notice Fort 
Washington, erected in the early part of this war on the site of Cincinnati. 
Nearly all of the great cities of the Northwest, and indeed of the 



THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 63 

whole country, have had their nuclei in those rude pioneer structures, 
known as forts or stockades. Thus Forts Dearborn, Washington, Pon- 
chartrain, mark the original sites of the now proud Cities of Chicago, 
Cincinnati and Detroit. So of most of the flourishing cities east and west 
of the Mississippi. Fort Washington, erected by Doughty in 1790, was a 
rude but highly interesting structure. It was composed of a number of 
strongly-built hewed log cabins. Those designed for soldiers' barracks 
were a story and a half high, while those composing the officers quarters 
were more imposing and more conveniently arranged and furnished. 
The whole were so placed as to form a hollow square, enclosing about an 
acre of ground, with a block house at each of the four angles. 

The logs for the construction of this fort were cut from the ground 
upon which it was erected. It stood between Third and Fourth Streets 
of the present city (Cincinnati) extending east of Eastern Row, now 
Broadway, which was then a narrow alley, and the eastern boundary of 
of the town as it was originally laid out. On the bank of the river, 
immediately in front of the fort, was an appendage of the fort, called the 
Artificer's Yard. It contained about two acres of ground, enclosed by 
small contiguous buildings, occupied by workshops and quarters of 
laborers. Within this enclosure there was a large two-story frame house, 
familiarly called the " Yellow House," built for the accommodation of 
the Quartermaster General. For many years this was the best finished 
and most commodious edifice in the Queen City. Fort Washington was 
for some time the headquarters of both the civil and military governments 
of the Northwestern Territory. 

Following the consummation of the treaty various gigantic land spec- 
ulations were entered into by different persons, who hoped to obtain 
from the Indians in Michigan and northern Indiana, large tracts of lands. 
These were generally discovered in time to prevent the outrageous 
schemes from being carried out, and from involving the settlers in war. 
On October 27, 1795, the treaty between the United States and Spain 
was signed, whereby the free navigation of the Mississippi was secured. 

No sooner had the treaty of 1795 been ratified than settlements began 
to pour rapidly into the West. The great event of the year 1796 was the 
occupation of that part of the Northwest including Michigan, which was 
this year, under the provisions of the treaty, evacuated by the British 
forces. The United States, owing to certain conditions, did not feel 
justified in addressing the authorities in Canada in relation to Detroit 
and other frontier posts. When at last the British authorities were 
called to give them up, they at once complied, and General Wayne, who 
had done so much to preserve the frontier settlements, and who, before 
the year's close, sickened and died near Erie, transferred his head- 



64 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 

quarters to the neighborhood of the lakes, where a county named after 
him was formed, which included the northwest of Ohio, all of Michigan, 
and the northeast of Indiana. During this same year settlements were 
formed at the present City of Chillicothe, along the Miami from Middle- 
town to Piqua, while in the more distant West, settlers and speculators 
began to appear in great numbers. In September, the City of Cleveland 
was laid out, and during the Summer and Autumn, Samuel Jackson and 
Jonathan Sharpless erected the first manufactory of paper — the " Red- 
stone Paper Mill" — in the West. St. Louis contained some seventy 
houses, and Detroit over three hundred, and along the river, contiguous 
to it, were more than three thousand inhabitants, mostly French Canadians, 
Indians and half-breeds, scarcely any Americans venturing yet into that 
part of the Northwest. 

The election of representatives for the territory had taken place, 
and on the 4th of February, 1799, they convened at Losantiville — now 
known as Cincinnati, having been named so by Gov. St. Clair, and 
considered the capital of the Territory — to nominate persons from whom 
the members of the Legislature were to be chosen in accordance with 
a previous ordinance. This nomination being made, the Assembly 
adjourned until the 16th of the following September. From those named 
the President selected as members of the council, Henry Vandenburg, 
of Vincennes, Robert Oliver, of Marietta, James Findlay and Jacob 
Burnett, of Cincinnati, and David Vance, of Vanceville. On the 16th 
of September the Territorial Legislature met, and on the 24th the two 
houses were duly organized, Henry Vandenburg being elected President 
of the Council. 

The message of Gov. St. Clair was addressed to the Legislature 
September 20th, and on October 13th that body elected as a delegate to 
Congress Gen. Wm. Henry Harrison, who received eleven of the votes 
cast, being a majority of one over his opponent, Arthur St. Clair, son of 
Gen. St. Clair. 

The whole number of acts passed at this session, and approved by 
the Governor, were thirty-seven — eleven others were passed, but received 
his veto. The most important of those passed related to the militia, to 
the administration, and to taxation. On the 19th of December this pro- 
tracted session of the first Legislature in the West was closed, and on the 
30th of December the President nominated Charles Willing Bryd to the 
office of Secretary of the Territory vice Wm. Henry Harrison, elected to 
Congress. The Senate confirmed his nomination the next day. .. 



THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 65 



DIVISION OF THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 

The increased emigration to the Northwest, the extent of the domain, 
and the inconvenient modes of travel, made it very difficult to conduct 
the ordinary operations of government, and rendered the efficient action 
of courts almost impossible. To remedy this, it was deemed advisable to 
divide the territory for civil purposes. Congress, in 1800, appointed a 
committee to examine the question and report some means for its solution. 
This committee, on the 3d of March, reported that : 

" In the three western countries there has been but one court having 
cognizance of crimes, in five years, and the immunity which offenders 
experience attracts, as to an asylum, the most vile and abandoned crim- 
inals, and at the same time deters useful citizens from making settlements 
in such society. The extreme necessity of judiciary attention and assist- 
ance is experienced in civil as well as in criminal cases. * * * * To 
minister a remedy to these and other evils, it occurs to this committee 
that it is expedient that a division of said territory into two distinct and 
separate governments should be made ; and that such division be made 
by a line beginning at the mouth of the Great Miami River, running 
directly north until it intersects the boundary between the United States 
and Canada." 

The report was accepted by Congress, and, in accordance with its 
suggestions, that body passed an Act extinguishing the Northwest Terri- 
tory, which Act was approved May 7. Among its provisions were these : 

" That from and after July 4 next, all that part of the Territory of 
the United States northwest of the Ohio River, which lies to the westward 
of a line beginning at a point on the Ohio, opposite to the mouth of the 
Kentucky River, and running thence to Fort Recovery, and thence north 
until it shall intersect the territorial line between the United States and 
Canada, shall, for the purpose of temporary government, constitute a 
separate territory, and be called the Indiana Territory." 

After providing for the exercise of the civil and criminal powers of 
the territories, and other provisions, the Act further provides : 

" That until it shall otherwise be ordered by the Legislatures of the 
said Territories, respectively, Chillicothe on the Scioto River shall be the 
seat of government of the Territory of the United States northwest of the 
Ohio River ; and that St. Vincennes on the Wabash River shall be the 
seat of government for the Indiana Territory." 

Gen. Wm. Henry Harrison was appointed Governor of the Indiana 
Territory, and entered upon his duties about a year later. Connecticut 
also about this time released her claims to the reserve, and in March a law 



66 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 

was passed accepting this cession. Settlements had been made upon 
thirty-five of the townships in the reserve, mills had been built, and seven 
hundred miles of road cut in various directions. On the 3d of November 
the General Assembly met at Chillicothe. Near the close of the } r ear, 
the first missionary of the Connecticut Reserve came, who found no 
township containing more than eleven families. It was upon the first of 
October that the secret treaty had been made between Napoleon and the 
King of Spain, whereby the latter agreed to cede to France the province 
of Louisiana. 

In January, 1802, the Assembly of the Northwestern Territory char- 
tered the college at Athens. From the earliest dawn of the western 
colonies, education was promptly provided for, and as early as 1787, 
newspapers were issued from Pittsburgh and Kentucky, and largely read 
throughout the frontier settlements. Before the close of this year, the 
Congress of the United States granted to the citizens of the Northwestern 
territory the formation of a State government. One of the provisions of 
the "compact of 1787" provided that whenever the number of inhabit- 
ants within prescribed limits exceeded 45,000, they should be entitled to 
a separate government. The prescribed limits of Ohio contained, from a 
census taken to ascertain the legality of the act, more than that number, 
and on the 30th of April, 1802, Congress passed the act defining its limits, 
and on the 29th of November the Constitution of the new State of Ohio, 
so named from the beautiful river forming its southern boundary, came 
into existence. The exact limits of Lake Michigan were not then known, 
but the territory now included within the State of Michigan was wholly 
within the territory of Indiana. 

Gen. Harrison, while residing at Vincennes, made several treaties 
with the Indians, thereby gaining large tracts of lands. The next year is 
memorable in the history of the West for the purchase of Louisiana from 
France by the United States for $15,000,000. Thus by a peaceful mode, 
the domain of the United States was extended over a large tract of 
country west of the Mississippi, and was for a time under the jurisdiction 
of the Northwest government, and, as has been mentioned in the early 
part of this narrative, was called the "New Northwest." The limits 
of this history will not allow a description of its territory. The same year 
large grants of land were obtained from the Indians, and the House of 
Representatives of the new State of Ohio signed a bill respecting the 
College Township in the district of Cincinnati. 

Before the close of the year, Gen. Harrison obtained additional 
grants of lands from the various Indian nations in Indiana and the present 
limits of Illinois, and on the 18th of August, 1804, completed a treaty at 
St. Louis, whereby over 51,000,000 acres of lands were obtained from the 



THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. gj 

aborigines. Measures were also taken to learn the condition of affairs in 
and about Detroit. 

C. Jouett, the Indian agent in Michigan, still a part of Indiana Terri- 
tory, reported as follows upon the condition of matters at that post : 

" The Town of Detroit.— The charter, which is for fifteen miles 
square, was granted in the time of Louis XIV. of France, and is now, 
from the best information I have been able to get, at Quebec. Of those 
two hundred and twenty-five acres, only four are occupied by the town 
and Fort Lenault. The remainder is a common, except twenty-four 
acres, which were added twenty years ago to a farm belonging to Wm. 
Macomb. * * * A stockade incloses the town, fort and citadel. The 
pickets, as well as the public houses, are in a state of gradual decay. The 
streets are narrow, straight and regular, and intersect each other at right 
angles. The houses are, for the most part, low and inelegant." 

During this year, Congress granted a township of land for the sup- 
port of a college, and began to offer inducements for settlers in these 
wilds, and the country now comprising the State of Michigan began to 
fill rapidly with settlers along its southern borders. This same year, also, 
a law was passed organizing the Southwest Territory, dividing it into two 
portions, the Territory of New Orleans, which city was made the seat of 
government, and the District of Louisiana, which was annexed to the 
domain of Gen. Harrison. 

On the 11th of January, 1805, the Territory of Michigan was formed, 
Wm. Hull was appointed governor, with headquarters at Detroit, the' 
change to take effect on June 30. On the 11th of that month, a fire 
occurred at Detroit, which destroyed almost every building in the place. 
When the officers of the new territory reached the post, they found it in 
ruins, and the inhabitants scattered throughout the country. Rebuild- 
ing, however, soon commenced, and ere long the town contained more 
houses than before the fire, and many of them much better built. 

While this was being done, Indiana had passed to the second grade 
of government, and through her General Assembly had obtained large 
tracts of land from the Indian tribes. To all this the celebrated Indian, 
Tecumthe or Tecumseh, vigorously protested, and it was the main cause' 
of his attempts to unite the various Indian tribes in a conflict with the 
settlers. To obtain a full account of these attempts, the workings of the 
British, and the signal failure, culminating in the death of Tecumseh at 
the battle of the Thames, and the close of the war of 1812 in the Northwest, 
we will step aside in our story, and relate the principal events of his life] 
and his connection with this conflict. 



6« 



THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 




TECUMSEH, THE SHAWANOE CHIEFTAIN. 



THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. qq 

TECUMSEH, AND THE WAR OF 1812. 

This famous Indian chief was born about the year 1768, not far from 
the site of the present City of Piqua, Ohio. His father, Puckeshinwa 
was a member of the Kisopok tribe of the Swanoese nation, and his 
mother, Methontaske, was a member of the Turtle tribe of the same 
people. They removed from Florida about the middle of the last century 
to the birthplace of Tecumseh. In 1774, his father, who had risen to be 
chief, was slain at the battle of Point Pleasant, and not long after Tecum- 
seh, by his bravery, became the leader of his tribe. In 1795 he was 
declared chief, and then lived at Deer Creek, near the site of the 
present City of Urbana. He remained here about one year, when he 
returned to Piqua, and in 1798, he went to White River, Indiana In 
1805, he and his brother, Laulewasikan (Open Door), who had announced 
himself as a prophet, went to a tract of land on the Wabash River, oi ven 
them by the Pottawatomies and Kickapoos. From this date the & chiei 
comes into prominence. He was now about thirty-seven years of age 
was five feet and ten inches in height, was stoutly built, and possessed of 
enormous powers of endurance. His countenance was naturally pleas- 
ing, and he was, in general, devoid of those savage attributes possessed 
by most Indians. It is stated he could read and write, and had a confi- 
dential secretary and adviser, named Billy Caldwell, a half-b-eed who 
afterward became chief of the Pottawatomies. He occupied the first 
house built on the site of Chicago. At this time, Tecumseh entered 
upon the great work of his life. He had long objected to the grants of 
land made by the Indians to the whites, and determined to unite all the 
Indian tribes into a league, in order that no treaties or grants of land 
could be made save by the consent of this confederation. 

He traveled constantly, going from north to south : from the south 
to the north, everywhere urging the Indians to this step. He was a 
matchless orator, and his burning words had their effect. 

Gen. Harrison, then Governor of Indiana, by watching the move- 
ments of the Indians, became convinced that a grand conspiracy was 
forming, and made preparations to defend the settlements. Tecumseh's 
plan was similar to Pontiac's, elsewhere described, and to the cunning 
artifice of that chieftain was added his own sagacity. 

During the year 1809, Tecumseh and the prophet were actively pre- 
paring for the work. In that year, Gen. Harrison entered into a treaty 
with the Delawares, Kickapoos, Pottawatomies, Miamis, Eel River Indians 
and Weas in which these tribes ceded to the whites certain lands upon 
the Wabash, to all of which Tecumseh entered a bitter protest, averring 



70 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 

as one principal reason that he did not want the Indians to give up any 
lands north and west of the Ohio River. 

Tecumseh, in August, 1810, visited the General at Vincennes and 
held a council relating to the grievances of the Indians. Becoming unduly 
angry at this conference he was dismissed from the village, and soon after 
departed to incite the southern Indian tribes to the conflict. 

Gen. Harrison determined to move upon the chief's headquarters at 
Tippecanoe, and for this purpose went about sixty-five miles up the 
Wabash, where he built Fort Harrison. From this place he went to the 
prophet's town, where he informed the Indians he had no hostile inten- 
tions, provided they were true to the existing treaties. He encamped 
near the village early in October, and on the morning of November 7, he 
was attacked by a large force of the Indians, and the famous battle of 
Tippecanoe occurred. The Indians were routed and their town broken 
up. Tecumseh returning not long after, was greatly exasperated at his 
brother, the prophet, even threatening to kill him for rashly precipitating 
the war, and foiling his (Tecumseh's) plans. 

Tecumseh sent word to Gen. Harrison that he was now returned 
from the South, and was ready to visit the President as had at one time 
previously been proposed. Gen. Harrison informed him he could not go 
as a chief, which method Tecumseh desired, and the visit was never 
made. 

In June of the following year, he visited the Indian agent at 
Fort Wayne. Here he disavowed any intention to make a war against 
the United States, and reproached Gen. Harrison for marching against his 
people. The agent replied to this ; Tecumseh listened with a cold indif- 
ference, and after making a few general remarks, with a haughty air drew 
his blanket about him, left the council house, and departed for Fort Mai- 
den, in Upper Canada, where he joined the British standard. 

He remained under this Government, doing effective work for the 
Crown while engaged in the war of 1812 which now opened. He was, 
however, always humane in his treatment of the prisoners, never allow- 
ing his warriors to ruthlessly mutilate the bodies of those slain, or wan- 
tonly murder the captive. 

In the Summer of 1813, Perry's victory on Lake Erie occurred, and 
shortly after active preparations were made to capture Maiden. On the 
27th of September, the American army, under Gen. Harrison, set sail for 
the shores of Canada, and in a few hours stood around the ruins of Mai- 
den, from which the British army, under Proctor, had retreated to Sand- 
wich, intending to make its way to the heart of Canada by the Valley ol 
the Thames. On the 29th Gen. Harrison was at Sandwich, and Gen. 
McArthur took possession of Detroit and the territory of Michigan. 



THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 



71 



On the 2d of October, the Americans began their pursuit of Proctor 
whom they overtook on the 5th, and the battle of the Thames followed' 
Early in the engagement, Tecumseh who was at the head of the column 
of Indians was slain, and they, no longer hearing the voice of their chief- 
tain, fled. The victory was decisive, and practically closed the war in 
the Northwest. 




^MUHSEU.S* 



INDIANS ATTACKING A STOCKADE. 



Just who killed the great chief has been a matter of much dispute ; 
but the weight of opinion awards the act to Col. Richard M. Johnson,' 
who fired at him with a pistol, the shot proving fatal. 

In 1805 occurred Burr's Insurrection, "lie took possession of a 
beautiful island in the Ohio, after the killing of Hamilton, and is charged 
by many with attempting to set up an independent government, His 
plans were frustrated by the general government, his property confiscated 
and he was compelled to flee the country for safety. 



72 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 

In January, 1807, Governor Hull, of Michigan Territory, made a 
treaty with the Indians, whereby all that peninsula was ceded to the 
United States. Before the close of the year, a stockade was built about 
Detroit. It was also during this year that Indiana and Illinois endeavored 
to obtain the repeal of that section of the compact of 1787, whereby 
slavery was excluded from the Northwest Territory. These attempts, 
however, all signally failed. 

In 1809 it was deemed advisable to divide the Indiana Territory. 
This was done, and the Territory of Illinois was formed from the western 
part, the seat of government being fixed at Kaskaskia. The next year, 
the intentions of Tecumseh manifested themselves in open hostilities, and 
then began the events already narrated. 

While this war was in progress, emigration to the West went on with 
surprising rapidity. In 1811, under Mr. Roosevelt of New York, the 
first steamboat trip was made on the Ohio, much to the astonishment of 
the natives, many of whom fled in terror at the appearance of the 
" monster." It arrived at Louisville on the 10th day of October. At the 
close of the first week of January, 1812, it arrived at Natchez, after being 
nearly overwhelmed in the great earthquake which occurred while on its 
downward trip. 

The battle of the Thames was fought on October 6, 1813. It 
effectually closed hostilities in the Northwest, although peace was not 
fully restored until July 22, 1814, when a treaty was formed at Green- 
ville, under the direction of General Harrison, between the United States 
and the Indian tribes, in which it was stipulated that the Indians should 
cease hostilities against the Americans if the war were continued. Such, 
happily, was not the case, and on the 24th of December the treaty 
of Ghent was signed by the representatives of England and the United 
States. This treaty was followed the next year by treaties with various 
Indian tribes throughout the West and Northwest, and quiet was again 
restored in this part of the new world. 

On the 18th of March, 1816, Pittsburgh was incorporated as a city. 
It then had a population of 8,000 people, and was already noted for its 
manufacturing interests. On April 19, Indiana Territory was allowed 
to form a state government. At that time there were thirteen counties 
organized, containing about sixty-three thousand inhabitants. The first 
election of state officers was held in August, when Jonathan Jennings 
was chosen Governor. The officers were sworn in on November 7, and 
on December 11, the State was formally admitted into the Union. For 
some time the seat of government was at Corydon, but a more central 
location being desirable, the present capital, Indianapolis (City of Indiana), 
was laid out January 1, 1825. 



THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 73 

On the 28th of December the Bank of Illinois, at Shawneetown, was 
chartered, with a capital of $300,000. At this period all banks were 
under the control of the States, and were allowed to establish branches 
at different convenient points. 

Until this time Chillicothe and Cincinnati had in turn enjoyed the 
privileges of being the capital of Ohio. But the rapid settlement of the 
northern and eastern portions of the State demanded, as in Indiana, a 
more central location, and before the close of the year, the site of Col- 
umbus was selected and surveyed as the future capital of the State. 
Banking had begun in Ohio as early as 1808, when the first bank was 
chartered at Marietta, but here as elsewhere it did not bring to the state 
the hoped-for assistance. It and other banks were subsequently unable 
to redeem their currency, and were obliged to suspend. 

In 1818, Illinois was made a state, and all the territory north of her 
northern limits was erected into a separate territory and joined to Mich- 
igan for judicial purposes. By the following year, navigation of the lakes 
was increasing with great rapidity and affording an immense source of 
revenue to the dwellers in the Northwest, but it was not until 1826 that 
the trade was extended to Lake Michigan, or that steamships began to 
navigate the bosom of that inland sea. 

Until the year 1832, the commencement of the Black Hawk War, 
but few hostilities were experienced with the Indians. Roads were 
opened, canals were dug, cities were built, common schools were estab- 
lished, universities were founded, many of which, especially the Michigan 
University, have achieved a world wide-reputation. The people were 
becoming wealthy. The domains of the United States had been extended, 
and had the sons of the forest been treated with honesty and justice, the 
record of many years would have been that of peace and continuous pros- 
perity. 

BLACK HAWK AND THE BLACK HAWK WAR. 

This conflict, though confined to Illinois, is an important epoch in 
the Northwestern history, being the last war with the Indians in this part 
of the United States. 

Ma-ka-tai-me-she-kia-kiah, or Black Hawk, was born in the principal 
Sac village, about three miles from the junction of Rock River with the 
Mississippi, in the year 1767. His father's name was Py-e-sa or Pahaes ; 
his grandfather's, Na-na-ma-kee, or the Thunderer. Black Hawk early 
distinguished himself as a warrior, and at the age of fifteen was permitted 
to paint and was ranked among the braves. About the year 1783, he 
Went on an expedition against the enemies of his nation, the Osages, one 



74 



THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 




BLACK HAWK, THE SAC CHIEFTAIN. 



THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 75 

of whom he killed and scalped, and for this deed of Indian bravery he was 
permitted to join in the scalp dance. Three or four years after he, at the 
head of two hundred braves, went on another expedition against the 
Osages, to avenge the murder of some women and children belonging to 
his own tribe. Meeting an equal number of Osage warriors, a fierce 
battle ensued, in which the latter tribe lost one-half their number. The 
Sacs lost only about nineteen warriors. He next attacked the Cherokees 
for a similar cause. In a severe battle with them, near the present City 
of St. Louis, his father was slain, and Black Hawk, taking possession of 
the " Medicine Bag," at once announced himself chief of the Sac nation. 
He had now conquered the Cherokees, and about the year 1800, at the 
head of five hundred Sacs and Foxes, and a hundred Iowas, he waged 
war against the Osage nation and subdued it. For two years he battled 
successfully with other Indian tribes, all of whom he conquered. 

Black Hawk does not at any time seem to have been friendly to 
the Americans. When on a visit to St. Louis to see his " Spanish 
Father," he declined to see any of the Americans, alleging, as a reason, 
he did not want two fathers. 

The treaty at St. Louis was consummated in 1804. The next year the 
United States Government erected a fort near the head of the Des Moines 
Rapids, called Fort Edwards. This seemed to enrage Black Hawk, who 
at once determined to capture Fort Madison, standing on the west side of 
the Mississippi above the mouth of the Des Moines River. The fort was 
garrisoned by about fifty men. Here he was defeated. The difficulties 
with the British Government arose about this time, and the War of 1812 
followed. That government, extending aid to the Western Indians, by 
giving them arms and ammunition, induced them to remain hostile to the 
Americans. In August, 1812, Black Hawk, at the head of about five 
hundred braves, started to join the British forces at Detroit, passing on 
his way the site of Chicago, where the famous Fort Dearborn Massacre 
^ A a few days before occurred. Of his connection with the British 
„ l ernment but little is known. In 1813 he with his little band descended 
the Mississippi, and attacking some United States troops at Fort Howard 
was defeated. 

In the early part of 1815, the Indian tribes west of the Mississippi 
were notified that peace had been declared between the United States 
and England, and nearly all hostilities had ceased. Black Hawk did not 
sign any treaty, however, until May of the following year. He then recog- 
nized the validity of the treaty at St. Louis in 1804. From the time of 
signing this treaty in 1816, until the breaking out of the war in 1832, he 
and his band passed their time in the common pursuits of Indian life. 

Ten years before the commencement of this war, the Sac and Fox 



fjQ THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 

Indians were urged to join the Iowas on the west bank of the Father of 
Waters. All were agreed, save the band known as the British Band, of 
which Black Hawk was leader. He strenuously objected to the removal, 
and was induced to comply only after being threatened with the power of 
the Government. This and various actions on the part of the white set- 
tlers provoked Black Hawk and his band to attempt the capture of his 
native village now occupied by the whites. The war followed. He and 
his actions were undoubtedly misunderstood, and had his wishes been 
acquiesced in at the beginning of the struggle, much bloodshed would 
have been prevented. 

Black Hawk was chief now of the Sac and Fox nations, and a noted 
warrior. He and his tribe inhabited a village on Rock River, nearly three 
miles above its confluence with the Mississippi, where the tribe had lived 
many generations. When that portion of Illinois was reserved to them, 
they remained in peaceable possession of their reservation, spending their 
time in the enjoyment of Indian life. The fine situation of their village 
and the quality of their lands incited the more lawless white settlers, who 
from time to time began to encroach upon the red men's domain. From 
one pretext to another, and from one step to another, the crafty white 
men gained a foothold, until through whisky and artifice they obtained 
deeds' from many of the Indians for their possessions. The Indians were 
finally induced to cross over the Father of Waters and locate among the 
Iowas. Black Hawk was strenuously opposed to all this, but as the 
authorities of Illinois and the United States thought this the best move, he 
was forced to comply. Moreover other tribes joined the whites and urged 
the removal. Black Hawk would not agree to the terms of the treaty 
made with his nation for their lands, and as soon as the military, called to 
enforce his removal, had retired, he returned to the Illinois side of the 
river. A large force was at once raised and marched against him. On 
the evening of May 14, 1832, the first engagement occurred between a 
band from this army and Black Hawk's band, in which the former were 
defeated. 

This attack and its result aroused the whites. A large force of men 
was raised, and Gen. Scott hastened from the seaboard, by way of the 
lakes, with United States troops and artillery to aid in the subjugation of 
the Indians. On the 24th of June, Black Hawk, with 200 warriors, was 
repulsed by Major Demont between Rock River and Galena, The Ameri- 
can army continued to move up Rock River toward the main body of 
the Indians, and on the 21st of July came upon Black Hawk and his band, 
and defeated them near the Blue Mounds. 

Before this action, Gen. Henry, in command, sent word to the main 
army by whom he was immediately rejoined, and the whole crossed the 



THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 77 

"Wisconsin in pursuit of Black Hawk and his band who were fleeing to the 
Mississippi. They were overtaken on the 261 of August, and in the battle 
which followed the power of the Indian chief was completely broken. He 
fled, but was seized by the Winnebagoes and delivered to the whites. 

On the 21st of September, 1832, Gen. Scott and Gov. Reynolds con- 
cluded a treaty with the Winnebagoes, Sacs and Foxes by which they 
ceded to the United States a vast tract of country, and agreed to remain 
peaceable with the whites. For the faithful performance of the provi- 
sions of this treaty on the part of the Indians, it was stipulated that 
Black Hawk, his two sons, the prophet Wabokieshiek, and six other chiefs 
of the hostile bands should be retained as hostages during the pleasure 
of the President. They were confined at Fort Barracks and put in irons. 

The next Spring, by order of the Secretary of War, they were taken 
to Washington. From there they were removed to Fortress Monroe, 
"there to remain until the conduct of their nation was such as to justify 
their being set at liberty." They were retained here until the 4th of 
June, when the authorities directed them to be taken to the principal 
cities so that they might see the folly of contending against the white 
people. Everywhere they were observed by thousands, the name of the 
old chief being extensively known. By the middle of August they 
reached Fort Armstrong on Rock Island, where Black Hawk was soon 
after released to go to his countrymen. As he passed the site of his birth- 
place, now the home of the white man, he was deeply moved. His village 
where he was born, where he had so happily lived, and where he had 
hoped to die, was now another's dwelling place, and he was a wanderer. 

On the next day after his release, he went at once to his tribe and 
his lodge, His wife was yet living, and with her he passed the remainder 
of his days. To his credit it may be said that Black Hawk always re- 
mained true to his wife, and served her with a devotion uncommon among 
the Indians, living with her upward of forty years. 

Black Hawk now passed his time hunting and fishing. A deep mel- 
ancholy had settled over him from which he could not be freed. At all 
times when he visited the whites he was received with marked atten- 
tion. He was an honored guest at the old settlers' reunion in Lee County, 
Illinois, at some of their meetings, and received many tokens of esteem. 
In September, 1838, while on his way to Rock Island to receive his 
annuity from the Government, he contracted a severe cold which resulted 
in a fatal attack of bilious fever which terminated his life on October 3. 
His faithful wife, who was devotedly attached to him, mourned deeply 
during his sickness. After his death he was dressed in the uniform pre- 
sented to him by the President while in Washington. He was buried in 
a grave six feet in depth, situated upon a beautiful eminence. " The 



78 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 

body was placed in the middle of the grave, in a sitting posture, upon a 
seat constructed for the purpose. On his left side, the cane, given him 
by Henry Clay, was placed upright, with his right hand resting upon it. 
Many of the old warrior's trophies were placed in the grave, and some 
Indian garments, together with his favorite weapons." 

No sooner was the Black Hawk war concluded than settlers began 
rapidly to pour into the northern parts of Illinois, and into Wisconsin, 
now free from Indian depredations. Chicago, from a trading post, had 
grown to a commercial center, and was rapidly coming into prominence. 
In 1835, the formation of a State Government in Michigan was discussed, 
but did not take active form until two years later, when the State became 
a part of the Federal Union. 

The main attraction to that portion of the Northwest lying west of 
Lake Michigan, now included in the State of Wisconsin, was its alluvial 
wealth. Copper ore was found about Lake Superior. For some time this 
region was attached to Michigan for judiciary purposes, but in 183<5 was 
made a territory, then including Minnesota and Iowa. The latter State 
was detached two years later. In 1848, Wisconsin was admitted as a 
State, Madison being made the capital. We have now traced the various 
divisions of the Northwest Territory (save a little in Minnesota) from 
the time it was a unit comprising this vast territory, until circumstances 
compelled its present division. 



CONSTITUTION OE TELE UNITED STATES 79 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 
AND ITS AMENDMENTS. 

We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, 
establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common 
defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty 
to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution 
for the United States of America. 

Article I. 

Section 1. All legislative powers herein granted shall be vested in 
a Congress of the United States, which shall consist of a Senate and 
House of Representatives. 

Sec. 2. The House of Representatives shall be composed of mem- 
bers chosen every second year by the people of the several states, and the 
lectors in each state shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of 
the most numerous branch of the State Legislature. 

No person shall be a representative who shall not have attained to the 
age of twenty-live years, and been seven years a citizen of the United 
States, and who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that state in 
which he shall be chosen. 

Representatives and direct taxes shall be apportioned among the sev- 
eral states which may be included within this Union, according to their 
respective numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole 
number of free persons, including those bound to service for a term of 
years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three-fifths of all other persons. 
The actual enumeration shall be made within three years after the first 
meeting of the Congress of the United States, and within every subse- 
quent term of ten years, in such manner as they shall by law direct. The 
number of Representatives shall not exceed one for every thirty thousand, 
but each state shall have at least one Representative ; and until such 
enumeration shall be made the State of New Hampshire shall be entitled 
to choose three, Massachusetts eight, Rhode Island and Providence Plan- 
tations one, Connecticut five, New York six, New Jersey four, Pennsylva- 
nia eight, Delaware one, Maryland six, Virginia ten, North Carolina five, 
and Georgia three. 

When vacancies happen in the representation from any state, the 
Executive authority thereof shall issue writs of election to fill such 
vacancies. 

The House of Representatives shall choose their Speaker and other 
officers, and shall have the sole power of impeachment. 

Sec. o. The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two 
Senators from each state, chosen by the Legislature thereof for six years ; 
and each Senator shall have one vote. 

Immediately after they shall be assembled in consequence of the first 
election, they shall be divided as equally as may be into three classes. 
The seats of the Senators of the first class shall be vacated at the expira- 



80 AND ITS AMENDMENTS. 

tion of the second year, of the second class at the expiration of the fourth 
year, and of the third class at the expiration of the sixth year, so that 
one-third may be chosen every second* year; and if vacancies happen by 
resignation or otherwise, during the recess of the Legislature of any state, 
the Executive thereof may make temporary appointments until the next 
meeting of the Legislature, which shall then fill such vacancies. 

No person shall be a Senator who shall not have attained to the age 
of thirty years and been nine years a citizen of the United States, and 
who shall not, when elected, be an inhabitant of that state for which he 
shall be chosen. 

The Vice-President of the United States shall be President of th 
Senate, but shall have no vote unless they be equally divided. 

The Senate shall choose their other officers, and also a President pro 
tempore, in the absence of the Vice-President, or when he shall exercise 
the office of President of the United States. 

The Senate shall have the sole power to try all impeachments. When 
sitting for that purpose they shall be on oath or affirmation. When the 
President of the United States is tried the Chief Justice shall preside. 
And no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds 
of the members present. 

Judgment, in cases of impeachment, shall not extend further than to 
removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of 
honor, trust, or profit under the United States; but the party convicted 
shall nevertheless be liable and subject to indictment, trial, judgment, 
and punishment according to law. 

Sec. 4. The times, places and manner of holding elections for Sen- 
ators and Representatives shall be prescribed in each state by the Legis- 
lature thereof; but the Congress ma}^ at any time by law make or alter 
such regulations, except as to the places of choosing Senators. 

The Congress shall assemble at least once in every year, and such 
meeting shall be on the first Honda}' in December, unless they shall by 
law appoint a different day. 

Sec. 5. Each house shall be the judge of the election, returns, and 
qualifications of its own members, and a majority of each shall constitute 
a quorum to do business ; but a smaller number may adjourn from day to 
day, and may be authorized to compel the attendance of absent members 
in such manner and under such penalties as each house may provide. 

Each house may determine the rules of its proceedings, punish its 
members for disorderly behavior, and, with the concurrence of two-thirds, 
expel a member. 

Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings, and from time to 
time publish the same, excepting such parts as may, in their judgment, 
require secrecy ; and the yeas and nays of the members of either house 
on any question shall, at the desire of one-fifth of those present, be entered 
on the journal. 

Neither house, during the session of Congress, shall, without the 
consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days, nor to airy other 
place than that in which the two houses shall be sitting. 

Sec. 6. The Senators and Representatives shall receive a compen- 
sation for their services, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the 
treasury of the United States. They shall in ail cases, except treason, 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 81 

felony, and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their 
attendance at the session of their respective houses, and in going to and 
returning from the same ; and for any speech or debate in either house 
they shall not be questioned in any other place. 

No Senator or Representative shall, during the time for which he was 
elected, be appointed to any civil office under the authority of the United 
States, which shall have been created, or the emoluments whereof shall 
have been increased during such time ; and no person holding any office 
under the United States, shall be a member of either house during his 
continuance in office. 

Sec. 7. All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of 
Representatives ; but the Senate may propose or concur with amendments 
as on other bills. 

Every bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and 
the Senate, shall, before it becomes a law, be presented to the President 
the United States ; if he approve he shall sign it ; but if not he shall 
return it, with his objections, to that house in which it shall have origi- 
nated, who shall enter the objections at large on their journal, and 
proceed to reconsider it. If, after such reconsideration two-thirds of that 
house shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with the objec- 
tions, to the other house, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if 
approved by two-thirds of that house, it shall become a law. But in all 
such cases the votes of both houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, 
and the names of the persons voting for and against the bill shall be entered 
on the journal of each house respectively. If any bill shall not be returned 
by the President within ten days (Sundays excepted), after it shall have 
been presented to him, the same shall be a law, in like manner as if he 
had signed it, unless the Congress, by their adjournment, prevent its 
return, in which case it shall not be a law. 

Every order, resolution, or vote to which the concurrence of the 
Senate and House of Representatives may be necessary (except on a 
question of adjournment), shall be presented to the President of the 
United States, and before the same shall take effect shall be approved by 
him, or, being disapproved by him, shall be re-passed by two-thirds of 
the Senate and House of Representatives, according to the rules aud lim- 
itations prescribed in the case of a bill. 

Sec. 8. The Congress shall have power — 

To lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises, to pay the debts, 
and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United 
Jtates ; but all duties, imposts, and excises shall be uniform throughout 
the United States ; 

To borrow money on the credit of the United States ; 

To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several 
Str.tes, and with the Indian tribes ; 

To establish a uniform rule of naturalization, and uniform laws on 
the subject of bankruptcies throughout the United States ; 

To coin money, regulate the value thereof, and of foreign coin, and 
fix the standard of weights and measures ; 

To provide for the punishment of counterfeiting the securities and 
current coin of the United States ; 

To establish post offices and post roads ; 



82 AND ITS AMENDMENTS. 

To promote the progress of sciences and useful arts, by securing, 
for limited times, to authors and inventors, the exclusive right to their 
respective writings and discoveries ; 

To constitute tribunals inferior to the Supreme Court ; 

To define and punish piracies and felonies committed on the high 
seas, and offenses against the law of nations ; 

To declare war, grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules 
concerning captures on land and water ; 

To raise and support armies, but no appropriation of money to that 
use shall be for a longer term than two years ; 

To provide and maintain a navy ; 

To make rules for the government and regulation of the land and 
naval forces ; 

To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the 
Union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions ; 

To provide for organizing, arming and disciplining the militia, and 
for governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the 
United States, reserving to the states respectively the appointment of the 
officers, and the authority of training the militia according to the disci- 
pline prescribed by Congress ; 

To exercise legislation in all cases whatsoever over such district (not 
exceeding ten miles square) as may, by cession of particular states, and the 
acceptance of Congress, become the seat of the government of the United 
States, and to exercise like authority over all places purchased by the 
consent of the Legislature of the state in which the same shall be, for 
the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dock yards, and other needful 
buildings ; and 

To make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying 
into execution the foregoing powers, and all other powers vested by this 
Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any depart- 
ment or officer thereof. 

Sec. 9. The migration or importation of such persons as any of the 
states now existing shall think proper to admit, shall not be prohibited 
by the Congress prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight, 
but a tax or duty may be imposed on such importation, not exceeding ten 
dollars for each person. 

The privilege of the writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended, 
unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may 
require it. 

No bill of attainder or ex post facto law shall be passed. 

No capitation or other direct tax shall be laid, unless in proportion 
to the census or enumeration hereinbefore directed to be taken. 

No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any state. 

No preference shall be given by any regulation of commerce or rev 
enue to the ports of one state over those of another; nor shall vessels 
bound to or from one state be obliged to enter, clear, or pay duties in 
another. 

No money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in consequence of 
appropriations made by law ; and a regular statement and account of 
the receipts and expeditures of all public money shall be published from 
time to time. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 83 

No title of nobility shall be granted by the United States : and no 
person holding any office of profit or trust under them, shall, without the 
consent of the Congress, accept of any present, emolument, office, or title 
of any kind whatever, from any king, prince, or foreign state. 

Sec. 10. No state shall enter into any treaty, alliance, or confeder- 
ation ; grant letters of marque and reprisal ; coin money ; emit bills of 
credit ; make anything but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of 
debts ; pass any bill of attainder, ex post facto law, or law impairing the 
obligation of contracts, or grant any title of nobility. 

No state shall, without the consent of the Congress, lay any imposts 
or duties on imports or exports, except what may be absolutely necessary 
for executing its inspection laws, and the net produce of all duties and 
imposts laid by any state on imports or exports, shall be for the use of the 
Treasury of the United States ; and all such laws shall be subject to the 
revision and control of the Congress. 

No state shall, without the consent of Congress, lay any duty on 
tonnage, keep troops or ships of war in time of peace, enter into any 
agreement or compact with another state, or with a foreign power, or 
engage in war, unless actually invaded, or in such imminent danger as will 
not admit of delay. 

Article II. 

Section 1. The Executive power shall be vested in a President of 
the United States of America. He shall hold his office during the term 
of four years, and, together with the Vice-President chosen for the same 
term, be elected as follows: 

Each state shall appoint, in such manner as the Legislature thereof 
may direct, a number of Electors, equal to the whole number of Senators 
and Representatives to which the state may be entitled in the Congress ; 
but no Senator or Representative, or person holding an office of trust or 
profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector. 

[ * The Electors shall meet in their respective states, and vote by 
ballot for two persons, of whom one at least shall not be an inhabitant of 
the same state with themselves. And they shall make a list of all the 
persons voted for, and of the number of votes for each ; which list they 
shall sign and certify, and transmit, sealed, to the seat of the government 
of the United States, directed to the President of the Senate. The Pres- 
ident of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Rep- 
resentatives, open all the certificates, and the votes shall then be counted. 
The person having the greatest number of votes shall be the President, 
if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed ; 
and if there be more than one who have such majority, and have an equal 
number of votes, then the House of Representatives shall immediately 
choose by ballot one of them for President ; and if no person have a ma- 
jority, then from the five highest on the list the said House shall in like 
manner choose the President. But in choosing the President, the vote 
shall be taken by states, the representation from each state having one 
vote ; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members 
from two-thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be 
necessary to a choice. In every case, after the choice of the President 

* This clause between brackets has been superseded and annulled by the Twelfth amendment 



84 AND ITS AMENDMENTS. 

the person having the greatest number of votes of the Electors shall be 
the Vice-President. But if there should remain two or more who have 
equal votes, the Senate shall choose from them by ballot the Vice-Presi- 
dent.] 

The Congress may determine the time of choosing the Electors, and 
the day on which they shall give their votes ; which day shall be the same 
throughout the United States. 

No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United 
States at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible 
to the office of President ; neither shall any person be eligible to that 
office who shall not have attained the age of thirty-five years, and been 
fourteen years a resident within the United States. 

In case of the removal of the President from office, or of his death, 
resignation, or inability to discharge the powers and duties of the said 
office, the same shall devolve on the Vice-President, and the Congress 
may by law provide for the case of removal, death, resignation, or inabil- 
ity, both of the President and Vice-President, declaring what officer shall 
then act as President, and such officer shall act accordingly, until the dis- 
ability be removed, or a President shall be elected. 

The President shall, at stated times, receive for his services a com- 
pensation which shall neither be increased nor diminished during the 
period for which he shall have been elected, and he shall not receive 
within that period any other emolument from the United States or any of 
them. 

Before he enters on the execution of his office, he shall take the fol- 
lowing oath or affirmation : 

" I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the 
office of President of the United States, and will, to the best of my ability, 
preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States." 

Sec. 2. The President shall be commander in chief of the army and 
navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several states, when 
called into the actual service of the United States ; he may require the 
opinion, in writing, of the principal officer in each of the executive 
departments, upon any subject relating to the duties of their respective 
offices, and he shall have power to grant reprieves and pardon for offenses 
against the United States, except in cases of impeachment. 

He shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the 
Senate, to make treaties, provided two-thirds of the Senators present con- 
cur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the advice of the Senate, 
shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges of 
the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United States whose 
appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be 
established by law ; but the Congress may by law vest the appointment 
of such inferior officers as they think proper in the President alone, in 
the courts of law, or in the heads of departments. 

The President shall have power to fill up all vacancies that may 
happen during the recess of the Senate, by granting commissions which 
shall expire at the end of their next session. 

Sec. 3. He shall from time to time give to the Congress information 
of the state of the Union, and recommend to their consideration such mea- 
sures as he shall judge necessary and expedient ; he may on extraordinary 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 85 

occasions convene both houses, or either of them, and in case of disagree- 
ment between them, with respect to the time of adjournment, he may 
adjourn them to such time as he shall think proper ; he shall receive 
ambassadors and other public ministers ; he shall take care that the laws be 
faithfully executed, and shall commission all the officers of the United 
States. 

Sec. 4. The President, Vice-President, and all civil officers of the 
United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and con 
viction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors. 

Article III. 

Section I. The judicial power of the United States shall be vested 
in one Supreme Court, and such inferior courts as the Congress may from 
time to time ordain and establish. The Judges, both of the Supreme and 
inferior courts, shall hold their offices during good behavior, and shall, at 
stated times, receive for their services a compensation, which shall not be 
diminished during their continuance in office. 

Sec. 2. The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law and 
equity, arising under this Constitution, the laws of the United States, and 
treaties made, or which shall be made, under their authority ; to all cases 
affecting ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls ; to all cases of 
admiralty and maritime jurisdiction ; to controversies to which the United 
States shall be a party ; to controversies between two or more states ; 
between a state and citizens of another state ; between citizens of differ- 
ent states ; between citizens of the same state claiming lands under grants 
of different states, and between a state or the citizens thereof, and foreign 
states, citizens, or subjects. 

In all cases affecting ambassadors, other public ministers, and consuls, 
and those in which a state shall be a party, the Supreme Court shall have 
original jurisdiction. 

In all the other cases before mentioned, the Supreme Court shall 
have appellate jurisdiction, both as to law and fact, with such exceptions 
and under such regulations as the Congress shall make. 

The trial of all crimes, except in cases of impeachment, shall be by 
jury ; and such trial shall be held in the state where the said crimes shall 
have been committed ; but when not committed within any state, the 
trial shall be at such place or places as the Congress may by law have 
directed. 

Sec. 3. Treason against the United States shall consist only in levy- 
ing war against them, or in adhering to their enemies, giving them aid 
and comfort. No person shall be convicted of treason unless on the tes- 
timony of two witnesses to the same overt act, or on confession in open 
court. 

The Congress shall have power to declare the punishment of treason 
but no attainder of treason shall work corruption of blood, or forfeiture 
except during the life of the person attainted. 

Article IV. 

Section 1. Full faith and credit shall be given in each state to the 
public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state. &nd 



AND ITS AMENDMENTS. 



the Congress may, by general laws, prescribe the manner in which such 
acts records, and proceedings shall be proved, and the effect thereof. 

Sec? 2 The citizens of each state shall be entitled to all privileges 
and immunities of citizens in the several states. 

A person charged in any state with treason, felony, or other crime, 
who shall flee from justice and be found in another state, shall, on demand 
of the executive authority of the state from which he fled, be delivered 
up, to be removed to the state having junsdici on ot the crime. 

No person held to service or labor in one state, under the laws thereof 
escaping into another, shall, in consequence of any law or regulation 
therein^e discharged from such service or labor, but shall be delivered 
up on the claim of the party to whom such service or labor may be due. 

Sec 3 New states may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; 
but no new state shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of any 
other state ; nor any state be formed by the junction of two or more states, 
or parts of states, without the consent of the Legislatures of the states 
concerned, as well as of the Congress. noei A fn y 

The Congress shall have power to dispose of and make all needful 
rules and regulations respecting the territory or other property belonging 
to the United States ; and nothing in this Constitution shall be so construed 
as to prejudice any claims of the United States or of any particular state. 

Sec 4 The United States shall guarantee to every state in this 
Union a republican form of . government, and shall protect each ot them 
against invasion, and on application of the Legislature, or of the Execu- 
tive (when the Legislature can not be convened), against domestic vio- 
lence. 

Article V. 

The Congress, whenever two-thirds of both houses shall deem it 
necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution or, on the ap- 
plication of the Legislatures of two-thirds of the several states, shall call 
a convention for proposing amendments, which, in either case, shall be 
valid to all intents and purposes as part of this Constitution, when rati- 
fied by the Legislatures of three fourths of the several states or by con- 
ventions in three-fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratifi- 
cation may be proposed by the Congress. Provided that no amendment 
which may be made prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and 
eicrht shall in any manner affect the first and fourth clauses in the ninth 
Ejection of the first article ; and that no state, without its consent, shall 
be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate. 

Article VI. 

All debts contracted and engagements entered into before the adop- 
tion of this Constitution shall be as valid against the United States under 
this Constitution as under the Confederation. 

This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be 
made in pursuance thereof, and all treaties made, or which shall be made, 
under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the 
land ; and the Judges in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in 
the Constitution or laws of any state to the contrary notwithstanding. 

The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the mem- 



CONSTITUTION OP THE UNITED STATES 



87 



bers of the several state Legislatures, and all executive and judicial offi- 
cers, both of the United States and of the several states, shall be bound 
by oath or affirmation to support this Constitution ; but no religious test 
shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under 
the United States. 

Article VII. 

The ratification of the Conventions of nine states shall be sufficient 
for the establishment of this Constitution between the states so ratifying 
the same. 

Done in convention by the unanimous consent of the states present, the 
seventeenth day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand 
seven hundred and eighty-seven, and of the independence of the 
United States of America the twelfth. In witness whereof we have 
hereunto subscribed our names. 

GEO. WASHINGTON, 
President and Deputy from Virginia. 



New Hampshire. 
John Langdon, 
Nicholas Gilman. 

Massachusetts. 
Nathaniel Gorham, 
Rufus King. 

Connecticut. 
Wm. Sam'l Johnson, 
Roger Sherman. 

New York. 
Alexander Hamilton. 

New Jersey. 
Wil. Livingston, 
Wm. Paterson, 
David Brearley, 
Jona. Dayton. 

Pennsylvania. 
B. Franklin, 
Robt. Morris, 
Thos. Fitzsimons, 
James Wilson, 
Thos. Mifflin, 
Geo. Clymer, 
Jared Ingersoll, 
Gouv. Morris. 



Delaware. 
Geo. Read, 
John Dickinson, 
Jaco. Broom, 
Gunning Bedford, Jr., 
Richard Bassett. 

Maryland. 
James M' Henry, 
Danl. Carroll, 
Dan. of St. Thos. Jenifer. 

Virginia. 
John Blair, 
James Madison, Jr. 

North Carolina. 
Wm. Blount, 
Hit. Williamson, 
Rich'd Dobbs Spaight. 

South Carolina. 
J. Rutledge, 
Charles Pinckney, 
Chas. Cotesworth Pincknez, 
Pierce Butler. 

Georgia. 
William Few, 
Abr. Baldwin. 

WILLIAM JACKSON, Secretary. 



88 and its amendments. 

Articles in Addition to and Amendatory op the Constitution 
of the United States op America. 

Proposed by Congress and ratified by the Legislatures of the several states, 
pursuant to the fifth article of the original Constitution. 

Article I. 

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, 
or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of 
speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, 
and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. 

Article II. 
A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free 
state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. 

Article III. 
No soldier shall, in time of peace, be quartered in any house without 
the consent of the owner, nor in time of war but in a manner to be pre- 
scribed by law. 

Article IV. 

The rio-ht of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, 
and effects "against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be vio- 
lated ; and no warrants shall issue but upon probable cause, supported by 
oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched 
and the persons or things to be seized. 

Article V. 

No person shall be held to answer for a capital or otherwise infamous 
crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except m 
cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia when m actual 
service in time of war or public danger ; nor shall any person be subject 
for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb ; nor shall 
be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himse 1, nor be 
deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor 
shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation. 

Article VI. 
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a 
speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district 
wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have 
been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and 
cause of the accusation ; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; 
to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his iavor ; and to 
have the assistance of counsel for his defense. 

Article VII. 
In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed 
twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no tact 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES 89 

tried by a jury shall be otherwise re-examined in any court of the United 
States than according to the rules of the common law. 

Article VIII. 

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, 
nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. 

Article IX. 

The enumeration, in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be 
construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people. 

Article X. 

The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, 
nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, 
or to the people. 

Article XI. 

The judicial power of the United States shall not be construed to 
extend to any suit in law or equity commenced or prosecuted against one 
of the United States by citizens of another state, or by citizens or sub- 
jects of any foreign state. 

Article XII. 

The Electors shall meet in their respective states and vote by ballot 
for President and Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an 
inhabitant of the same state with themselves ; they shall name in their 
ballots the person to be voted for as president, and in distinct ballots the 
person voted for as Vice-President, and they shall make distinct lists of 
all persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice- 
President, and of the number of votes for each, which list they shall sign 
and certify, and transmit sealed to the seat of the government of the United 
States, directed to the President of the Senate. The President of the 
Senate shall, in presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, 
open all the certificates, and the votes shall then be counted. The person 
having the greatest number of votes for President shall be the President, 
if such number be a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed ; 
and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having the 
highest number not exceeding three on the list of those voted for as 
President, the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by 
ballot, the President. But in choosing the President, the votes shall be 
taken by States, the representation from each state having one vote; a 
quorum for this purpose shall consist of a member or members from two- 
thirds of the states, and a majority of all the states shall be necessary to 
a choice. And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a Presi- 
dent whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, before the 
fourth day of March next following, then the Vice-President shall act as 
President, as in the case of the death or other constitutional disability of 
the President. The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice- 
President, shall be the Vice-President, if such number be the majority 
of the whole number of electors appointed, and if no person have a major- 



90 AND ITS AMENDMENTS. 

ity then from the two highest numbers on the list, the Senate shall choose 
the Vice-President ; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds 
of the whole number of Senators, and a majority of the whole number 
shall be necessary to a choice. But no person constitutionally ineligible 
to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the 

United States. 

Article XIII. 

Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a 
punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, 
shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their juris- 

Sec.*2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appro- 
priate legislation. 

Article XIV. 

Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States and 
subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States, and 
of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law 
which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United 
States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, 
without due process of law, nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction 
the equal protection of the laws. 

Sec. 2. Representatives shall be appointed among the several states 
according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of per- 
sons in each state, excluding Indians not taxed ; but when the right to 
vote at any election for the choice of Electors for President and Vice- 
President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the execu- 
tive and judicial officers of a state, or the members of the Legislature 
thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such state, being 
twenty-one years of age and citizens of the United States, or in any wav 
abridged except for participation in rebellion or other crimes, the basis of 
representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the num- 
ber of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens 
twenty-one years of age in such state. m 

Sec. 3. No person shall be a Senator or Representative m Congress, 
or Elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or 
military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previ- 
ously taken an oath as a Member of Congress, or as an officer ot the 
United States, or as a member of any state Legislature, or as an execu- 
tive or judicial officer of any state to support the Constitution ot the 
United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the 
same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may 
by a vote of two-thirds of each house, remove such disability. 

Sec. 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States author- 
ized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and boun- 
ties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be ques- 
tioned. But neither the United States nor any state shall pay any debt 
or obligation incurred in the aid of insurrection or rebellion against the 
United^ States, or any loss or emancipation of any slave, but such debts, 
obligations, and claims shall be held illegal and void. 



CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES. 

Article XV. 



91 



Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not 
he denied or abridged by the United States, or by any State, on account of race, 
color, or previous condion of servitude. 




PERRY'S MONUMENT, CLEVELAND, OHIO. 

On Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railway. 



HI8T0EY OF OHIO. 



IT is not our province in a volume of this description, to delineate the chronol- 
ogy of prehistoric epochs, or to dwell at length upon those topics pertaining 
to the scientific causes which tended to the formation of a continent, undiscov- 
ered for centuries, by the wisdom and energy of those making a history of the 
Old World, by the advancement of enlightenment in tne Eastern Hemisphere. 

Naturally, the geological formation of the State of Ohio cannot be entirely 
separated from facts relative to the strata, which, in remote ages accumulated 
one layer above the other, and finally constituted a "built-up" America, from 
a vast sea. The action of this huge body of water washed sediment and what- 
ever came in its way upon primitive rocks, which were subjected to frequent 
and repeated submersions, emerging as the water subsided, thus leaving a 
stratum or layer to solidify and mark its number in the series — a system of 
growth repeated in trees of the forest — in those descernible rings that count so 
many years. The southeastern part of North America emerging a second 
time from the Silurian Sea, which extended west to the Rocky Mountains and 
north to the primitive hills of British America, a succession of rock -bound, 
salt-water lakes remained. These covered a large portion of the continent, and 
their water evaporating, organic and mineral matter remained to solidify. This 
thick stratum has been designated by geologists as the water-lime layer. This 
constitutes the upper layer of rock in the larger portion of the west half of 
Ohio. In other sections it forms the bed rock. 

Following the lime-rock deposit, must have been more frequent sweeps of 
the great sea, since the layers are comparatively thin, proving a more speedy 
change. During this scientific rising and falling of the sea, other actions were 
taking place, such as volcanic and other influences which displaced the regular- 
ity of the strata, and occasionally came out in an upheaval or a regular perpen- 
dicular dip. A disturbance of this character formed the low mountain range 
extending from the highlands of Canada to the southern boundary of Tennes- 
see. This "bulge" is supposed to be the consequence of the cooling of the 
earth and the pressure of the oceans on either side of the continent. Geolo- 
gists designate this as the Cincinnati arch. This forms a separation between 
the coal fields of the Alleghanies and those of Illinois. 

Passing over several periods, we reach the glacial, during which the topog- 
raphy of the continent was considerably modified, and which is among the 
latest epochs of geology, though exceedingly remote as compared with human 



94 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 

history. Previously, a torrid heat prevailed the entire Northern hemisphere. 
Now the temperature of the frigid zone crept southward until it reached Cincin- 
nati. A vast field of ice, perhaps hundreds of feet thick, extended from the 
north pole to this point. As this glacial rigor came southward, the flow of 
the St. Lawrence River was stopped, and the surplus water of the great lake 
basin was turned into the Ohio and Mississippi. This glacial sea was by no 
means stationary even after its southern limit had been reached. It possessed 
the properties of a solid and a fluid. Its action was slow but powerful, grind- 
ing mountains to powder and forming great valleys and basins. Separating 
into two glacial portions, one moved toward the watershed north of the Ohio 
River ; and, continuing westerly, it hollowed out the basin of Lake Erie and 
crushed the apex of the Cincinnati arch. From this point, it turned south- 
ward and swept with a regular course through the Maumee and Miami Valleys 
to the Ohio River. The southern border constantly melting, and flowing toward 
the Gulf of Mexico, the great field was pressed forward by the accumulations 
of ice in the northern latitudes. Thus for ages, this powerful force was fitting 
the earth for the habitation of man. The surface was leveled, huge rocks 
broken and reduced to pebbles, sand, clay, etc., other soil and surface-material — 
while the debris was embedded at the bottom. In some sections, as the ice 
melted and freed the bowlders and rocks, the lighter material was swept away. 
The glacier moving forward, and the forces proving an " equilibrium," the 
edge of this ice-field was held in a solid stronghold, and the material thus de- 
posited forms a ridge, called by geologists "terminal moraine," first exemplified 
in Ohio by the "Black Swamp," in the Maumee Valley. 

The most extreme rigor of this period beginning to wane, the ice of the 
Maumee and Miami Valleys began to move slowly forward, toward the north, 
reaching the points now termed Hudson, Mich.; Fort Wayne, Ind., and Kenton, 
Ohio — reaching somewhat further south than Lima and Van Wert. The edge of 
the glacier was defined in outline by the present western border of Lake Erie, and 
parallel with it. Climatic influences " acting and counteracting," the glacial 
force was concentrated, the Maumee Valley being subjected to a grinding proc- 
ess, and a deposit of material going on, which now forms the boundary of the 
"Black Swamp." As our readers are aware, the waters of the St. Joseph and 
St. Mary's meet at Fort Wayne, and their united waters form the Maumee ; 
thence the turn is northwest, and, wearing an outlet through the ridge, it 
reaches the head of Lake Erie. 

The torrid zone yet gaining the ascendency, the ice-fields continuing their 
reverse motion, and retreating toward the north, the basin of the great lakes 
was formed ; and the blocks of ice melting therein, a vast sea of fresh water was 
formed, which gradually overflowed a portion of Canada and Michigan* But 
the St. Lawrence, that important outlet, was under the restraint of an ice 
blockade, and the surplus water of the fresh sea was turned into the Ohio and 
and Mississippi. 



HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 95 

Later, mountains of ice-float were drifted from the north by winds and cur- 
rents, into temperate latitudes, and melting, deposited rocks, stones and general 
debris. Following the iceberg-drift, came the permanent elevation above the ocean- 
level. The St. Lawrence outlet was formed. The inland sea was assuming its 
division into lakes. The united waters of Erie and Huron flowed through the 
Wabash Valley and into the Ohio, until, through some agency, that section was 
dry, and the lakes drained in another direction. The action of the glacial 
period in the Erie basin vicinity created what is known as the " Niagara lime- 
stone," by grinding upper strata and drifting the debris elsewhere. This seems 
to have occurred at intervals, exposures being made in Seneca, Sandusky and 
Wood Counties, and beneath the axis of the Cincinnati arch. Oriskany lime- 
stone is also available in another stratum, which has been brought to the surface. 
Again, there is a carboniferous stratum of limestone, and along the Maumee is 
a thin exposure of the Hamilton limestone and shale. 

A glacier having both fluid and solid properties, it will readily be compre- 
hended that obdurate projections of rock resisted its action, and created currents 
in other directions, for its forces. When this specified epoch had ceased to be, 
Ohio was a rough, irregular and crude mixture of ridges and knobs and pinnacles, 
which were " leveled up " and finished by iceberg-drift and inland-sea deposits. 
This settled and accumulated, and the work of hundreds of years produced a 
beautiful surface, its inequalities overcome, the water having receded and "terra 
firma" remaining. A deep bed of clay, sufficiently compact to hold the germs 
of organic matter, and sufficiently porous to absorb moisture, was especially 
adapted to encourage the growth of vegetation. These seeds had been brought 
by the winds and waves and natural agencies, and now began to produce plants 
and shrubs, which withered to enrich the soil, after scattering broadcast seeds 
that would again perpetuate verdure. Worms, land crabs and burrowing ani- 
mals assisted in the creation of soil, while the buffalo, deer and bear followed 
as soon as forestry appeared. Decomposed foliage and fallen timber aided in 
the great work of preparing the present State of Ohio for the habitation of man. 
Prairie, marsh, forest, rivers and lakes were formed, which, in turn, were modi- 
fied and prepared for a grand destiny by other influences. 

In glancing over the compiled histories of Ohio, those containing details of 
her early struggles, afflictions and triumphs, we are especially impressed with 
its near and sympathetic relation with the great Northwest, and the republic of 
the United States of America. From the early years when white men built 
their rude cabins in the then tangled wilderness, to the opulent and magnificent 
present of this united nation, Ohio has been stanch, loyal and earnest, both 
in action and principle. 

We shall endeavor to trace the history of the State concisely and accurately, 
according to the data given by the most reliable historians. We are obliged to 
glean the prominent events only, our space being limited, compared with the 
multitudinous interests connected with this important part of the United States. 



96 IIISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 

FRENCH HISTORY. 

All through early French history, is the fact especially prominent, that in 
their explorations and expeditions, they united piety and business. They wore 
zealous in sending out their missionaries, but they were always attended by 
traders and those who were as skilled in the world's profit and loss, as their 
companions were in propagating Christianity. 

Prior to the landing of the Pilgrim Fathers upon Plymouth Rock, the 
Upper Lakes were visited by the French, and records prove that during the first 
half of the seventeenth century, a vagabondisli set, working in the interests of 
the fur company of New France, understood the geographical position of the 
lakes and their tributary streams. M. Perrot, an intelligent explorer, made 
overtures of peace to the Indian tribes around these bodies of water, and 
effected a treaty, which, it is claimed, established the right for the French, in 
the name of their king, to hold the place near St. Mary's Falls. They further 
assert that the Mississippi was discovered by the French from Lake Superior, 
but this is not authenticated, and Father Marquette and M. Joliet are accepted 
as the first who found this large stream, in 1763. The good missionary won 
his way with his patient and sympathetic nature. 

Ohio was, like the other portions of the West, originally in the possession 
of aborigines or Indians. Of their origin, many suppositions are advanced, 
but no certainties sustained. From practical evidences, the Mound-Builders 
were active in Ohio, and here as elsewhere, their work marked retrogression 
rather than advancement. The territory of Ohio was claimed by the French, 
and included in that wide tract between the Alleghanies and the Rockies, held 
by them under the name of Louisiana. Before the year 1750, a French trad- 
ing-post was established at the mouth of the Wabash, and communication was 
established between that point and the Maumee, and Canada. Between the 
years 1678 and 1082, the intrepid La Salle and Father Hennepin, assisted by 
Fondi, an Italian, with a small band of followers, inaugurated a series of 
explorations about the great lakes and the Mississippi, building forts on their 
way and planting the French priority. In 1680, La Salle erected a stockade at 
the foot of the rapids of the Maumee, which was a general rendezvous for mission- 
aries, traders and explorers, besides constituting a primitive "stock exchange." 

The English colonies were at this time east of the Alleghanies, while the 
French were establishing themselves west of this range, gaining an entrance 
north and south, the two portions separated by hostile and barbarous foes. 
La Salle's spirit of adventure led him into new fields, but Father Hennepin 
was detailed to investigate that part of the world now known as the State of 
Ohio. The records assert that he published a volume containing an account of 
his observations "in the country between New Mexico and the frozen ocean," 
in 1684, together with maps of Lakes Erie, Huron and Michigan, and a plat 
of the larger streams in Ohio. 



HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 97 

Apparently, the French more speedily comprehended the value of their 
advantages in the New World than' the English, and vigorously inaugurated and 
sustained commercial and religious projects. They were essentially benefited 
by the mediation of the Catholic priests between settlers and Indians, this 
really earnest class everywhere ingratiating themselves with the savages. The 
Order of Jesuits were very vigorous, and representatives were stationed at every 
trading-post, village and settlement. The English colonists engaged mostly in 
agriculture, while the French took a lively interest in the fur trade with the 
natives, probably from their former settlement in Quebec and thereabouts, where 
the climate is advantageous for this business. This added to the influence of 
the priests, and the natural assimilation of French and the Indians, through 
the tact and amiability of the former, the French possessions gained more 
rapidly than the English or Spanish. They courted their daughters and 
married them. They engaged in feasts and trades, and took advantage of 
those unimpeded times to extend their dominion with surprising celerity. A 
chain of trading, missionary and military posts extended from New Orleans to 
Quebec, by way of the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers, thence via Mackinaw and 
Detroit to Lakes Erie and Ontario. This route was shortened thereafter by 
following the Ohio River to the Wabash, following the latter upward, and 
down the Maumee to Lake Erie. 

About the same time, and to check the advancement of the French, the 
Ohio Company was formed by the English. This was an outgrowth of the 
contest between these two nations for the ascendency, whether empire, settle- 
ment or individual. After thirty years' peace between these two nations, 
"King George's War" opened the campaign in 1744, but terminated in 1748, 
the treaty at Aix-la-Chapelle unfortunately omitting a settlement of any division 
of claims in America. The English, French and Spanish were the first to 
enter America, and the right of possession by each monarch or empire was 
held by right of a first discovery. The only right that England could advance 
regarding Ohio was that the portion of the Six Nations found in the Ohio 
Valley had placed some of their lands under British jurisdiction, and that other 
portions had been purchased at Lancaster, Penn., by means of a treaty with 
the same nations. All this was strenuously denied and ignored by the French. 
Thus several conflicting influences swept carnage over fair Ohio. The Indians were 
allied to one side and the other, and were against each other. The Indians and 
French would advance against the English, and they, in retaliation, would 
make a raid into the Indian territory and overcome a French settlement. 
Whenever they could as well, Indians would take the cause in their own keep- 
ing and fight each other. The wide, verdant fields of Ohio were drenched 
ghastly red under a glowing sun, and the great forests echoed moans from the 
dying and distressed. The English colonists had partially overcome their 
deprivation, caused by a struggle for subsistence, and means to guard against 
the savages — this distress augmented by campaigns against Canada — by their 



98 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 

increased numbers and wealth, but were now alarmed by the French rule in 
America, which gained so rapidly, unmolested as it was by Indian raids and 
other devastating circumstances. A constant conflict was going on between 
Lake Eric and the Upper Ohio. Atrocities and massacres were committed 
indiscriminately, which opened the way for a desperate class of marauders and 
villains from the colonies and European States. These people enlisted with 
the Indians on either side for the purpose of leadership and plunder. Every 
fortification, trading-post and settlement was garrisoned or deserted, and the 
ground between the Alleghanies and the Maumee became a conflict field, rife 
with thrilling deeds, sacrifice and adventures, the half never having been 
chronicled, and many heroes falling uncrowned by even a lasting memory, since 
during these times the people kept few annals, and cared less for historical 
memories than anything on earth. They were living, and dying, and struggling, 
and that was more than they could carry through safely. . The French formed 
a road from the Ohio River to Detroit, via the foot of the Lower Rapids of the 
Maumee, and the foot of the Lower Rapids of the Sandusky. 

The Ohio Company obtained a charter under English views, from the 
British Government, with a grant of 6,000 acres of land on the Ohio. The 
English now reverted to the times of the Cabots, and protested that by right 
they held the entire country between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, bounded 
by those parallels of latitude defining their Atlantic coast settlements. France 
claimed the region drained by the Mississippi and tributaries, the great lakes 
and their tributaries, the area being west of the Alleghanies. Ohio was thus 
included in the disputed tract. 

The Ohio Company was formed in 1848, by a number of Virginians and 
Londoners, two brothers of George Washington taking conspicuous parts in the 
movement ; Thomas Lee was especially active. When the surveys were begun, 
the Governor of Canada entered vigorous protests, and indicated his displeasure 
by a prompt line of posts from Erie to Pittsburgh, named respectively, Presque 
Isle, Le Bceuf, Vedango, Kittaning and Du Quesne. The latter was begun 
by the English, captured by the French, and by them completed. 

The first English settlement of which we can find traces was a block-house 
at Piqua, about the year 1752. It was attacked, and a bitter struggle ensued, 
resulting in the death of fourteen of the assailants. Those within the garrison 
suffered severely, many being burned, and the remainder captured and dis- 
patched to Canada. 

In 1753, the French and Indian war actively began. It did not extend 
beyond the American continent until 1756, when the home governments took 
an interest in its progress beyond encouraging their respective colonists to pur- 
sue the war-path to a direful finale for their adversaries. For four years, the 
French captured and conquered, spreading terror wherever they went, and 
they followed every Englishman that set his foot on Ohio soil to the death. 
We may state that these people had not retained their civilized habits, and 



HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 99 

constant association with savages had embued them with barbarous methods of 
warfare which were sickening and revolting to the English, and to which they 
could not resort. It is highly probable that French success was vastly brought 
about by these means, together with the assistance of their Indian allies. In 
1758, when the English hope was almost exterminated, the elder Pitt being 
placed at the head of the administration, a new and energetic system was 
inaugurated, wise measures instituted, and military science triumphed over 
savage cunning and French intrigue. The first brilliant English achievement 
was the conquest of Canada. When the home governments interfered, the 
war assumed the character of a French and English conflict, regardless of 
Indian right, yet the tribes continued to participate in the carnage. 

A certain Christian, Frederick Post, a Moravian missionary, located upon 
the Muskingum, near Beavertown. Heckewelder consented "to become his 
associate. The Indians receiving them kindly, under conditions that Post 
should serve as tutor, this missionary began clearing a field for the purpose of 
planting corn for sustenance. This did not accord with Indian logic. They 
had stipulated that he teach and he was planting corn, which to them was a 
signal of the coming of other whites, the building of a fort and encroachments 
upon the Indians. They referred to the French priests, who were in good 
physical condition, did not till land, but were in charge of the Great Spirit 
who provided for them, a conclusive proof to them that when divine work was 
acceptable to the Great Spirit, priests were somehow sustained by other than 
the plans which disturbed their great hunting-grounds. However, they 
allowed him a small space, and he remained with them, preaching and teaching 
during the summer of 1762, when, accompanied by one of the principal chiefs, 
he returned to Lancaster, Penn., where a treaty was concluded. On his return 
to his post, he was met by Heckewelder, who imparted the tidings that friendly 
Indians had warned him that the war was about to sweep over their section, 
and destruction awaited them if they remained. The mission was accordingly 
abandoned. This failure was not so bitter as the English effort to sustain their 
trading-post in 1749, on the Great Miami, afterward called Laramie's store. 
It pursued a feeble existence until 1752, when a French raid upon the Twig- 
twees and English colonists proved fatal. 

A European treaty now excluded the French from any rights to make 
treaties with the Indians, and the English, in their flush of victory after Pitt's 
succession, assumed the authority over Indians and lands. The savages did 
not accept the situation with anything resembling the gentle spirit of resigna- 
tion, and the Ottawa chief, Pontiac, led the several tribes into a general °war 
against the intruders. It was no longer French and English, but Indian and 
English, the former being instigated and assisted many times by the French, 
now desperate and unscrupulous in a mad spirit for revenge. 

The intention of the Indians was to drive the whites east of the mountains, 
destroying their numerous strongholds in Pennsylvania and Virginia, if they 



100 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 

failed in their hope of utterly exterminating them. Pontiac had effected a 
consolidation of the tribes ranging from Mackinaw to North Carolina, thus 
being enabled to swoop down upon all the settlements simultaneously. A 
deadly beginning was made in the Ohio Valley, and only two or three English 
traders escaped out of the one hundred and twenty located in that vicinity. 
The forts at Presque Isle, St. Joseph and Mackinaw, were captured amid scenes 
of slaughter too terrible to perpetuate in description. The years 1763 and 
1764 were literally drenched in human carnage and anguish. Ohio was a 
great field of crime, murder, pain and horror. The expeditions of Bradstreet 
and Bouquet crushed the war in 1764, and Pontiac with his Ottawas removed 
to the Maumee and settled. English settlement now progressed with great 
rapidity, but this was destined to be disturbed in 1774, by the action of. Lord 
Dunmore, who led an expedition against the tribes of the Ohio country, termi- 
nated by his treaty on the Scioto plains. At this period, the colonists were not 
in strict harmony with England, and the spirit of revolution was spreading 

every day. 

When Lord Dunmore made his treaty, the affirmation was made and gained 
ground that he, being a thorough loyalist, had compromised under such terms 
as held the Indians British allies against the settlers. Directly following this 
treaty, was the deliberate murder of a number of Indians, near Wheeling, 
including the family of the great chief, Logan— which inaugurated retaliating 

atrocities. 

In the year 1781, April 16, the first white child was born within the pres- 
ent limits of Ohio, and was christened Mary Heckewelder, daughter of a Mora- 
vian missionary. All the settlers of these Moravian towns on the Muskingum 
were made prisoners in September of the same year. Heckwelder was trans- 
ported to Detroit, but English tyranny failed to find any evidence against him 
or his colaborers, and they were reluctantly released, and returned to their fam- 
ilies in Sandusky. Poverty added to their sufferings, and in the forlorn 
hope of finding a remnant of their property at the old settlements, which might 
assist in mitigating their necessities, they wearily went thitherward. They 
began gathering their grain, but the Wyandots attacked them, and many lives 
were lost. Frontiersmen had also grown jealous of them, and a body of about 
ninety marched out together, for the fiendish purpose of pillaging, slaughtering 
and laying waste all Moravian towns and posts. With the wily insidiousness of 
savages, they went about their diabolical plan. The Moravians were cordial and 
bade this band welcome, when they reached their towns in the guise of friend- 
ship. Williamson, the leader, and the gleaners, were called from the fields, 
when, to the dismay of these trusting and frank people, they were all bound, 
and only fifteen out of the marauding band of ninety were in favor of even 
sparing the lives of these hapless men, women and children. Forty men, 
twenty-two women and thirty-four children were then cruelly and heartlessly 
murdered, their sufferings laughed to scorn, and the last sound that fell on their 



HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 101 

ears was exultant derision. It would seem that whatever the Indians left un- 
done, m the way of horror, in the State of Ohio, the whites improved upon and 
blackened the pages of American history with deeds of blood. Succeeding this 
barbarity was the expedition against Moravian Indian towns, upon the San- 
dusky. Not an Indian, whether an enemy or friend, old or young, male or 

dlent™ t0 eSCaPe ^^ aSSaUlt ' indUding ^ extermination of the Moravian 

Col William Crawford led the expedition, which counted 500 men, in their 

dastardly work. Warning had in some manner reached the to™ and 

he troop, found them deserted. But the Indians were incel ', anl 

me 7 f Tl 0t I™, thm t0 hidin S-P laCes > ^ to a preparation to 

meet the r foes. They fought desperately, and Crawford's troops were defeated 
and scattered, many being captured, and among them, Col. Crawford himself 
It is hardly probable that Crawford could justly expect much mercy at the 
hands of his captors. His battle-cry had been "no quarter," and yet he evi- 
dently hoped for some consideration, as he requested an interview with Simon 
Girty, who lived with and influenced the Indians. Accounts state that Craw- 
ford implored the aid of Girty, and at last secured a promise to use his power 
o ob am the Colonel's pardon. However, this was of no avail, and it is doubt- 
ful whether Girty was disposed to intercede. The prisoners were tortured and 
put to death, and Crawford's agonies were protracted as long as possible Dr 
Knight managed to disable the Indian who had him in charge, and made his 
escape to the settlements, where he related the result of the expedition and the 
tortures of the captured. 

On October 27, 1784, a treaty was concluded, at Fort Stanwix, with the 
sachems and warriors of the Mohawks, Onondagas, Senecas, Cayugas, Onei- 
das and Tuscarawas, and the Six Nations then ceded to the Colonial Govern 
ment all claims to the country west of a line defined by the western boundary 
to the Ohio-thus rendering the Indian claim to a large portion of Ohio lands 
practically extinct. 

^ Although the French and Indian war was a series of heart-rending events 
it was a serious and remarkable school of discipline for the untrained troops 
which soon engaged in the Revolutionary struggle. On the fields of Ohio many 
valuable officers, who earned distinction in the war of independence, learned their 
first lessons in intrepid valor. 

_ During the Revolution, the colonial troops were engaged east of the moun 
tarns, and western settlements and frontier people were left alone to defend them- 
selves and their property against encroachments and attacks. 

The Indian tribes again became belligerent, and united with the English 
against the "Americans." The latter held a line of posts along the Upper 
Ohio, while the British were stationed in the old French strongholds on the 
lakes and the Mississippi. The unscrupulous whites and Indians ranged at ran- 
dom between this boundary and the Cuyahoga, thence southerly to the Ohio 



102 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 

thus including the Scioto and Miami Valleys. Southeastern Ohio constituted 
"the neutral ground." . 

Gen. Clarke's expedition, although chiefly confined to Indiana and I hno.s 
greatly influenced the settlement of Ohio. His exploits and the rejo lution of 
his troops were chiefly instrumental in holding the country west of the Alio- 
Jhaniejand insuring its possesion by the United States during the Revo uUon 
The British had hceu emphatic, in the Paris treaty at the .tone of the settlement 
of the French and English difficulties, in demanding the Ohm River as the 
northern boundary of the United States. The American Commissioners relied 
upon Gen. Clarke's valor and energy in holding the country west of the AUe- 
glnies, which he had conquered, and the British Commissioners ™'»P * 
to give their consent, under civil and military measures. In 1783, by the 
treaty of Paris, at the close of the Revolutionary war, the English relinquished 
all rights to the fertile territory between the Alleghanies and the Mississippi 
and the United States held undisputed possession. 

January 10 1786, Gens. Rnfus Putnam and Benjamin Tapper circulated a 
pamphlet, proposing the formation of a company for the purpose of settling the 
Ohio lands and soliciting the attention and consideration of all those desiring a 
future home and prosperity. A meeting was also called, to assemble during the 
following February, and select delegates to represent each county in Massachu- 
setts These dignitaries should convene during the month of March, at he 
« Bunch of Grapes " tavern, in Boston,for the purpose of definitely forming the 
association, and adopting such measures as would benefit all directly interested. 
The meeting and " convention " followed, and the subscription books were opened. 
One million dollars, chiefly represented by Continental certificates, was the 
price of the land. The shares were valued at $1,000 each and there was a 
division of a thousand shares. The first payment was to be $10 per share this 
money to be set aside for such expenses as might accrue. A year s interest was 
to be devoted to the establishment of the settlement, and those famHies who 
were unable to incur the expense of moving were to be assisted. Those ,ho 
purchased shares to the number of twenty were entitled to a represen a toon by 
L agent, who was permitted to vote for Directors. This plan ****-* ™ 
acted upon during the following year. It may be that the action of Connecti- 
on ceding her territorial claims to the General Government, with few excep- 
tions, greatly encouraged this new undertaking. That tract w-as, und recently, 
donated the "Western Reserve "-an extent 170 miles from the western 
boundary of Pennsylvania, and parallel thereto being reserved 

On October 27, 1787, a contract was made between the Board of the Ireas- 
«ry for the United States, and Manasseh Cutler and Winthrop Sargent agents 
for the Directors of the New England Ohio Company, for the purchase of a tract 
of land, bounded by the Ohio, and from the mouth of the Scioto to the inter 
section of the western boundary of the seventh townships, then surveying 
thence by said boundary to the northern boundary of the tenth township from 



HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 103 

the Ohio; thence, by a due west line, to the Scioto; thence, by the Scioto to 
the beginning. 

However fertile and attractive Ohio was known to have been, settlement did 
not gain rapidly after the close of the war with England, although the United 
States has gained her freedom. It was more than six years after Cornwallis 
laid clown his sword, before a white settlement was formed on the Ohio side of the 
river. The French and Indian war had incited tfce English to be jealous of her 
colonial conquests, and mistrusting their loyalty, they had, so soon as the French 
claims were annulled, taken measures to crush all colonial claims also and a 
royal proclamation rescinded all colonial land grants and charters, holdin- all 
the country west of the sources of the Atlantic rivers under the protection°and 
sovereignty of fce king of Great Britain, for the use of the Indians. All white 
persons were forbidden to remain or settle within the prescribed limits Parlia 
ment then attached this tract to Quebec, and the English Government felt assured 
that the thirteen colonies were restricted and held secure east of the Alleghanies 
The result of the war between the colonies and England did not constitute 
an Indian treaty. Although England signed over her title and right, the sava- 
ges held the land and ignored all white agreements, one way or the other 
Whenever an attempt at settlement was undertaken, Indian depredations proved 
disastrous. The tribes were encouraged by the English fur traders, and the 
English commandant at Detroit incited them to destroy all Americans who 
attempted to usurp the rights of red men. 

Added to this serious difficulty was the unsettled debate regarding State 
claims, which rendered a title precarious. A treaty, signed at Fort Mcintosh 
previous to the war, and authenticated, shows that during the conflict the Dela' 
wares and Wyandots occupied the Indian and British frontier, on the southern 
shore of Lake Erie, from the Cuyahoga to the Maumee, and from the lake to 
the sources of its tributaries. Later, these two tribes ceded to the United 
States "the neutral ground," by warranty deed, and by quit-claim, the terri- 
tory south and west of the described tract, set apart for their use. 

By special measures, the grant of Congress in the matter of the Ohio Com- 
pany extended to nearly 5,000,000 acres, valued at $3,500,000. The original 
Ohio Company obtained 1,500,000 acres, the remaining being reserved by Indi- 
viduals, for private speculation. 

The same year, Congress appointed Arthur St. Clair, Governor, and Win- 
throp Sargent, Secretary, of the Territory. 

Fort Harmar had previously been built, at the mouth of the Muskingum, 
and in 1788, a New England colony attempted the "Muskingum settlement,'' 
on the opposite side, which was afterward named Marietta. In July, 1788, the 
Territorial officers were received in this village, and there established the first 
form of civil government, as set forth in the Ordinance of 1787. Three United 
States Judges were appointed, and Courts of Common Pleas, Probate and 
Justice were established. 



104 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 

If the stormy times were supposed to be of the past, that composure was 
rudely broken by the utter disregard of the Shawnee and other Indian tribes, 
who soon induced the Delawares and Wyandots to repudiate their consent in the 
matter of settlement. The miseries of frontier horrors were repeated. The 
British commandant at Detroit instigated many of these hostilities, yet the 
American Government took honorable action in assuring the English represent- 
ative that American military preparations in the West was not an expedition 
against Detroit, or other British possessions, although the possession of Detroit 
by that nation was in direct opposition to the treaty of 1783. Gov. St. Clair, 
to avert the direful consequences of a border war, dispatched a Frenchman, 
Gameline, to the principal Indian towns of the Wabash and Maumee countries, 
to request them to meet the United States agents, and make a compromise for 
the benefit of both parties, at the same time reiterating the desire of the General 
Government to adhere to the Fort Harmar treaty. The Miamis, Shawnees, 
Ottawas, Kickapoos and Delawares received this representative kindly, but 
declined the wampum sent by the Governor, and deferred giving an answer 
until they had considered the subject with the " father at Detroit." 

Blue Jacket, chief of the Shawnees, informed the Frenchman that the Indi- 
ans doubted the sincerity of the Americans. The new settlement on the Ohio 
was a proof that the whites intended to crowd further and further, until the 
Indians were again and again robbed of their just right. He then emphatically 
asserted that unless the north side of the river was kept free from these inroads 
there could be no terms of peace with the Shawnees, and many other tribes. 

Blue Jacket was unusually intelligent and sagacious, and expressed himselt 
eloquently. He was persistent in his determination to engage m the war of 
extermination, should the white settlements continue north of the Ohio. 

These overtures were continued, but they failed in producing any arrange- 
ment that permitted the whites to locate north of the Ohio. 

Congress called upon Kentucky and Pennsylvania to lend the aid of their 
militia & Gen. Harmar was instructed to destroy the Miami villages at the 
head of the Maumee. Late in the fall of 1790, he executed this order. 

The Indians had stored a large quantity of provisions, in expectation oi a 
campaign, and this dependence was devastated. Without authority and with 
undue carelessness, he divided his army and attempted to achieve other victo- 
ries. He more than lost what he had gained. Two raids upon the Wabash In- 
dians, thereafter, proved successful, but the campaign under Gov. St. Clair was 
not calculated to establish peace or obtain power, and was deemed but little less 

than a failure. 

The year 1792 was a series of skirmishes, so far as a settlement was con- 
cerned, but 1793 succeeded well enough to convene a meeting of United States 
Commissioners and representatives of the hostile tribes, at the rapids of the 
Maumee. It is highly probable that a satisfactory treaty might have been 
arranged, had it not been for the intervention and malicious influence of the 



HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 105 

British Superintendent of Indian Affairs, Col. McKee, his assistant Capt. 
Elliott, and the notorious Capt. Simon Girty, who instigated the savages to 
deeds more horrible than their own barbarisms. 

It was evident that a severe struggle must ensue, and Capt. Wayne, in 
1792, appointed to the command of the Western army, was called upon to con- 
duct the campaign. He exhibited his wisdom in the beginning, by preparing 
his men in military discipline and fully equipping them before marching to mee°t 
a savage foe in a wilderness. Various causes detained the army, and it was not 
until the fall of 1793, that the force marched from Fort Washington (Cincin- 
nati) to begin the battle. 

It was already late in the season, and, before any progress had been made, 
the army went into winter quarters at Greenville, on a branch of the Biz 
Miami. & 

In the mean time, the Ohio Company had not matured its practical "settle- 
ment plan," although a generous grant had been obtained. In 1792 they 
received a clear title to 750,000 acres of land, for which the full price had pre- 
viously been paid, in Continental currency. Congress set aside 214,285 acres 
as army bounties, and 100,000 acres to actual settlers. The two latter appro- 
priations joined that of the Ohio Company. 

There had been numerous conventions, discussions and other fruitless 
attempts to somehow form a plan for the government of the Northwest Terri- 
tory, but it was not until July 13, 1787, that an ordinance was passed, and that 
was the result of Dr. Cutler's efforts. Every State sustained its measures. 

This ordinance was the foundation of the constitution of the future State of 
Ohio, and indeed, permeates the entire Northwestern creed. 

ORDINANCE OF 1787.— No. 32. 
An Ordinance for the Government of the Territory of the United States, Northwest of 
the Ohio River. 

Be it ordained by the United States in Congress assembled, That the said Territory for the pur- 
pose of government, be one district; subject, however, to be divided into two districts, as future cir- 
cumstances may, in the opinion of Congress, make it expedient. 

Be it ordained by the authority aforesaid, That the estates of both resident and non-resident 
proprietors in the said Territory, dying intestate, shall descend to and be distributed among their 
children and the descendants of a deceased child, in equal parts; the descendants of a deceased 
child or grandchild to take the share of their deceased parent in equal parts among them And 
when there shall be no children or descendants, then in equal parts to the next of kin in equal 
degree; and among collaterals, the children of a deceased brother or sister of the intestate shall 
have in equal parts among them, their deceased parent's share; and there shall in no case be a 
distribution between kindred of the whole and half blood, saving in all cases to the widow of 
intestate, her third part of the real estate, for life, and one-third part of the personal estate; and 
tins law relative to descents and dower, shall remain in full force until altered by the Legis- 
lature of the district. And until the Governor and Judges shall adopt laws as hereinafter 
mentioned estates in said Territory may be devised or bequeathed by wills in writing, signed 
and sealed by him or her in whom the estate may be (being of full age), and attested by three 
w.tnesses; and real estate may be conveyed by lease and release, or bargain and sale, signed and 
sealed, and delivered by the person (being in full age) in whom the estate may be, and attested 



106 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 

by two witnesses, provided such wills be duly proved, and such conveyances be acknowledged, or 
the execution thereof duly proved and be recorded within one year after proper magistrates, 
courts and registers shall be appointed for that purpose. And personal property may be trans- 
ferred by delivery, saving, however, to the French and Canadian inhabitants and other settlers of 
the Kaskaskias, St. Vincent's and the neighboring villages, who have heretofore professed them- 
selves citizens of Virginia, their laws and customs now in force among them, relative to the 
descent and conveyance of property. 

Be it ordained by the authority aforesaid, That there shall be appointed from time to time, by 
Congress, a Governor whose commission shall continue in force for a term of three years, unless 
sooner revoked by Congress. He shall reside in the district and have a freehold estate therein, 
of a thousand acres of land while in the exercise of his office. 

There shall be appointed from time to time by Congress, a Secretary whose commission shall 
continue in force for two years, unless sooner revoked. He shall reside in the district, and shall 
have a freehold estate therein in 500 acres of land, while in the exercise of his office. It shall be 
his duty to keep and preserve the acts and laws passed by the Legislature, and the public records 
of the district, and the proceedings of the Governor in his executive department, and transmit 
authentic copies of such acts and proceedings every six months, to the Secretary of Congress. 
There shall also be appointed a court to consist of three Judges, any two of whom to form a 
court who shall have a common law jurisdiction and shall reside in the district and have each 
therein a freehold estate in 500 acres of land, while in the exercise of their office, and their 
commissions shall continue in force during good behavior. 

The Governor and Judges, or a majority of them, shall adopt and publish in the district 
such laws of the original St&tes, criminal and civil, as may be necessary and best suited to the 
circumstances of the district, and report them to Congress from time to time, which laws shall be 
in force in the district until the organization of the General Assembly therein, unless disapproved 
by Congress. But afterward, the Legislature shall have authority to alter them, as they shall 

think fit. . 

The Governor, for the time being, shall be commander-in-chief of the militia, appoint and 
commission all officers in the same, below the rank of general officers. All general officers shall 
be appointed and commissioned by Congress. 

Previous to the organization of the General Assembly, the Governor shall appoint such mag- 
istrates and other civil officers in each county or township, as he shall find necessary for the 
preservation of the peace and good order in the same. After the General Assembly shall be 
organized, the powers and duties of magistrates and other civil officers shall be regulated and 
defined by the said Assembly, but all magistrates and other civil officers not herein otherwise 
directed, shall, during the continuance of this temporary government, be appointed by the 

Governor. 

For the prevention of crimes and injuries, the laws to be adopted or made shall have force 
in all parts of the district, and for the execution of process, criminal or civil, the Governor shall 
make proper divisions thereof, and he shall proceed from time to time as circumstances may 
require to lay out the parts of the district in which the Indian titles shall have been extin- 
guished, into counties and townships, subject, however, to such alterations as may thereafter be 
made by the Legislature. So soon as there shall be 5,000 free male inhabitants of full age in the 
district upon giving proof thereof to the Governor, they shall receive authority with time and 
place to elect representatives from their counties or townships, to represent them in the General 
Assembly Provided, That for every 500 free male inhabitants, there shall be one representative, 
and so on progressively with the number of free male inhabitants, shall the right of representa- 
tion increase, until the number of representatives shall amount to twenty-five. After which, the 
number shall be regulated by the Legislature. Provided, That no person be eligible or qualified 
to act as a representative unless he shall have been a citizen of one of the United States three- 
years, and be a resident in the district, or unless he shall have resided in the district three 
years, and in either case, shall likewise hold in his own right in fee simple 200 acres of land 
within the same. 



HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 107 

Provided, Also, that a freehold in 50 acres of land in the district, having been a citizen of 
one of the States, and being a resident in the district, or the like freehold and two years' resi- 
dence in the district, shall be necessary to qualify a man as an elector of a representative. 

The representatives thus elected, shall serve for the term of two years. And in case of the 
death of a representative or removal from office, the Governor shall issue a writ to the county or 
township for which he was a member, to elect another in his stead, to serve for the residue of the 
term. 

The General Assembly or Legislature shall consist of the Governor, Legislative Council, and 
a House of Representatives. The Legislative Council shall consist of five members, to continue 
in office five years, unless sooner removed by Congress ; any three of whom to be a quorum. 
And the members of the Council shall be nominated and appointed in the following manner, to wit : 

As soon as representatives shall be elected, the Governor shall appoint a time and place for 
them to meet together, and when met, they shall nominate ten persons, residents in the district, 
and each person in a freehold in 500 acres of land, and return their names to Congress, five of 
whom Congress shall appoint and commission as aforesaid. And whenever a vacancy shall hap- 
pen in the Council by death or removal from office, the House of Representatives shall nominate 
two persons, qualified as aforesaid, for each vacancy, and return their names to Congress, one of 
whom Congress shall appoint and commission for the residue of the term. And every five years, 
four months at least before the expiration of the time of service of the members of the Council, 
the said House shall nominate ten persons qualified as aforesaid, and return their names to 
Congress, five of whom Congress shall appoint and commission to serve as members of the 
Council five years, unless sooner removed. And the Governor, Legislative Council and House 
of Representatives shall have authority to make laws in all cases, for the good government 
of the district, not repugnant to the principles and articles in this Ordinance, established and 
declared. 

And all bills having passed by a majority in the House, and by a majority in the Council, 
shall be referred to the Governor for his assent. But no bill or legislative act whatever, shall be 
of any force without his assent. The Governor shall have power to convene, prorogue and dis- 
solve the General Assembly, when in his opinion it shall be expedient. 

The Governor, Judges, Legislative Council, Secretary, and such other officers as Congress 
shall appoint in the district, shall take an oath or affirmation of fidelity and of office. The Gov- 
ernor before the President of Congress, and all other officers before the Governor. 

As soon as a Legislature shall be formed in the district, the Council and House assembled 
in one room, shall have authority by joint ballot to elect a delegate to Congress, who shall 
have a seat in Congress, with a right of debating, but not of voting, during this temporary gov- 
ernment. 

And for extending the fundamental principles of civil and religious liberty, which forms 
the basis whereon these republics, their laws and constitutions, are created ; to fix and establish 
those principles as the basis of all laws, constitutions and governments, which forever hereafter 
shall be formed in said Territory. To provide for the establishment of States, and permanent 
governments therein, and for their admission to a share in the Federal Council on an equal footing 
with the original States, at as early periods as may be consistent with the general interest. 

It is hereby ordained and declared by the authority aforesaid, That the following articles shall 
be considered as articles of compact between the original States and the people, and States in 
said Territory, and forever remain unaltered unless by common consent, to wit: 

Article II. The inhabitants of said Territory shall always be entitled to the benefits of the 
writ of habeas corpus, and of the trial by jury; of a proportionate representation of the people 
in the Legislature, and of judicial procedure according to the course of common law. All per- 
sons shall be bailable, except for capital offenses, where the proof shall be evident or the pre- 
sumption great. All fines shall be moderate, and no cruel or unreasonable punishment shall be 
inflicted. No man shall be deprived of his liberty or property, but by the judgment of his peers 
or the law of the land. And should the public exigencies make it necessary for the common 
preservation, to take any person's property, or to demand his particular services, full compensation 



108 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 

shall be made for the same. And in the just preservation of rights and property, it is under- 
stood and declared that no law aught ever to be made or have force in the said Territory, 
that shall in any manner whatever interfere with or effect private contracts or engagements bona 
fide and without fraud, previously formed. 

Art. III. Religion, morality and knowledge being necessary to good government and the 
happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged. The 
utmost good faith shall always be observed toward the Indians; their lands and property shall 
never be taken from them without their consent; and in their property, rights and liberty they 
shall never be invaded or disturbed, unless in just and lawful wars authorized by Congress. But 
laws founded in justice and humanity, shall from time to time be made for preventing wrongs 
being done to them, and for preserving peace and friendship with them. 

Art. IV. The said Territory and the States which may be formed therein, shall ever remain 
a part of the confederacy of the United States of America, subject to the articles of confedera- 
tion, and to such alterations therein as shall be constitutionally made, and to all the acts and 
ordinances of the United States in Congress assembled conformable thereto. The inhabitants and 
settlers in said Territory shall be subject to pay a part of the federal debts contracted or to be 
contracted, and a proportional part of the expenses of the Government, to be apportioned on 
them by Congress, according to the same common rule and measure by which apportionments 
thereof shall be made on the other States, and the taxes for paying their proportion shall be laid 
and levied by the authority and directions of the Legislature of the district or districts or new 
States, within the time agreed upon by the United States in Congress assembled. The Legisla- 
tures of those districts or new States, shall never interfere with the primary disposal of the soil 
by the United States in Congress assembled, nor with any regulations Congress may find neces- 
sary for securing the title in such soil to the bona-fide purchasers. No tax shall be imposed on 
lands the property of the United States, and in no case, shall non-residents be taxed higher than 
residents. The navigable waters leading into the Mississippi and St Lawrence, and the carry- 
ing places between the same, shall be common highways, and forever free as well to the inhabi- 
tants of the said Territory as to the citizens of the United States and those of any other States 
that may be admitted into the confederacy, without any tax, impost or duty therefor. 

Art. V. There shall be formed in said Territory not less than three, nor more than five, 
States, and the boundaries of the States, as soon as Virginia shall alter her act of cession and 
consent to the same, shall become fixed and established as follows, to wit : The western State in 
the said Territory shall be bounded by the Mississippi, the Ohio, the Wabash Rivers ; a direct 
line drawn from the Wabash and Post St. Vincent, due north to the Territorial line between the 
United States and Canada; and by the said Territorial line to the Lake of the Woods and Missis- 
sippi. The middle State shall be bounded by the said direct line, the Wabash from Post St. Vin- 
cent to the Ohio, by the Ohio, by a direct line drawn due north from the mouth of the Great 
Miami to the said Territorial line. The eastern State shall be bounded by the last-mentioned 
direct line, the Ohio, Pennsylvania and said territorial line. Provided, however, and it is further 
understood and declared, that the boundaries of those three States shall be subject so far to be 
altered, that, if Congress shall hereafter find it expedient, they shall have authority to form one 
or two States in that part of the said Territory which lies north of an east and west line drawn 
through the southerly bend or extreme of Lake Michigan. And whenever any of the said States 
shall have 00,000 free inhabitants therein, such State shall be admitted by its delegates into the 
Congress of the United States on an equal footing with the original States in all respects what- 
ever, and shall be at liberty to form a permanent constitution and State government. Provided, 
The constitution and government so to be formed, shall be represented, and in conformity to the 
principles contained in these articles ; and so far as it can be consistent with the general interest 
of the confederacy, such admission shall be allowed at an earlier period, and when there may be 
a less number of free inhabitants than 60,000. 

Art. VI. There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in the said Territory, 
otherwise than in the punishment of crimes whereof the party shall have been duly convicted. 
Provided alivayx, That any person escaping into the same from whom labor or service is lawfully 



HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 109 

claimed in one of the original States, each fugitive may be lawfully claimed and conveyed to the 
person claiming his or her labor or services as aforesaid. 

Be it ordained by the authority aforesaid, That the resolutions of the 23d of April, 1784, 
relative to the subject of this ordinance, be and the same are hereby repealed and declared null 
and void. 

The passage of this ordinance, since known as the " Ordinance of 1787," 
was immediately followed by an application to the Government, by John Cleves 
Seymour, of New Jersey, in behalf of the country, between the Miamis, and a 
contract was concluded the following year. The Ohio Company were exceed- 
ingly energetic in inaugurating settlements. Gen. Putman, with a party of 
forty-seven men, set out on an exploring expedition, accompanied by six boat 
builders. On the 1st of January, 1788, twenty-six surveyors followed, from 
Hartford, Conn. They arrived in Ohio on the 7th of April, 1788, and their 
active energy founded the permanent beginning of this great Western State- 
When we review the dangerous experiments that have been made, in this land 
west of the Alleghanies, the horrors which had overwhelmed every attempt, we 
can faintly realize the stalwart courage that sent these men on their way, and 
sustained them in their pioneer hardships. With characteristic vigor, they 
began their little town. Enthusiastic and happy, they did not rest from their 
toilsome march over the old Indian roads, but kept busily at work to estab- 
lish an oasis in this wide expanse of wilderness, before they should take nec- 
essary ease to recuperate their strength. 

The wise men met on the 2d of May, and the little town was named 
Marietta. Situated as it was, in the midst of danger, they had used precaution 
to build and equip a fortified square, which was designated Campus Martius ; 
Square No. 19 was Capitolium, and Square No. 61 was Cecelia, and the main 
street was Sacra Via. 

Marietta was especially fortunate in her actual "first families." Ten of the 
forty-eight men had received a thorough college education ; the remaining were 
individuals of sterling merit, honorable, and several had already attained reputations 
for superior excellence of abilities. Patriotic and brave, the settlement certainly 
possessed a foundation that promised well for the future. The following 4th of 
July was an auspicious event, and the Hon. James M. Varnum was the eloquent 
orator of the occason. 

The opening of the court, on the 2d of September, was a solemn ceremonial, 
the High Sheriff leading with drawn sword, followed by citizens, with an escort 
of officers from Fort Harmar, the members of the bar, the Governor and Clergy- 
men, the Judges of the Court of Common Pleas — Gen. Rufus Putman and 
Benjamin Tupper — all these constituted an imposing spectacle, as they pro- 
gressed over a path which had been cut through the forest to Campus Martius 
Hall, the edifice of law and order. 

The Judges took their seats, a prayer was offered by the Rev. Dr. Cutler, 
and immediately the Sheriff, Col. Ebenezer Sprout, proclaimed the response, 
and the court of impartial justice was convened. 



110 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 

This ceremonial was, perhaps, made all the more impressive by the presence 
of several powerful Indian chiefs, who had journeyed to Marietta for the pur- 
pose of making a treaty. 

The settlement now increased rapidly, new cabins were erected constantly. 
On the 17th of December, a society event occurred, in the form of a grand ball, 
fifteen ladies being present. 

John Cleves Symmes had contracted for 2,000,000 acres of land, and suc- 
ceeded in obtaining his grant, but circumstances prevented him from meeting 
his part of the obligations, and the specification was reduced to 1,000,000. 
After vain attempt to make his payments, a settlement was finally effected for 
24S.540 acres, and Symmes was prepared to dispose of clear titles to new-com- 
ers. In 1788, a town was established within the boundaries of his grant, at the 
mouth of the little Miami, known as Columbia, and in the early part of 1787 
another was formed opposite the mouth of the Licking River, by name Losanti- 
ville, analyzed by a frontier scholar — ville, the town ; anti, opposite to ; os, the 
mouth of; Z, Licking. 

Judge Symmes had projected building his main town at North Bend. This 
plan was frustrated by reason of Ensign Luce — who had been commissioned by 
Gen. Harmar to erect a fort — deciding that North Bend was not suitable for the 
purpose. He selected Losantiville for the purpose, and Fort Washington was 
the result. In 1790, Gov. St. Clair was called to inspect the settlement, and 
proceeded to organize Hamilton County, at the same time calling the town 
Cincinnati. 

It will be remembered that Connecticut ceded most of her western lands to 
General Government, retaining, however, a minor portion. As the settlements 
beo-an to increase on the "Virginia Reserve" and between the Scioto and Miami 
Rivers, all those holding claims were not disposed to part with them, while 
others were anxious to secure grants for the purpose of speculation, rather than 
the advancement of civilization. The Scioto Company was a questionable ad- 
herent of the Ohio Company, and began operations, which resulted well, what- 
ever their purpose may have been. 

Gen. Putnam cleared the land and directed the building of 100 dwellings and 
six block-houses. During 1791, the colony arrived, consisting of 500 persons. 
Only ten of these were tillers of the soil. Viscount Malartie ventured into the 
wilderness, but instead of settling, joined Gen. St. Clair's army, and was ulti- 
mately his aid-de-camp. Indian conquests were not to his taste, and he soon 
returned to France. This new colony was essentially French, and its location 
was Gallia County. The name " Gallipolis " was selected. 

These settlers, being unaccustomed to severe toil, and disinclined to learn 
its hard lesson, soon became demoralized, through deprivation and absolute 
want. Congress came to their aid with a land grant of 24,000 acres, but few 
of them cared to enter claims, and soon all traces of the old town were lost, and 
its inhabitants scattered. 



HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. Ill 

Gen. St. Clair having become unpopular, through repeated failures in Indian 
campaigns, and Gen. Anthony Wayne having wintered at Fort Washington, 
the spring of 1793 was opened by a march of the army, well disciplined and 
led by "Mad Anthony," on a campaign that must crush the rapidly increasing 
depredations of the Indians, notwithstanding which these new settlements had 
been made. All winter, Gen. Wayne had dispatched scouts, spies and hardy 
frontiersmen on errands of discovery, and his plans were, therefore, practically 
matured. His army cut its way through the forests, gathering horses, provis- 
ions, etc., as they marched, and finally came nearly up to the enemy before dis- 
covery. They again returned to Fort Washington, as the Commander-in-Chief, 
under the order of the Executive, had proclaimed inaction until the Northern 
or British Commissioners and Indians should convene and discuss the situation 
and prospects. Gen. Wayne, meantime, drilled his men at " Hobson's Choice," 
a place near Fort Washington. 

The Commissioners came from Detroit, and assembled at Capt. Matthew 
Elliot's house, at the mouth of the Detroit River. 

A meeting was called at Sandusky, and twenty Indian representatives were 
present, to argue the grounds of a treaty. Simon Girty acted as interpreter, 
and has been vehemently accused of unfaithfulness in this trust, since he did 
not advocate the adjustment of matters on any grounds. The Indians reiterated 
their rights and wrongs, and offered to receive the half of the purchase money, 
provided the actual settlers would accept it as the price of the land, move away, 
and leave the original owners the proud possessors of their lands. The Govern- 
ment would then expend less money than they would have done in a full Indian 
purchase, or a long and cruel war. This being out of the question and rejected, 
a decided specification was made that the Ohio boundary was to be obliterated, 
and a new one adopted, that encompassed a mere fraction of territory. This 
was also rejected, The Indians indignantly bade the Americans to go back to 
their father, and they would return to their tribes. 

The council was terminated in confusion. It is highly probable that some 
settlement might have been made, had it not been for English influence which 
instigated the savages, in the hope of ultimately making conquests for them- 
selves. The commander at Detroit evinced great uneasiness whenever there 
was a shadow of an opportunity for a peaceful understanding. 

On Christmas Day, 1793, a detachment of the army encamped on the 
identical ground made memorable by St. Clair's horrible defeat. A reward was 
offered for every human skull that was found, and 600 were gathered. The 
bones of the victims were removed from the spot where they built Fort Recovery. 
This point was left in charge of Alexander Gibson. 

Early in the year 1794, Lord Dorchester addressed the Commissioners in 
behalf of the English. Even at this time, Gen. Wayne, to avoid the terrors of 
a great war, again made overtures of peace, dispatching Freeman, Trueman and 
Hardin, all initiated in savage tactics, on errands of mercy — and the three men 



112 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 

were inhumanly murdered. The English went so far as to order Gov. Simcoe 
to erect a fort, in April, 1794, on the Rapids of the Maumee, thus rousing the 
Indians by a bold proof that they had espoused their cause. In May, the 
Spanish, who were ever jealous of colonial encroachments, were willing to aid 
in a general raid against the Americans. 

In June, a scouting party from Fort Recovery, fell into an Indian ambush 
and suffered severely, their foes following them to the very entrance. The siege 
continued for two days. It was plainly evident that white men augmented the 
Indian force ; ounce balls and buck-shot surely came from their rifles. Again, 
the Indians immediately began a search beneath the logs where pieces of artillery 
were hidden during the great battle of St. Clair, but fortunately, Fort Recovery 
had the use of them and they accomplished much. 

On July 26, Scott joined Wayne at Greenville, with 1,600 mounted 
Kentuckians, and on the 28th, the legion took up its line of deadly march. 
Halting at Girty's Town, they built Fort Mary's, later on Fort Adams. Throw- 
ing the enemy off their guard by feints and counter-marching, the troops surprised 
the Indians, and without the slightest resistance took possession of their villages 
at the confluence of the Auglaize and Maumee. They found provision in 
abundance, and tarried a week building Fort Defiance. 

Again Gen. Wayne would have made terms of peace, on the principle of the 
Government to arrest bloodshed, but the Indians were rendered cruelly intent 
on war by an addition of a body of British militia from Detroit, and by regulars 
stationed at a fort they had built on the left bank of the river, below the rapids, 
called Fort Miami. The "Fallen Timber" ground was selected as the field 
for a battle by the savages, in the expectation that the trees cast down by a 
tornado and there remaining, would seriously impede American progress. 

August 15th, Wayne marched down the river, and at Roche de Boeuf, erected 
a fortification for their stores and luggage, naming it " Fort Deposit." On the 
20th, the American army began the attack. Maj. Price and Maj. Gen. Scott 
were heroic in their assistance, and after a sharp, deadly conflict, the enemy 
was routed, fleeing in confusion, and leaving their dead and wounded strewn 
thickly over the field. The savages were pressed to the front always, and when 
the carnage was painful, the British troops not engaged looked on coolly from the 
fort and offered no assistance, aiding their own, however, when possible. Gen. 
Wayne being an ardent soldier, was apt to forget his position, and impetuously 
place himself constantly in danger. Lieut. Harrison is reported to have 
requested the General not to forget to give him field orders, in his own partici- 
pation in the battle, and to have received the reply that the standing order was 
always to charge bayonets. 

Notwithstanding the treaty of 1878, and the fact that the British were tres- 
passing, they encroached upon the Ohio soil, and essayed to vindicate their 
action by discarding American claims and recognizing the Indian rights, whereby 
they might seek their own colonization and make treaties. 



HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 113 

Maj. Campbell was in command at Fort Miami, and when he saw the sava- 
ges being cut down almost mercilessly, he not only refrained from offering aid, 
but when, in their desperate retreat, they attempted to enter the fort for pro- 
tection, he ordered the doors closed in their faces. 

On the following day, Campbell sent a message to Wayne, demanding a 
reason for hostile action, adding that Great Britain was not now at war with the 
United States. He received a characteristic reply. 

During the Revolution, Detroit was an important British point, and the 
Maumee was its outlet. Therefore, the English clung tenaciously to this pos- 
session, giving, as it did, the advantage of the great fur trade. The English 
Government evidently regretted ceding so much of her territory in the West, 
and were searching for an excuse to quarrel and attempt to regain at least a part 
of what they had lost. Their policy was to sustain the bitter hatred between 
the Indians and the Americans. 

The settlement of the Maumee Valley had been rapid, but the very name 
was an agony of remembrance of frightful massacres and atrocities. Col. 
McKee, the British Indian agent, and his assistant, Capt. Elliott, were from 
Pennsylvania, but being Tories, they had assimilated with the Indians. They 
joined the Shawnee tribe and married Indian wives, and made their fortunes 
thereby, through British appointments to secure the savage interests. The 
Indians were directly served by McKee and Elliott, with ammunition and sup- 
plies, during the Wayne conflict. 

Several skirmishes ensued, but severe weather approaching, the troops 
moved for quarters, and on the 14th day of September, they attacked the Miami 
villages, captured them with provisions and stores, and erected a fort, leaving 
it in charge of Lieut. Col. Hamtramck. With cheers and rifle-shooting, this post 
was named Fort Wayne. The main army marched into Greenville and went into 
winter quarters. 

Wayne had achieved a brilliant victory, but his success did not overcome his 
practical reasoning, and he was unwilling to subject his men to a severe winter's 
campaign unless necessity was peremptory. 

Gov. Simcoe, Col. McKee and a few of the most savage Indian chiefs 
attempted to rally the Indians for a new attack. Gov. Simcoe, of Detroit, was 
aware that the mounted volunteers under Wayne had been allowed to return 
home, and that the term of service of a portion of the " Legion " was about to 
expire. 

The British and Indians held a conference, but the latter were weary with 
fighting for the glory of the Great Father at Detroit, and did not enter into the 
plan. The winter proved most poverty stricken to them, the English failing to 
supply them, and their crops and sustenance having been destroyed by Wayne. 
They were then fully prepared to listen to the faintest signal from Wayne to 
conciliate affairs, and the Wyandots and Delawares were the first to confer with 
him on the subject. Their position was exposed and they had suffered severely. 



114 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 

They soon influenced other tribes to consider the question. As a mass, they 
were convinced of their inability to overcome the Americans, and had become 
impatient and disgusted with the duplicity of their British friends, who had not 
hesitated to sacrifice them in every instance, and who deserted them in their 
hour of distress. United, they sued for peace. Terms were made, and about 
the 1st of August, the famous Greenville treaty was ratified and established, 
and the old Indian war in Ohio terminated. 

The Wyandots, Delawares, Shawnees, Chippewas, Ottawas, Pottawatomies, 
Miamis, Eel Rivers, Weas, Kickapoos, Piankeshaws and Kaskaskias were thus 
conciliated. The old Indian boundary line, settled upon at the Fort Mcintosh 
treaty, was retained, and the southwestern line was prolonged from old Fort 
Recovery, southwest of the Ohio River. 

" The general boundary lines between the lands of the United States and 
the lands of the said Indian tribes shall begin at the mouth of the Cuyahoga 
River, and thence run up the same to the portage between that and the Tus- 
carawas Branch of the Muskingum ; thenee down that branch to the crossing- 
place above Fort Laurens ; thence westerly to a fork of that branch of the 
Great Miami River (running into the Ohio), at or near which fork stood Lar- 
amie's store — Mary's River, which is a branch of the Miami that runs into Lake 
Erie ; thence a westerly course to Fort Recovery, which stands on a branch of 
the Wabash ; thence southwesterly on a direct line to the Ohio, so as to inter- 
sect that river opposite the mouth of the Kentucky or Cuttawa River." 

This boundary line has, ever since this memorable treaty, been a prominent 
landmark, and may now be traced as the southern boundary line of Stark, Ash- 
land, Richland and Marion Counties, and the northern line, in part, of Tuscar- 
awas and Knox. Old Fort Recovery was located in Mercer, near the Indiana 
line. Laramie's store was in Shelby. 

Within the Indian Reservation, the United States held sixteen distinct sec- 
tions of land, for the purpose of military posts, so arranged that the Govern- 
ment had full right of way north and west. 

The "Joy treaty " between England and the United States was ratified early 
in 1796, and the British were obliged to vacate Detroit and Fort Miami, and recall 
the fact that they had no claim or right to either points. Gen. Wayne received 
them, and accompanied by Gov. St. Clair, proceeded to Detroit. Here the lat- 
ter laid out a county, calling it Wayne, and designated Detroit as its seat of 
justice. This was the fifth county in the Northwest Territory, north of the 
Ohio River. Washington County, with Marietta as a seat of justice, was first 
established ; next Hamilton, with Cincinnati as a county seat. Wayne County 
was organized in 1796, and included about twenty-six of the present counties, 
in the northwest part of the State, covering about a quarter of its area, besides 
parts of Indiana and Michigan. 

In other parts of the State, the population was rapidly increasing. In May, 
1795, the Legislature authorized a committee to institute measures for the 





GREENVILLE, OHIO 



HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 117 

disposal of their Western lands. The Virginia and Connecticut Reservations 
required some action on the part of Government, inasmuch as ceding a portion 
and re-selling had in a measure disturbed free titles. Fifty-six persons negoti- 
ated and purchased lands, receiving quit-claim titles and entire rights. They 
re-sold to John Morgan and John Caldwell and Jonathan Bruce, in trust. Thus 
3,000,000 acres were prepared for settlement. Upon the quit-claim deeds of 
these representatives, the full title of lands included within the old Western 
Reserve rests. 

Judge Symmes began his active operations in 1796, and by the close of 
1797 all lands east of the Cuyahoga were laid out in townships, five miles square. 
The agent of the Connecticut Land Company was Gen. Moses Cleveland, and in 
his honor the leading city in the Reserve was named. Some townships were 
retained for private sale, and others were disposed of by lottery, in 1798. 

Wayne's treaty led to the formation of Dayton, and the peopling of that 
section. A difficulty arose regarding the original Symmes grant and its modifi- 
cation. Symmes had sold land titles, in good faith, beyond his vested power, 
and Congress was now called upon to adjust these claims and titles. Seventeen 
days after the Wayne or Greenville treaty, St. Clair, Wilkinson, Dayton and 
Ludlow contracted with Symmes for seven and eight ranges, between the Mad 
and Little Miami Rivers. November 4, 1795, Mr. Ludlow laid out Dayton. 

During the years 1790 and 1795, the Governor and Supreme Judges of the 
Northwest Territory had published sixty-four statutes. Thirty-four of these 
were ratified at Cincinnati, for the purpose of forming a complete statutory. It 
was termed the " Maxwell Code." 

Mr. Nathaniel Massie founded a town on the Scioto, which was called 
Chillicothe. The Iroquois treaty had previously invited settlement, and embryo 
towns had begun as early as 1769, under the protection of the Connecticut 
Company. A land company was organized in Hartford, Conn., in 1795, sending 
out forty-three surveyors to divide the townships of that part of the Western 
Reserve, east of the Cuyahoga, five miles square. The first resident of the town 
of Cleveland was Mr. Job Stiles and family, and Mrs. Stiles was the mother of 
the first white child born on the Reserve. Some other parts of the territory 
progressed more rapidly in population. 

Along the Muskingum, Scioto and Miami, towns began to spring up, which 
might perhaps better be termed farming settlements. 

Cincinnati was increasing, and in 1796, had reached 100 cabins, 15 frame 
houses and 600 persons, with prospects for a firm future. 

The Virginia Military Land District was between the Little Miami and 
Scioto, and was rapidly increasing in population. 

Mr. Massie was unceasing in his efforts to advance the West, and laid out 
Manchester, offering inducements that could not fail to attract settlers. 

Ebenezer Zane procured a grant in consideration of opening a bridle path 
from the Ohio River at Wheeling, over the country via Chillicothe, to Limestone, 



118 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 

in Kentucky. The year following, the United States mail "was taken over 
this route. 

The comparatively tranquil condition of the country and the inducements it 
had to offer encouraged a rapid settlement of the Territory. A prominent 
feature of the early growth of Ohio was the general prevalence of reliable, 
stanch principle. The people were of the good colonial stock. 

In 1800, Chillicothe was denominated the seat of the Territorial govern- 
ment, and the first stone edifice in the State was begun in this town, soon after 
this appointment. About this time, a serious difficulty suddenly occurred to 
those individuals who had taken lands on the Western Reserve of Connecticut. 
That Eastern power had, it is true, ceded a part of her claim to the General 
Government, and had stipulated for the sale of certain other tracts. At the 
same time, the State had not signed away her jurisdiction over some sections of 
her claim, and those unfortunate people in and about Dayton found themselves 
without any government upon which they might depend in a case of emergency. 
The matter was, accordingly, presented to the Territorial government, which 
interceded with the Eastern State, and, sanctioned by the Assembly at Congress, 
Connecticut relinquished her jurisdiction in 1800. 

Cleveland was an important point, and was growing in the mean time. How- 
ever, it had suffered exceedingly from the ravages of fever and ague. For a 
period of two months, there was not an individual, but a boy thirteen years 
of age, able to procure food for the others. Flour was out of all rational con- 
sideration, and the meal upon which they lived was pounded by hand. In 
1799, Williams and Myatt erected a grist-mill at the falls, near Newbury. 

A startling agitation occurred in 1801, which in these days would cause but a 
ripple in the political sea, but happening during a time when legislative dignity 
and state authority were regarded with reverential awe, it created the most 
intense feeling. Great indignation was openly expressed. 

The Governor and several legislators felt that they had been insulted in 
the performance of their respective duties, at Chillicothe, while the Assembly 
was in session in 1801. No measures being taken by the authorities at the 
capital to protect the Executive, a law was passed removing the seat of govern- 
ment to Cincinnati. 

This circumstance led to a general consideration of the advantages of a 
State government, and a popular desire was expressed for a change in this 
respect. Gov. St. Clair had fallen into disfavor through his failure as a military 
leader and his failures in the Indian campaigns, and from his assuming powers 
which were not vested in him, especially the subdivision of counties. He was 
also identified with the Federal party, which was not popular in Ohio. The 
opposition was strong in the Assembly, but was in the minority in the House of 
Representatives. The boundary question was agitated at the same time. The 
intention was to thus effect the limits of Ohio that a State government would 
necessarily have to be postponed. Against this measure, Tiffin, Worthington, 



HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. H9 

Longham, Darlington, Massie, Dunlavy and Morrow strenuously objected After 
considerable discussion, Thomas Worthington obtained leave of absence from 
the session, and journeyed to Washington in behalf of a State government It 
was obvious that the Territory, under the ordinance, was not entitled 'to a 
change. Massie suggested the feasibility of appointing a committee to address 
Congress on the subject. This the House refused to pass. 

An effort was then made to take a census, but any action on this subiect 
was postponed until the next session. 

During all this ineffectual struggle, Worthington was doing his best in Wash- 
ington, and succeeded so well that on March 4, a report was made to the House 
in favor of the State government. This report was made on a basis that the 
census, m 1800, summed up over 45,000 for Ohio. 

April 30, Congress passed a law carrying into effect the views expressed on 
this subject. A convention met on November 1. Its members were generally 
Jeffersoman in their views. Gov. St. Clair proposed to address them as their 
chief executive magistrate. Several members resolutely opposed this action 
insisting upon a vote, which, through courtesy and not a sense of right, resulted 
in permitting him to address them. He advised the postponement of the State 
government until the original eastern portion of the State was sufficiently pop* 
ulated to demand this right. Only one, out of thirty-three, voted to sustain 
the Governor in these views. 

The convention agreed to the views of Congress. November 29, the agree- 
ment was ratified and signed, as was the constitution of the State of Ohio 
The General Assembly was ordered to convene the first Tuesday of March 1803* 
This was carried into effect. A constitution was framed for the new' State' 
adhering to the Ordinance of 1787. The rights and duties of citizens were 
plainly set forth, and general business was transacted. The new State consti- 
tution was signed by : 

Edward Tiffin, President and Representative from Ross County. 
Adams County— Joseph Darlington, Israel Donalson, Thomas Vinker. 
Belmont County— James Caldwell and Elijah Woods. 
Clermont County— Philip Gatch and James Sargent. 
Fairfield County— Henry Abrams and Emanuel Carpenter. 
Hamilton County-John W. Brown, Charles Willing Byrd, Francis Dun- 
lavy, William Goforth, John Gitchel, Jeremiah Morrow, John Paul, John Riley 
John Smith and John Wilson. J ' 

Jefferson County-Rudolph Blair, George Humphry, John Milligan, Nathan 
Updegraff and Bezaleel Wells. 

Ross County— Michael Baldwin, James Grubb, Nathaniel Massie and F 
Worthington. 

Washington County— Ephraim Cutler, Benjamin Ives Gilman, John Mc- 
Intyre and Rufus Putnam. 
Thomas Scott, Secretary. 



120 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 

The first Legislature of the State, under the new constitution, created eight 
new counties, viz., Gallia, Scioto, Franklin, Columbiana, Butler, Warren, 
Greene and Montgomery. 

The first State officers were : Michael Baldwin, Speaker of the House ; Na- 
thaniel Massie, President of the Senate ; William Creighton, Secretary of 
State ; Col. Thomas Gibson, Auditor ; William McFarland, Treasurer ; Return 
J. Meigs, Jr., Samuel Huntington and William Sprigg, Judges of the Supreme 
Court ; Francis Dunlavy, Willis Silliman and Calvin Pease, Judges of the Dist- 
rict Court. 

The General Assembly held a second session in December, at which time 
the militia law was revised, also giving aliens equal proprietary rights with native 
citizens. The revenue system was modified and improved. Acts authorizing 
the incorporation of townships were passed, and for the establishment of coun- 
ties. Furthermore, Jacob White, Jeremiah Morrow and William Ludlow were 
authorized to locate a township for collegiate purposes, according to previous 
specified terms of Congress. The Symmes grant and the college specification 
collided materially, but the irregularity of the former was not to create any 
inconvenience for the latter. Mr. Symmes had in good faith marked off this 
township, but circumstances preventing the perfection of his plans, that lapsed 
with the others, and the original township was now entered by settlers. 

Accordingly, thirty-six sections, west of the Great Miami, were selected, 
and are now held by the Miami University. 

Gov. St. Clair, notwithstanding his unpopularity, was re-appointed. 

Ohio was under a system of government which guaranteed the best improve- 
ments ; her Legislature being composed of her best statesmen, and the laws 
passed having the general interest of the people embodied in them. 

A bill was passed, appropriating the net proceeds of the land lying within 
said State, sold by Congress after the 20th day of June, 1802, after deducting 
all expenses incident to the same, to be applied to the laying-out of roads, 
leading from the navigable waters emptying into the Atlantic to the Ohio, to 
the said State, and through the same ; such roads to be laid out under the 
authority of Congress, with the consent of the several States through which the 
road shall pass. In conformity with these provisions, steps were taken, in 1805, 
which resulted in the making of the Cumberland or National road. 

Burr, at this time, began an organization for the ostensible purpose of 
making a settlement on the Wachita, but his party being armed and his plans 
not being frankly disclosed, an investigation proved that his real design was a 
mutinous revolt against Governmental powers, and to gratify his ambition by 
founding his own kingdom in Mexico, and defeating the Spanish. If success 
crowned his efforts, his ultimate victory was to rupture the Union by forcing the 
Western States to withdraw from their allegiance. By gaining an influence 
over the noble but misguided Blcnnerhasset, he established his headquarters on 
his island in the Ohio. The history of Burr's expedition is already well known. 



HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 121 

The final capture by Gov. Tiffin, of ten boats loaded with stores, on the Mus- 
kingum, and four near Marietta, decided the fate of this scheme, and Burr was 
finally arrested and put on trial May 22, 1807. 

The advancement of the settlement of the State was in no manner impeded, 
and towns sprang up, farms were laid out, and all other improvements inaugu- 
rated which tended to a permanent prosperity. 

In 1808, Tecumseh left Greenville to join the Prophet on the banks of the 
Tippecanoe, a tributary of the Upper Wabash, on a tract of land granted herein 
by the Pottawatomies. 

The Indians were virtually by treaty allowed but a small proportion of land 
within the boundaries of the State, and were maintaining peaceful attitudes 
toward the whites, with exceptional border depredations, which were settled by 
mutual understanding. 

Although the United States had gained independence, and was treating with 
England as with other foreign powers, the British persisted in violating the 
national rights of the United States, impressing American seamen into the 
British service, seizing American vessels engaged with France in trade, and 
otherwise violating the rights of an independent nation, at peace with the Brit- 
ish power. 

The mission upon which Henry was sent by the British, to create disturb- 
ance between the States, and thus broken, to weaken the strength of the Gen- 
eral Government, added fuel to the fire, and united indignation cried for war. 

British agents again bargained with the Indians of the Wabash and Maumee 
Valleys, desiring them to inaugurate another war upon the western sections and 
to make a desperate attack upon the settlements south of the lakes. The Brit- 
ish agent at Maiden negotiated in rifles, powder, ball, merchandise, lead, blank- 
ets and shirts. The Indians were inspired again with the hope that the whites 
would be driven back, and that all the country north of the Ohio would again 
revert to them. 

The Canadians in league with the English, gave the savages unlimited 
quantities of whisky, which naturally aroused their fierce natures to acts of 
violence and blood. It is highly probable that the use of liquor was the main 
cause of the deterioration of the best traits of the Indian character, after the 
Revolution. Again, many unscrupulous men upon the frontier did not hesi- 
tate to commit the most merciless crimes against the Indians, such was the 
prejudice against them, and the courts invariably failed to indict them for these 
atrocities. This error on the part of the Americans served to influence the 
savages against them. 

At this time, the seats of justice were distant over a hundred miles each 
from the other, uninhabited tracts frequently extending between them which were 
absolute wildernesses. The routes w r ere in many cases difficult and circuitous. 

As early as 1808, there was a mail communication for the people on the 
Lower Maumee, many days elapsing between the arrivals and departures of 



122 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 

the same, however. Horace Gunn was the carrier. Benoni Adams brought 
the news from Cleveland to the same point, his trip requiring a fortnight. It 
must be remembered that this journey was mostly made on foot. The Black 
Swamp could not be traversed in any other manner. 

THE WAR OF 1812. 

The war of 1812 can be called a continuation of the Revolution, with all 
justice. Although rumors had reached Ohio, that active preparations were 
being made for general action, no official tidings had been sent to Hull, com- 
mander-in-chief of the Western forces. 

The Secretary of War, instead of sending a special messenger directly to 
Hull, communicated with the post adjacent, depending upon a continuation of 
the news from that point. At the same time, advices were sent the British 
post at Maiden and Detroit. Hull sent out a packet with official papers, stores, 
etc., the day previous to that on which the official intelligence arrived that an 
open rupture existed between the two powers, and this was of course captured. 

The Western forces marched to Detroit and crossed over to Sandwich, pre- 
paratory to attacking Maiden, a post most favorable for the transportation of 
stores, troops, etc. which was therefore considered valuable. 

Peter Minard first gave the news to the settlers of the Maumee. He had 
heard from a Delaware chief, who assured him a general massacre was to take 
place in the valley. Maj. Spafford paid no heed to this "idle fear," until a 
few days thereafter a messenger came to his quarters, reporting a band of fifty 
Pottawatomies on the march to join the hostile tribes near Maiden. They had 
plundered and burned Monclova, and had nearly reached the rapids. 

The Major, with his family and settlers, immediately launched a barge on 
the river and were able to reach old Fort Miami just as the savages reached 
Maumee City. They could plainly witness the flames that devoured their old 
homes. They kept on their way in their miserable craft, until they reached 
Milan, where they learned that the entire country was in danger. 

Although the Indians were defeated in the battle of Tippecanoe in the fall 
of 1811, they plotted vigorously with the English for the invasion of Ohio. 

Gen. William Hull marched from the southwestern part of the State 
directly north, crossing the counties of Champaign, Logan, Hardin, Hancock 
and Wood, establishing military posts along the route and cutting a way 
through the wilderness of the unsettled portions. He crossed the Maumee on 
the 1st of July, and marched to Detroit. 

Hull was evidently actuated in his succeeding disgraceful failures by two 
fears — lack of confidence in the ability of his troops, and the belief that they 
might desert him in action. He proclaimed freedom, and a necessity of sub- 
mitting to the Canadians under existing circumstances. He held out induce- 
ments to the British regulars to desert their cause and essayed to pacify the 
savages, but he accomplished nothing beyond jeopardizing the American cause 



HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 123 

and disgracing his army. His men became restless. Col. Miller and Col. 
Cass were delighted when detailed on scouting expeditions, and did not hesi- 
tate to attack advancing squads of the enemy. At last, an attack was made on 
the Niagara frontier, and Hull speedily abandoned his project and collected his 
forces at Detroit. 

Meantime, Col. Proctor had reached Maiden, and quickly perceiving the 
advantage of a post at that point, whereby he could cut off supplies and starve 
Hull into subjection, he massed his forces about this section, captured Van 
Horn and his two hundred men, and withstood the attack of Miller, although 
he gained nothing by so doing. Again Hull displayed his weakness by recall- 
ing his forces from further molestations. 

Gen. Brock, however, reached Maiden on the 13th of August, 1812, and 
began war preparations. 

Gen. Dearborn placed a force on the Niagara frontier, but an armistice was 
made with the British. Hull dispatched a third party under McArthur, to 
open communications to the Raisin River. 

Gen. Brock appeared at Sandwich and began to erect batteries, which Hull 
would not allow to be molested. The result was, that on the 26th of August 
Detroit was surrendered to the enemy, and not a blow had been struck in its 
defense. 

By this dastardly act, 1,400 brave men who had not been permitted to 
make a single effort to sustain the American cause, were surrendered to 300 
English regulars, 400 Canadians and their Indian allies. Gen. Hull was, in 
consequence of this series of "mistakes," accused of treason and cowardice, 
and convicted of the latter. By the middle of August, the British had gained 
the control over most of the Northwestern Territory. 

The appointment of William Henry Harrison to the position of com- 
mander in chief of the Western forces, was most opportune. He speedily 
raised a vigorous army, and advanced by three routes to the foot of the rapids. 

Gen. Harrison commanded the right wing, and marched by the way of Upper 
Sandusky, where he located his depot of supplies. Gen. Tupper commanded 
the center, Fort McArthur, in Hardin County, being his base, while Gen. Win- 
chester marched from Fort Defiance down the Maumee to the foot of the rapids. 

A large force of British and Indians moved up the left bank of the Mau- 
mee toward Fort Wayne, and Gen. Harrison, to intercept them, marched to 
the confluence of the Auglaize with the Maumee. 

Harrison was aware that the enemy would be also hemmed in by Win- 
chester. The weather was rainy, and the prospects were that a most unfortun- 
ate season was to follow the expected engagements. Harrison heard that 
Winchester had reached Fort Defiance, and that the Indians and British were 
retreating down the Maumee. He followed, and marched to Winchester's 
camp, where he arrived in season to quell a mutiny under command of Col. 
Allen, of the Kentucky troops. 



124 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 

In January, 1813, Winchester had reached the rapids, where he received 
tidings that Frenchtown was menaced and exposed. Without orders, he sent a 
party to the rescue, which defeated the enemy. The weather was intensely 
cold, and the company lay within eighteen miles of Maiden, where the enemy 
was collected in full force, consequently re-enforcements must be dispatched 
immediately or the town again left to its fate. 

Winchester then marched with a force of 259 men, and upon arriving at 
nightfall, insisted upon remaining on open ground, although warned repeatedly 
that this would be a most dangerous experiment. 

In the morning, he was surprised by the enemy, massed directly before 
him, with a battery within three hundred yards of his camp, and a shower of 
bombs, balls and grape-shot falling among his exposed troops, and the yells of 
Indians reminding him of his fatal error. Lewis, who led the party out in the 
beginning and had apprehended the danger, bravely defended himself behind 
garden pickets. Winchester was defeated on the 22d of January, 1813, and 
the Indians were permitted to massacre the prisoners and the settlers. 

Harrison fell back to the foot of the rapids. On the 1st of February, he 
began the construction of Fort Meigs. On the 27th of April, Proctor and 
Tecumseh attacked this fort, and laid siege with the full expectation of success. 
The stipulation was that Gen. Harrison was to be delivered to Tecumseh. 
While the balls and bombs were making havoc with the fort, the Indians were 
climbing trees and pouring a galling fire down upon the troops. Gen. Proctor 
invited Harrison to surrender, which was politely declined, with the assurance 
that the British General would have the opportunity to distinguish himself as a 
soldier before such a proceeding was enacted: 

Gen. Clay was descending the Maumee with 1,200 Kentuckians in flat 
boats. Orders went from Harrison that 800 men should land on the left bank, 
take and spike the British cannon, and then to enter the fort, from which 
soldiers were to issue to assist the re-enforcements. 

Capt. Hamilton was to pilot Gen. Clay to the fort, cutting their way 
through. All succeeded, Col. Dudley taking the batteries and spiking the 
cannon. But his men, too much elated by their success, against orders, and 
against the repeated expostulations of Col. Dudley, insisted on pursuing the 
Indians. Col. Dudley would not desert them. This act proved their ruin. 
By a decoy, they were led into a defile which proved an ambush, and the men 
found themselves surrounded by savages, without means of escape. 

A most frightful massacre began, and every man would have fallen had not 
Tecumseh sternly forbidden the cowardly carnage. One of his principal chiefs 
ignored this order, and the next instant the great warrior buried his hatchet in 
his head. The brave Col. Dudley was, however, tomahawked and scalped. 

There were no immediate signs that the fort would be surrendered, and the 
siege was raised on the 9th of May. It was renewed on the 20th of July, and 
abandoned a few days later. The enemy decided this stronghold was invulnerable. 



HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 125 

On the 1st of August, the enemy proceeded to Fort Stevenson, at Lower 
Sandusky, garrisoned by 150 men under Maj. Croghan. The fort had the 
use of but one piece of cannon. The enemy with Tecumseh's Indians num- 
bered 3,300 strong, with six pieces of cannon. 

Gen. Proctor again tendered the offer to surrender, adding that a refusal 
would only bring about a useless resistance, and a massacre by the Indians. 
The reply was, that before the fort went over to the British, not an American 
would be left to be massacred, as they should hold out to the last man. Proc- 
tor opened fire. The first movement was an assault upon the northwest angle 
of the fort, as if to make a breach and thus carry the works. The command- 
ant strengthened that point by bags of sand, and during the night stealthily 
placing his one cannon in a concealed position, he filled it with slugs. 

The following day, the fire again swept the northwest corner, and, evening 
approaching, a column of 350 men swept up within twenty yards of the walls. 
They were met by the musketry, which had little effect, and the ditch was soon 
filled with men. The next instant the hidden cannon, so placed as to sweep 
the ditch, suddenly began action, and the surprised assailants quickly recoiled, 
and the fort was saved, with the loss of only one man. 

The next morning, the enemy had disappeared, evidently in haste, as guns, 
clothing and stores were left behind. They had lost over one hundred and 
fifty men by this useless attempt. Croghan had previously received orders to 
evacuate the fort from Gen. Harrison, and his determination to hold the position 
merited Harrison's reprimand and remand of commission. Such was the sev- 
erity of military law. However, the rank of Colonel was immediately conferred 
upon him by the President, for his gallantry. The ladies of Chillicothe pre- 
sented him with an elegant testimonial in the shape of a sword. 

It was decided to make a naval warfare effectual in the recovery of the 
Northwestern Territory, and accordingly vessel-building began under Commo- 
dore Perry's supervision. 

The British looked upon this proceeding with derision, fully intending to 
use these boats for their own purpose. They publicly proclaimed their intention. 

By the 1st of August, 1813, Commodore Perry set sail a flotilla, the Law- 
rence and the Niagara, of twenty guns each, with smaller vessels following. 
Some difficulty was encountered in launching the larger vessels, on account of 
the shallowness of the water. 

Perry's first destination was Put-in-Bay, thirty miles from Maiden, where 
the British fleet lay under the guns of the fort. On the 10th of September, 
the British fleet — exceeding the American by ten guns — under Commodore 
Barclay, appeared off Put-in-Bay, distant about ten miles. Perry immediately 
set sail. The wind shifting, the Americans had the advantage. 

Perry hoisted the Union Jack. A general preparation was made for the 
conflict. An ominous silence settled over all as the fleets approached. A 
bugle sounded on the enemy's ship Detroit, and a furious fire was opened upon 



126 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 

the Lawrence. The frightful and desperate battle that ensued is so familiar 
that it is not necessary for us to repeat its details. It forever remains in his- 
tory as a prominent, desperate struggle that turned the tide most decisively in 
favor of the Americans. Hand to hand, for three hours, this furious struggle 
surged, resulting in a pronounced victory for the Americans. 

Commodore Perry immediately requested parole for his severely wounded 
antagonist, Commodore Barclay. Capt. Elliott was at this engagement highly 
commended by Perry for his bravery. 

Gen. Harrison now made preparations to follow Proctor, and reached Mai-* 
den on the 27th of September. 

Proctor had retreated to Sandwich, and thence Harrison followed him, 
overtaking the enemy on the 9th of October, on the bank of the Thames. An 
engagement ensued, which was not particularly marked in its events, but which 
practically terminated the war in the Northwest. 

Tecumseh fell during this battle, and his death disheartened the savages to 
such an extent that they were willing to make terms of peace. Accordingly 
a treaty was concluded on the 22d of July, 1814, with the Wyandots, Dela- 
wares, Shawnees, Senecas and Miamis, the tribes engaged in hostilities. 

Again Ohio was able to turn her attention to the improvements within her 
own boundaries. Weary and disabled though she was, her ambition and 
energy were unimpaired. The struggle had been severe, but a grand reward 
had been won, and peace and independence belonged to these sturdy, earnest, 
pioneers. 

In 1815, a town was founded near Fort Meigs, and, in 1816, Gen. John 
E. Hunt and Judge Robert A. Forsythe located at Maumee. 

BANKING. 

Up to the year 1817, Ohio had no banking system, and on the 28th of 
January of that year, the United States Bank opened a branch at Cincinnati, 
and yet another during the following October at Chillicothe. These branches 
found a large amount of business to transact, and while being of assistance in 
various ways to the State, also received a fine revenue themselves. The State 
therefore resolved upon a tax levy, and, in 1819, the branches were to pay 
$50,000 each, and the State Auditor was authorized to issue his warrant for 
the collection of the same. 

The bank branches demurred, but the State was decided, and the banks 
accordingly filed a bill in chancery, in the United States Circuit Court, setting 
forth reasons whereby their prayer that Ralph Osborn, State Auditor, should 
be restrained from making such collection, should be seriously considered. 

Osborn being counseled not to appear on the day designated in the writ, an 
injunction was obtained, with the security given in the shape of bonds from the 
bank, to the amount of $100,000. On the 14th of September, the bank sent a 
commissioner to Columbus, who served upon the Auditor a copy of the petition 



HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 127 

for the injunction, and a subpoena to make an appearance before the court 
on the first Monday in the following January. Osborn submitted both the 
petition and the injunction to the Secretary of State, with his warrant for col- 
lecting the tax. Legally, the matter was somewhat complicated. 

The Auditor desired the Secretary of State to take legal advice, and if the 
papers did not actually amount to an injunction, to give orders for the execu- 
tion of the warrant. 

The decision was that the papers did not equal a valid injunction. The State 
writ for collection was therefore given over to John L. Harper, with directions 
to enter the banking-house and demand the payment of the tax. In case of a 
refusal, the vault was to be entered and a levy made upon the amount required. 
No violence was to be used, and if force was used to deter the act, the 
same was to be reported to a proper magistrate and an affidavit made to that 
fact. 

On September 17, Mr. Harper went about his errand, taking with him T. 
Orr and J. MacCollister. After securing access to the vault, a demand was 
made for the payment of the tax. This was promptly refused, and a notice 
given of the granting of the injunction. This was disregarded, and the officer 
seized $98,000 in gold, silver and notes. This was placed in charge of the 
State Treasurer, Mr. H. M. Curry. 

The officers were arrested and imprisoned by the United States Circuit 
Court, and the money returned to the bank. The case was reviewed by 
the Supreme Court, and the measures of the Circuit Court were sustained. The 
State, therefore, submitted. In the mean time, the Legislature had prepared 
and passed a resolution, as follows: 

Resolved, by the General Assembly of the State of Ohio, That in respect to the powers of the 
Governments of the several States that compose the American Union, and the powers of the Fed- 
eral Government, this General Assembly do recognize and approve the doctrines asserted by the 
Legislatures of Kentucky and Virginia in their resolutions of November and December, 1798, 
and January, 1800, and do consider their principles have been recognized and adopted by a 
majority of the American people. 

Resolved further, That this General Assembly do assert and will maintain by all legal and 
constitutional means, the rights of States to tax the business and property of any private corpo- 
ration of trade, incorporated by the Congress of the United States, and located to transact its 
corporate business within any State. 

Resolved further, That the bank of the United States is a private corporation of trade, the 
capital and business of which may be legally taxed in any State where they may be found. 

Resolved further. That the General Assembly do protest against the doctrines that the politi- 
cal rights of the separate States that compose the American Union and their powers as sovereign 
States, may^ be settled and determined in the Supreme Court of the United States, so as to con- 
clude and bind them in cases contrived between individuals, and where they are, no one of them, 
parties direct. 

The bank was thus debaned from the aid of State laws in the collection of 
its dues and in the protection of its rights. An attempt was made to effect a 
change in the Federal constitution, which would take the case out of the 
United States Courts. This, however, proved ineffectual. 



128 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 

The banking system in Ohio has, by reason of State surveillance, not been 
subjected to those whirlwind speculations and questionable failures which have 
marked many Western States, in the establishment of a firm basis upon which 
a banking law could be sustained, with mutual benefit to the institution and the 
people. 

THE CANAL SYSTEM. 

In the first part of 1817, the Legislature considered a resolution relating 
to a canal between Lake Erie and the Ohio River. No action was taken and 
the subject was not again agitated until 1819. Gov. Brown appointed three 
commissioners in 1820, for the purpose of employing an efficient engineer and 
such assistants as he deemed necessary, for the purpose of surveying a practical 
route for this canal. The commissioners were restricted in their actions until 
Congress should accept a proposition in behalf of the State, for a donation and 
sale of the public lands lying upon and near the route of the proposed canal. 
A delay was thus occasioned for two years. 

In 1822, the matter was referred to a committee of the House of Repre- 
sentatives. This committee approved and recommended the employment of the 
engineer. They furthermore added illustrations to prove the feasibility of the 
project. 

James Geddes, a skillful engineer of New York, was in due time appointed 
to the position and instructed to make the necessary examinations and sur- 
veys. 

The surveys were made, and estimates given of the expenses, which docu- 
ments were laid before the Legislature at several sessions. 

In 1825, an act was passed providing for the internal improvement of the 
State by navigable canals. Directly thereafter, the State set vigorously about 
the work of constructing two canals, one leading from the Ohio to Lake Erie, 
by way of the valleys of the Scioto and Muskingum, the other from Cincinnati 
to Dayton. 

The first canal-boat from Cincinnati to Dayton, reached her destination in 
1829, on the 25th of January. This outlet of communication was extended 
to Lake Erie, and was completed in 1845. The largest artificial lake now 
known is on the elevation between the Ohio and the lake, in Mercer County, 
and supplies the St. Mary's feeder of the Miami Canal, about three miles dis- 
tant, eastwardly. This reservoir is about nine miles long, and from two to 
four broad. 

Two walls of earth, from ten to twenty feet high, were formed, on the east 
and west, which united with the elevations north and south, surrounded this 
basin. When the water was admitted, whole farms were submerged, and the 
•• neighbors" complained lest this overflow should tempt miasma. So great 
was the excitement, that over one hundred and fifty residents of the county 
united, and with shovels and spades, made a breach in the embankment. 
Many holding prominent positions in the county were engaged in this work, 



HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 129 

and all laid themselves liable to the State laws, which made the despoiling of 
public works a penitentiary offense. 

The matter was taken up by the courts, but a grand jury could not be 
found in Mercer County to find a bill of indictment. 

The officers who had charge of the work, ignored the law requiring the cut- 
ing and saving of the timber on lands appropriated, for canal reservoirs. The 
trees were ruthlessly girdled, and thousands of acres of valuable timber that 
might have been highly desirable in the building of bridges, etc., were 
destroyed. However, an adjustment was finally effected, and the work was 
prosecuted with the entire approbation of the people, who were convinced that 
convenient transportation was to be desired. 

OHIO LAND TRACTS. 

After the Indians relinquished all claims against the lands of those States 
west of the Alleghanies, as they had been obtained by conquest, the United 
States, as a government, owned the soil. When Ohio was admitted into the 
Union, a stipulation was made that the fee simple to all the lands within its 
boundaries, with the exception of those previously sold or granted, should vest 
in the General Government. At the present writing, but few tracts remain 
that can be called " public lands." In this, as in other States, tracts are des- 
ignated by their pioneer signification or the purpose to which they were origi- 
nally devoted. In Ohio, these tracts are known as : 



1. 


Congress Lands. 


8. 


Symmes' Purchase. 


15. 


Maumee Road. 


2. 


United States Military. 


9. 


Refugee Tract. 


16. 


School Lands. 


3 


Virginia Military. 


10. 


French Grant. 


17. 


College Lands. 


4. 


Western Reserve. 


11. 


Dohrman's Grant. 


18. 


Ministerial Lands 


5. 


Fire Lands. 


12. 


Zane's Grant. 


19. 


Moravian Lands. 


6. 


Ohio Company's Purchase. 


13. 


Canal Lands. 


20. 


Salt Sections. 


7. 


Donation Tract. 


14. 


Turnpike Lands. 







The lands sold by the direct officers of the Government, under the direc- 
tion of Congress, according to the laws, are known as Congress lands. They 
are properly surveyed, and laid out in townships six miles square, under the 
direction of the Government, and the expense incurred settled by Congress. 
These townships are subdivided into sections, containing 640 acres. One sec- 
tion is reserved, in every township, for educational purposes, to be utilized in 
any manner approved by the State as being the best to aid the cause for which 
they are assigned. 

The Western Reserve will be remembered as the tract originally belonging to 
Connecticut. It lies in the northeast quarter of the State. A half-million acres 
were donated by the old Eastern State, when her claim was in force, to sufferers 
from fire during the Revolutionary war, which created the name, " fire lands." 
Many settled here whose homes were destroyed by the British during the war. 

It will be remembered, that on account of discoveries by subjects of empires, 
in the New World, the " Old World " kings laid claim to different portions 



130 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 

of the young continent. At that period, European knowledge of American 
geographical positions and limits was exceedingly meager, which occasioned 
several wars and more discussions. These Old- World sovereigns also assumed 
the authority to sell or present tracts of land to their subjects, in those terri- 
tories they deemed their own. 

King Charles II of England granted to his loyal subjects the colony of 
Connecticut, in 1662, placing with them a charter of right to all lands within 
certain prescribed boundaries. But these " boundaries " frequently conflicted 
with those of others, and sometimes extended to the Pacific Ocean, or " South 
Sea," as it was then termed. Connecticut, by her original charter rights, held 
all lands between the forty-first and forty-second parallels of north latitude, and 
from Providence Plantation on the east, to Pacific Ocean on the west, except- 
ing the New York and Pennsylvania colonies. As late as the establishment of 
the United States as an independent government, those colliding claims fre- 
quently engendered confusion and warm discussion between the nation and 
Connecticut, regarding the original colony claim. This was compromised by 
the national claims being relinquished in regard to the territorial claim in Ohio, 
and Connecticut holding the 3,800,000 acres described as the " Western Reser- 
vation." The Government held the right of jurisdiction. 

In 1796, Congress set aside a certain division of land, to satisfy the claims 
of officers and soldiers of the Revolutionary war. It includes the 2,500,000 
acres between the Greenville treaty line and the Congress and refugee lands, 
and " VII ranges of townships," on the east, and the Scioto River, west. This 
constitutes the " Military Tract." The " Virginia Military Tract " lies between 
the Scioto and Little Miami Rivers, and extends south to the Ohio. 

James I, in his authorized charter to the Virginia colony, in the year 
1609, made rather visionary boundary lines, sweeping over the continent, west 
of the Ohio River, " of the north and south breadth of Virginia." Virginia 
reconciled the matter by relinquishing all her claims northwest of the Ohio 
River, with the exception of a tract for the purpose of donating the same to her 
troops of the Revolution — their claims demanding such a return in some section. 
Unfortunately, this tract was not regularly surveyed, and conflicting "lines" 
have given rise to litigation ever since that stipulation was made. 

The Ohio Company's Purchase has already been described — as has the 
Symmes Purchase. 

The Refugee Tract covers an area of 100,000 acres, extending eastwardly 
from the Scioto River forty-eight miles, in a strip of country four and one-half 
miles broad, north to south. Columbus, the capital of the State, is situated in 
the western portion. This land was donated by Congress to those individuals 
who left the British dominions and rule, during the Revolution, and espoused 
the American cause. 

The French Tract borders on the Ohio River, in the southeastern quarter 
of Scioto County. It includes 24,000 acres, and was ceded to those French 



HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 131 

families that lost their claims at Gallipolis, through invalid titles ; 12,000 acres 
were added, after the above grant of 1795. 

Dohrman's Grant includes a section, six miles square, in the southeastern 
portion of Tuscarawas County. It was granted to Arnold Henry Dohrman, a 
Portuguese merchant, as a token of appreciation of the aid and shelter he ren- 
dered American cruisers and vessels of war, during the Revolution. 

The Moravian Lands were originally grants by the old Continental Con- 
gress, in 1787, and confirmed by the act of the Government Congress, in 1796, 
to the Moravian Brethren, of Bethlehem, Penn., in sacred trust, and for the 
use of those Indians who embraced Christianity and civilization, desiring to live 
and settle thereon. These three tracts include 4,000 acres each, and are situ- 
ated in Tuscarawas County. In 1823, the Indians relinquished their rights to 
the 12,000 acres in this county, for 24,000 acres, in a territory designated by 
the United States, together with an annuity of $400. 

Zane's Tracts included a portion of land on the Muskingum, whereon Zanes- 
ville was built ; another at the crossing of the Hocking, on which Lancaster is 
located ; and yet another on the left bank of the Scioto River, opposite Chilli- 
cothe. These grants were made to Ebenezer Zane, by Congress, in 1796, as a 
reward for opening a road from Wheeling, Va., to Maysville, Ky. In 1802, 
Mr. Zane received three additional tracts, one square mile each, in considera- 
tion of being captured and held a prisoner, during the Revolutionary war, 
when a boy, by the Indians. He lived with these people most of his life, secur- 
ing many benefits for the Americans. These tracts are located in Champaign 
County. 

The Maumee Road Lands extend the length of the road, from the Maumee 
River, at Perrysburg, to the western limits of the Western Reserve, a distance 
of forty-six miles — in a strip two miles wide. This includes about 60,000 
acres. These lands were ceded by the Indians, at the treaty of Brownstown, in 
1808. The original intention of Congress was to mark a highway through this 
strip, but no definite action was taken until 1823, when the land was ceded to 
the State of Ohio, under an obligation that the State make and sustain the pro- 
jected road, within four years after the transfer. 

The Turnpike Lands extended over 31,360 acres along the western side of 
the Columbus & Sandusky Turnpike, in the eastern parts of Seneca, Craw- 
ford and Marion Counties. They were designed for the transportation of mail 
stages, troops and other United States property, free from toll. The grant was 
made in 1827. 

" The Ohio Canal Lands " comprise about 1,000,000 acres, set aside for the 
purpose of canal construction. 

When Ohio was admitted to the Union, a guarantee was given that the State 
should not tax Government lands until they should have been sold for five years. 
That the thirty-sixth part of all territory within the State limits should be de- 
voted to educational purposes, for the general benefit of the population. In 



132 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 

order to secure tracts which would prove available, and thus insure returns, 
they were selected in small lots. No. 16 was designated as the sectional portion, 
in each township of Congress lands, the Ohio Company's and Symmes Pur- 
chases, the United States Military Lands, the Connecticut Reserve, and a num- 
ber of quarter townships. These school lands were selected by the Secretary 
of the Treasury. 

The college townships are thirty-six miles square. A section, thirty-six 
miles square, in the center of Jackson County, in the vicinity and containing 
the Scioto Salt Licks, was also reserved by Congress, together with a quarter- 
mile township in Delaware County. This swept over 27,040 acres. In 1824, 
Congress authorized the State to sell these lands. The proceeds were to be 
devoted to literary requirements, such as might be specified by Congress. 

IMPROVEMENTS. 

We have heretofore briefly alluded to the canal system of Ohio, which in 
the beginning caused considerable anxiety to settlers directly in the course of 
its survey. The Legislature passed the " Internal Improvement by Navigable 
Canals " act, in 1825, and the work was immediately inaugurated and hastened. 
The " Ohio Canal " extends from the lake to the Ohio, and the " Miami " con- 
nects Cincinnati with Dayton. The latter was completed to Toledo in 1844, a 
length of 493 miles. Its total cost, including reservoir cutting and feeders, was 
$7,500,000. The Ohio Canal was finished in 1833. 

During the construction of these canals, the curiosities which have attracted 
antiquarians and scientists, in the State of Ohio, were found in various places. 
Relics were discovered that must have belonged to a giant race. Nearly 3,000 
graves were found, of the " mound type." 

A third canal was begun in 1836, reaching from Walhonding, in Coshocton 
County, to Roscoe, its length being twenty-five miles, involving an expense of 
$610,000. This was completed in 1842. The Hocking Canal, between Car- 
roll, in Fairfield County, and Athens, in Athens County, a distance of fifty- 
six miles, was also cut, about the same time, at a cost of nearly $1,000,000. 

The Muskingum improvements were also being carried forward. Locks and 
dams were requisite for the perfection of navigation in this water-course, from 
Dresden to Marietta, a distance of ninety-one miles. This added an expense 
of $1,630,000 to the call for improvement appropriations. To the Miami Canal 
was added a feeder, known as the Warren County Canal — extending from 
Franklin to Lebanon, which was not completed, although over $250,000 were 
expended in its construction as far as it went. 

Railway transportation was a subject which engrossed the attention of those in- 
terested in State perpetuity and general prosperity. About the year 1831, the Leg- 
islature received applications for railway charters. The first one granted was the 
" Cincinnati, Sandusky & Cleveland Railroad," on June 5, 1832. The " Sandusky, 
Mansfield & Newark Railroad " obtained a charter in 1836, March 11, followed, 









-^ 




GREENVILLE 



HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 135 

three days thereafter, by the " Cleveland, Columbus k Cincinnati Railroad." 
The " Little Miami " was begun in 1837. Notwithstanding these chartered 
rights, but 129 miles were completed in 1847, and in operation. In 1878, 
the mileage had increased to 6,264. The valuation of the operating roads 
was estimated the same year, at $76,113,500. Their taxation summed up 
$1,128,116. 

No State in the Union has been more zealous in her educational interests than 
Ohio. Public lands were generously granted by Congress, and the State added 
her affirmation. However, no practical and effectual system was adopted until 
1825. 

An act was then passed to tax all real property one-half mill per dollar for 
the establishment of schools in each township, and the support of the same. 
An act of 1829, increased the tax to three-fourths of a mill. Tru, ees of 
townships were instructed to make divisions and locate convenient school dis- 
tricts. Householders were to elect three school directors, a clerk and treasurer 
annually. Privileges and restrictions were enjoined in all cases. The house- 
holders were allowed their discretion, governed accordingly, in imposing taxes 
for the erection of school buildings. The Courts of the Common Pleas 
appointed a committee to examine the qualifications of those individuals mak- 
ing application for the position of teachers. The school extended equal privi- 
leges to all white children. Those of colored parentage were excluded, and no 
tax was levied for school purposes upon colored parents. An amendment has 
admitted the children of colored parents. The system has continued the same, 
with a few amendments. A State Commissioner of Common Schools is elected 
every third year, who has general charge of the interests of public schools. A 
State Board of Examiners, composed of three persons, appointed by the State 
Commissioner, for two years' term, is authorized to issue life certificates of high 
qualifications, to such teachers as it may find to possess the requisite scholarship, 
character, experience and ability. These certificates, signed by the Commis- 
sioner, are valid throughout the State. A County Board of Examiners, of 
three members, is formed in each county. Boards of education, for cities, are 
made up of one or two members from each ward. City Boards of Examiners 
are also appointed. Section 4 of the law of 1873, was amended in 1877, which 
made the territory annexed to an incorporated village, at the option of the 
voters of the village and tributary section, whether it be included with the vil- 
lage as one school district, or left as two school districts. Section 56 of the law was 
amended, in its bearing upon cities of 30,000 to 75,000 inhabitants, by limiting 
to five mills on the dollar of taxable property, the levies in such cities for con- 
tinuing schools, for purchasing sites for schoolhouses, for leasing, purchasing, 
erecting and furnishing school houses, and for all school expenses. The public 
funds are subject to the discretion of voters, and boards are authorized, under 
instructions, to make the best use of such funds. Taxation is subject to the 
discretion of the State, certain limits being prescribed. 



236 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 

In 1878, the number of youth of the school age numbered 1,041,963. 
On the rolls, 740,194 names were recorded. In the year 1878, 23,391 teach- 
ers were employed, receiving $4,956,514.46 for their services. 

Ohio not only sustains her public schools on a broad, liberal basis, but she 
encourages educational pursuits in superior universities and colleges throughout 
the State These institutions are not aided by State funds, but are sustained by 
society influence, added to their self-supporting resources. Ohio also possesses 
a large number of normal schools, academies, seminaries and business colleges. 
These are not entitled to the privileges of the school fund. Scientific, profes- 
sional, theological, legal and medical instructions are in no manner limited in 
their facilities. Industrial and reformatory schools are especially thorough. 
Institutions for the instruction of the deaf and dumb, and blind, and feeble- 
minded, are under the best discipline. 

We may add, many female seminaries have been established which are entirely 
sustained by other than State aid. Ohio has, from its inception, been solid and 
vigorous in whatever tended toward improvement and enlightenment. 

We have also referred to the banking system of this State, as being first 
established on a basis through a contest between the State and the General 
Government. Authorities differ regarding the exact date and location ot the 
very first house established in the State for the purpose of transacting banking 
business It is highly probable that Marietta is more directly associated with 
that event than any other town. There are at present over one hundred and 
sixty-seven national banks, with an aggregate capital of $27,7J4,4bS. It also 
has eighteen banks of deposit, incorporated under the State banking laws of 
1845, representing an aggregate capital of $539,904. Twenty-three savings 
banks, incorporated under the State act of 1875, with an aggregate capital of 
$1,277,500. Of private banks it has 192, with an aggregate capital ot 
$5663 898. The State represents in her banking capital over $36,275,7* 0. 
The First National of Cincinnati has a capital stock of over $1,000,000 
The others fall below that sum, their capital diminishing from 10,000 shares ot 
$100 each. The valuation for taxation is $850,000-Merchant's National of 
Cincinnati-to the valuation of a tax of $5,000 on the First National of 
Beverly. 

BOUNDARY LINES. 

We must not omit the subject of the State boundaries. Ohio was especially 
the field for most animated discussions, relative not only to State limits but 
county lines and township rights. In 1817, a severe controversy arose, which 
was settled only after violent demonstrations and Government interference. 

In primitive times, the geographical position, extent and surface diversities 
were but meagerly comprehended. In truth, it may be asserted they could not 
have been more at variance with actual facts had they been laid out hap- 
hazard." The ordinance of 1787 represented Lake Michigan far north ot its 
real position, and even as late as 1812, its size and location had not been 



HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 137 

definitely ascertained. During that year, Amos Spafford addressed a clear, com- 
prehensive letter to the Governor of Ohio, on this subject, relative to the 
boundary lines of Ohio. Several lines of survey were laid out as the first 
course, but either Michigan or Ohio expressed disapproval in every case This 
culminated in 1835, when the party beginning a « permanent " survey began 
at the northwest corner of the State, and was attacked by a force of Michigan 
settlers who sent them away badly routed and beaten. No effort was made to 
return to the work until the State and various parties had weighed the subject 
and finally the interposition of the Government became necessary. 

A settlement resulted in Ohio being bounded on the north by Lake Erie 
and the State of Michigan, on the east by Pennsylvania and West Virginia, on 
the south by the Ohio River, and on the west by Indiana. 

It is situated between the 38° 25' and 42° north latitude, and 84° 50' 
west longitude from Greenwich, or 3° 30' and 7° 50' west from Washington 
From north to south, it extends over 210 miles, and from east to west" 220 
miles— comprising 39,964 square miles. 

The State is generally higher than the Ohio River. In the southern 
counties, the surface is greatly diversified by the inequalities produced by the 
excavating power of the Ohio River and its tributaries. The greater portion 
of the State was originally covered with timber, although in the central and 
northwestern sections some prairies were found. The crest or watershed 
between the waters of Lake Erie and those of the Ohio is less elevated than 
in New York or Pennsylvania. Sailing upon the Ohio the country appears 
to be mountainous, bluffs rising to the height of two hundred and fifty to six 
hundred feet above the valleys. Ascending the tributaries of the Ohio, these 
precipitous hills gradually lessen until they are resolved into gentle undulations 
and toward the sources of the river the land is low and marshy. 

Although Ohio has no inland lakes of importance, she possesses a favorable 
river system, which, aided by her canals, gives her prestige of a convenient 
water transportation. The lake on her northern boundary, and the Ohio 
River on her southern limit, afford most convenient outlets by water to impor- 
tant points. Her means of communication and transportation are superior in 
every respect, and are constantly being increased. 

ORGANIZATION OF COUNTIES AND EARLY EVENTS. 

Adams County was named in honor of John Adams, second President of 
the United States. Gov. St. Clair proclaimed it a county on July 10, 1797 
The Virginia Military Tract included this section, and the first settlement made 
withm its boundaries was in this county in 1795, between the Scioto and Little 
Miami, at Manchester, by Gen. Nathaniel Massie. In this town was held the 
first court of the county. 

West Union, the present county seat, was laid out by the Hon. Thomas 
Kirker. It occupies the summit of a high ridge. The surface of this county is 



13 g HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 

hilly and broken, and the eastern part is not fertile. It produces corn, wheat, oats 
and pork. Beds of iron are found in the eastern part. Its hills are composed of 
aluminous shale. The barren hills afford a range for cattle and hogs A sort 
of vagrant class derive a support by collecting stones, hoop-poles and tanners 

barks from these hills. , , 

Ashland County is one of the finest agricultural sections. It was formed 
February 26 1846. Wheat comprises its principal crop, although large quan- 
tities of oats, corn, potatoes, grass and fruit are raised. Ashland is its county 
seat and was laid out by William Montgomery in 1816. It was called Union- 
town for several years. Daniel Carter raised the first cabin within the county 

lim Augkiz^County was formed in February, 1848, from Allen and Mercer 
Counties. Wapakoneta is its county seat. ,.,.-, Qon T • 

Allen County was formed from the Indian Territory April 1, 1820. Lima 

is its county seat. . T 

Ashtabula County was formed June 7, 1807, and was organized January 
22 1811 The surface is level near the lake, while the remainder is undulat- 
ing The soil is mostly clay. Very little wheat is raised, but considerable 
corn and oats. Butter and cheese are the main marketable productions This 
was the first county settled on the Western Reserve, and also the earliest in 
Northern Ohio. On the 4th of July, 1796, the first surveying party arrived 
at the mouth of Conneaut Creek. Judge James Kingsbury was the first who 
wintered there with his family. He was the first man to use a sickle m he 
first wheat-field in the Western Reserve. Their child was the first born on the 
Western Reserve, and was starved to death. The first regular settlement was 

at Harpersfield, in 1798. . 

Jefferson is the eounty seat. Ashtabula is pleasantly situated on the river, 
with a fine harbor two and a half miles from the village. 

The first church on the Western Reserve was founded at Austmbnrg m 

180 Athens County was formed from Washington March 1, 1805. It produces 
wheat corn, oats and tobacco. The surface is hilly and broken, with rich bot- 
tom lands between. Coal, iron ore and salt add materially to its commercial 
value. It has the advantage of the canal, as well as other transportation. 
A hens, its county seat, is situated on the Hocking River. The Ohio Uni- 
te sty the first college founded in the State, is located here We have 
mentioned the ancient mounds found in this county, heretofore, bellow pine ,s 
abundant in the lower part of the Hocking Valley. 

Brown County was formed March 1, 1817, from Adams and Clermont It 
produces wheat, corn, rye, oats and pork. The southern part is prolific m 
TrL, while the northern is adapted to grazing purposes. The surface is undu- 
fating, with the exception of the Ohio River hills. Over this county Tecumseh 
once held sway. 



HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 139 

Georgetown is the county seat, and was laid out in 1819. Ripley is the larg- 
est business town in the county. 

Belmont County was announced by Gov. St. Clair September 7, 1801. It 
produces large crops of wheat, oats, corn and tobacco, an annual crop of over 
2,000,000 pounds of the latter being the average. It also trades largely in 
wool and coal. It is a picturesque tract of country, and was one of the 
pioneers in the early settled portions. 

In 1790, Fort Dillie was erected on the west side of the Ohio. Baker's 
Fort was a mile below the mouth of the Captina. Many desperate Indian bat- 
tles were fought within the limits of this county, and the famous Indian scout, 
Lewis Wetzel, roamed over the region. 

St. Clairsville is the county seat, situated on the elevation of land, in a fer- 
tile district. Capt. Kirkwood and Elizabeth Zane, of historic fame, were early 
pioneers here. 

Butler County was formed in 1803, from Hamilton. It is within the blue 
limestone formation, and one of the most fertile sections of Ohio. It produces 
more corn than any other county in the State, besides fine crops of wheat, 
oats and large quantities of pork. Hamilton, the county seat, is situated on the 
Great Miami. Its hydraulic works furnish superior water-power. Rossville, 
on the opposite side of the Miami, is a large mercantile town. 

St. Clair passed through this county on his Indian campaigns in 1791, 
building Fort Hamilton on the Miami. 

Champaign County was formed March 1, 1805, from Greene and Franklin. 
It is drained by Mad River and its tributaries, which furnishes extensive mill 
privileges. Nearly a half is undulating, a quarter rolling, a fifth hilly, and 
5 per cent wet prairie. The soil is fertile, and produces wheat, corn,' oats, 
barley, hay, while beef and wool add to the general wealth. Urbana, the 
county seat, was laid out in 1805, by Col. William Ward. He was chief owner 
of the land and donated many lots to the county, under condition that their 
proceeds be devoted to public improvements. Joseph Vance and George 
Fithian were the first settlers. The Methodists built the first church in 1807. 
The main army of Hull concentrated at this point before setting out for Detroit. 
Many Indian councils were called here, and Tecumseh was located for a time 
near Deer Creek. 

Carroll County was formed from Columbiana in 1832-33. It produces 
wheat, oats and corn, and valuable coal and iron. The surface is hilly. Car- 
rollton is its county seat. At Harlem is a celebrated chalybeate sprint. 

Clark County was formed March 1, 1817, from Champaign, Madison and 
Greene. Its first settlement was at Chribb's Station, in 1796. It is highly culti- 
vated, well watered and very fertile. The Mad River, Buck and Beavlr Creeks 
furnish abundant water-power. It produces principally wheat, corn and oats. 
Tecumseh, the old Indian warrior, was born at the ancient Indian village, 
Piqua, on the Mad River, on the present site of West Boston. Piqua 



Mas 



140 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 

destroyed by Gen. George Rogers Clarke. Skeletons, beads, gun barrels, 
tomahawks, kettles, etc., have been found in the vicinity. 

Springfield, the county seat, is situated on the National road. It has con- 
venient transportation facilities, is handsomely laid out, and is noted for its 
cultured citizens. It is near Mad River, and Buck Creek runs through it. 

Clinton County was formed in 1810. It produces chiefly wheat, oats, 
wool and pork. Its surface is undulating, in some parts hilly, and the soil fer- 
tile. Its streams furnish desirable water-power. The county was settled in 
1803. Wilmington is the county seat, and was laid out in 1811. The first 
log house was built by William Hobsin. 

Clermont County was the eighth formed in the Northwest Territory, by 
proclamation of Gov. St. Clair, December 9, 1800. The soil is exceedingly 
rich, and the surface is broken and, near the Ohio, hilly. Wheat, corn, oats, 
hay, potatoes, tobacco, barley, buckwheat and rye form the main crops, while 
beef, pork, flour, hay and whisky constitute its main exports. Its streams 
furnish good water-power. Batavia, its county seat, is situated on the Little 
Miami River, and was laid out in 1820, by George Ely. 

Columbiana County was formed March 25, 1803, from Jefferson and Wash- 
ington. Its soil is very fertile, producing wheat, corn, oats and potatoes. It 
is wealthy in mineral deposits, coal, iron ore, lime and freestone being abun- 
dant. Its water-lime stone is of superior quality. Salt water is found on Yel- 
low and Beaver Creeks. This is also the great wool-producing county of 
the State. It was settled in 1797. New Lisbon, its county seat, is well 
built. 

The first paper-mill in Ohio was erected in this county, on Little Beaver 
Creek, by John Coulter and John Bever. 

Coshocton County was organized April 1, 1811. Its principal products are 
wheat, corn, oats and wool. Hills and valleys alternate along the Muskingum 
River. ' Abrupt changes are strongly marked — a rich alluvum being overhung 
by a red-bush hill, while directly beside it may be seen the poplar and sugar 
tree. Coal and iron ore add to its general importance, while salt wells have 
proven remunerative. 

Coshocton, the county seat, is built on four wide, natural terraces, at the 
junction of the Tuscarawas with the Walhonding. 

Cuyahoga County was formed June 7, 1807, from Geauga. Near the lake, 
the soil is sandy, while a clayey loam may be found elsewhere. The valleys 
near the streams produce wheat, barley and hay. Fruit is successfully grown, 
and cheese, butter, beef and wool are largely exported. Bog iron is found in 
the western part, and fine grindstone quarries are in operation. The sandstone 
from these quarries is now an important article of commerce. As early as 
1775, there was a French settlement within the boundaries of Cuyahoga. In 
1786, a Moravian missionary came to the present site of Cleveland, and set- 
tled in an abandoned village of the Ottawas. Circumstances prevented a 



HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 141 

permanent settlement, and the British tacitly took possession, even remaining 
upon the lake shores after the Revolution. 

The first permanent settlement was made at Cleveland in 1796. Mr. Job 
V. Stiles and family and Edward Paine passed the first winter there, their log 
cabin standing where the Commercial Bank is now located. Rodolphus 
Edwards and Nathaniel Doane settled here. The town was, in 1813, a depot 
of supplies and a rendezvous for troops engaged in the war. 

Cleveland, the county seat, is situated at the northern termination of the 
Ohio Canal, on the lake shore. In 1814, it was incorporated as a village, and 
in 1836, as a city. Its elevation is about a hundred feet above the lake. It 
is a lovely city, and has one of the best harbors on Lake Erie. 

Ohio City is another important town, nearly opposite Cleveland, on the 
Cuyahoga. It was incorporated in 1836. 

Crawford County was formed April 1, 1820, from the old Indian territory. 
The entire county is adapted to grazing. The soil is generally composed of 
rich vegetable loam, and in some parts the subsoil is clay mixed with lime. 
Rich beds of shell marl have been discovered. It produces wheat, corn, oats, 
clover, timothy seed, wool and cattle. Fine limestone quarries are worked with 
success. 

Bucyrus is the county seat, and was laid out February 11, 1822, by Samuel 
Norton and James Kilbourn, original owners of the land. The first settler in 
the town proper was Samuel Norton. A gas well has been dug in Bucyrus, 
on the land of R. W. Musgrove, which burns in a brilliant light when con- 
ducted to the surface by means of pipes. Crawford's Sulphur Springs are 
located nine miles from Bucyrus. The water is impregnated with sulphuretted 
hydrogen. It deposits a reddish-purple sediment. In its nature the water is a 
cathartic, and is diuretic and diaphoretic in its effects. A few rods away is a 
burning spring. The Annapolis Sulphur Spring is clear and has gained consid- 
erable fame by its curative qualities. Opposite Bucyrus is a chalybeate spring 
of tonic qualities. 

There are some beds of peat in the county, the most extensive one being a 
wet prairie called Cranberry Marsh, containing nearly 2,000 acres. 

Darke County was organized in March, 1817, from Miami County. It is 
abundantly timbered with poplar, walnut, blue ash, hickory, beech and sugar 
maple. It yields superior wheat, and is well adapted to grazing. In this 
county occurred the lamentable defeat of St. Clair, and the treaty of Greenville. 

Greenville is the county seat, and was laid out August 10, 1808, by Robert 
Gray and John Dover. In December, 1793, Wayne built Fort Greenville on 
this spot, which covered about the same extent as the present town. 

Delaware County was formed February 10, 1808, from Franklin. It pro- 
duces mainly wheat, corn, oats, pork and wool. 

Delaware is the county seat, and was laid out in the spring of 1808, by 
Moses Byxbe. The Delaware Spring in the village is of the white sulphur or 



142 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 

cold hydro-sulphurous nature, valuable for medicinal qualities in cases of bilious 
derangements, dyspepsia, scrofulous affections, etc. 

Defiance County was inaugurated March 4, 1845, from Williams, Henry 
and Paulding. The Maumee, Tiffin and Auglaize flow through it. The Black 
Swamp covers much of its area. 

Defiance, the county scat, is situated on the Maumee. It was laid out in 
1822, by B. Level and H. Phillips. A large Indian settlement occupied its 
gite in very early times. Wayne arrived here August 8, 1794, captured the 
place, finding about one thousand acres of corn, peach and apple orchards, and 
vegetables of all varieties. Here he built Fort Defiance. 

Erie County was formed in 1838, from Huron and Sandusky. The soil is 
alluvial, and yields large crops of wheat, corn, oats and potatoes. It possesses 
inexhaustable quarries of limestone and freestone. Immense quantities of bog 
iron are also found. The Erie tribe is said to have once occupied the land, and 
were extirpated by the Iroquois. As early as 1754, the French had built set- 
tlements. In 1764, the county was besieged. Pontiac came here with warlike 
demonstrations, but made peace with the whites. Erie was included in the 
"fire lands" of the Western Reserve. 

Sandusky City is the county seat, and was laid out in 1817, then termed 
Portland. At that time it contained two log huts. The town is finely situated, 
and is based upon an inexhaustible quarry of the finest limestone. In the 
"patriot war" with the Canadians, this city was the rendezvous for the 
"patriots." 

Franklin County was formed April 30, 1803, from Ross. It contains 
much low wet land, and is better adapted to grazing than agricultural purposes. 
It was in early times occupied by the Wyandot Indians. Its first white set- 
tlement was made in 1797, by Robert Armstrong and others. Franklinlon 
was laid out in 1797, by Lucas Sullivan. Worthington was settled by the 
Scioto Company in 1801. Col. Kilbourn, who was interested in the work, 
constructed the first map of Ohio during his explorations, by uniting sectional 
diagrams. 

Columbus, the capital of the State of Ohio, is also the county seat of 
Franklin County. After the organization of a State government, the capital 
was "portable" until 1816. In 1810, the sessions were held at Chillicothe, 
in 1811 and 1812 at Zanesville, removing again to Chillicothe, and, in 1816, 
being located at Columbus. The town was laid out during the spring of 1812. 
A penitentiary was erected in 1813, and the State House was built in 1814. 
It was incorporated as "the borough of Columbus," February 10, 1816. The 
city charter was granted March 3, 1834. 

It is beautifully located on the east bank of the Scioto. The Columbus 
Institute is a classical institution. A female and a theological seminary also 
add to its educational advantages. The Ohio Lunatic Asylum is also located 
here — also the Ohio Institution for the Education of the Blind. East of the 



HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 143 

State House is the Ohio Institution for the Education of the Deaf and 
Dumb. 

Fairfield County was formed by proclamation of Gov. St. Clair, December 
9, 1800. 

The soil is varied, being in some parts exceedingly rich, and in others very 
sterile. It produces principally wheat, corn, rye, oats, buckwheat, barley, 
potatoes and tobacco. 

Lancaster is the county seat, laid out by Ebenezer Zane in 1800. In 1797, 
he opened the road known as "Zane's Trace," from Wheeling to Limestone — 
now Maysville. It passed through Lancaster, at a fording about three hundred 
yards below the present turnpike bridge. Near the turn stands an imposing 
eminance called " Standing Stone." Parties of pleasure frequently visit this spot. 

Fayette County was formed from Ross and Highland in 1810. Wheat. 
corn, cattle, hogs, sheep and wool comprise its main productions. " The bar- 
rens" are situated in the northeastern part. This tract is covered by a growth 
of grass. 

Washington is its county seat, laid out in 1810. 

Col. Stewart was active in the interests of this section, and his memory is 
sacredly revered. Jesse Milliken was prominent in public affairs. 

Fulton County, bordering on Michigan, was organized in 1850. It is 
drained by Bean Creek and other small affluents of the Maumee River. The 
surface is nearly level, and a large part of it is covered with forests of ash, 
beech, elm, hickory, white oak, black walnut, etc., furnishing excellent timber. 
The soil is fertile. Wheat, corn, oats and hay are the staple products. Wau- 
seon is the county seat. 

Guernsey County was organized in March, 1810. Wool is a staple prod- 
uct, together with beef, horses and swine. It produces wheat, corn and oats. 

Cambridge is the county seat and was laid out in June, 1806. Mr. 
Graham was the first settler on the site of the town, and his was the only 
dwelling between Lancaster and Wheeling. 

The first cannel coal found in the county was discovered near Mill's Creek. 

Greene County was formed May 1, 1803, from Hamilton and Ross. It 
produces wheat, corn, rye, grass-seed, oats, barley, sheep and swine. The 
streams furnish good water-power. There are five limestone quarries, and a 
marble quarry of variegated colors. The Shawnee town was on the Little 
Miami, and was visited by Capt. Thomas Bullit in 1773. When Daniel Boone 
was captured in 1778, he was brought to this town, and escaped the following 
■ year. Gen. Clarke invaded this county and the Indians reduced the town to ashes. 
* Xenia, the county seat, was laid off in the forest in 1803, by Joseph C. 
Vance. The first cabin was erected in April, 1804, by John Marshall. The 
Rev. James Fowler built the first hewed-log cabin. David A. Sanders built 
the first frame house. Nine miles north of the town, on the Little Miami 
River, are the Yellow Springs, which are impregnated with sulphur. 



144 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 

Geauga County was formed in 1805 from Trumbull. It exports sheep, 
cattle, butter and cheese. It is situated at the head of Chargrine, Cuyahoga and 
a part of Grand Rivers, on high ground, and is subjected to snowstorms more 
frequently than any other part of the Reserve. Its first settlement was made 
in 1798, at Burton. Chardon is fourteen miles from Lake Erie, and is 600 
feet above it. It was laid out as the county seat in 1808. 

Gallia County was formed April 30, 1803, from Washington. Its princi- 
pal crops are wheat, corn, oats and beans. The surface is generally broken. 
Its first settlement was made in 1791, by a French colony, at Gallipolis. This 
colony was sent out under the auspices of the Scioto Company. This town is 
now the county seat. 

Hamilton County was the second established in the Northwestern Territory 
by proclamation of Gov. St. Clair, January 2, 1790. Its surface is gen- 
erally rolling. It produces the ordinary farm products, and a great variety 
of fruits and vegetables for the Cincinnati market. Vineyards thrive well 
within its limits, and the manufacture of wine is carried on to a considerable 
extent. 

This county was the second settled in Ohio, and the first within the Symmes 
purchase. Settlers arrived at the spot now occupied by Cincinnati, and three 
or four log cabins were erected. Gen. Arthur St. Clair arrived here in Janu- 
ary, 1790. The army of Wayne encamped here later, at Fort Washington. 
Mr. Maxwell established in 1793 the Sentinel of the Northwestern Territory, 
the first newspaper printed north of the Ohio River. In 1796, Edward Free- 
man became its proprietor, and changed the name to Freeman's Journal. 
January 11, 1794, two keel-boats sailed from Cincinnati to Pittsburgh, making 
regular trips every four weeks. In 1801, the first sea vessel built at Mari- 
etta came down the Ohio. 

Cincinnati, the county seat, was incorporated January 2, 1802. It was char- 
tered as a city in 1819. The city is beautifully laid out and delightfully situ- 
ated. Its public buildings are elegant and substantial, including the court 
house and many literary and charitable institutions. 

The Cincinnati College was founded in 1819. It stands in the center of 
the city. It is built in Grecian-Doric style, with pilaster fronts and facade of 
Dayton marble. Woodward College is also popular. 

The Catholics have founded the St. Xavier's College. Lane Seminary, a 
theological institution, is at Walnut Hills, two miles from the center of the city. 
It has over 10,000 volumes in its libraries. No charge is made for tuition. 
Rooms are provided and furnished at $5 per year, and board ranges from 62^ 
cents to 90 cents a week. The Cincinnati Law School is connected with Cin- 
cinnati College. The Mechanics' Institute was chartered in 1828, and is in all 
respects well supplied with apparatus. A college for teachers was established in 
1831, its object being to perfect those contemplating entering that profession in 
their studies and system. 



HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 145 

The Cincinnati Orphan Asylum is an elegant building, and has a library 
and well-organized school attached. The Catholics of the city have one male 
and female orphan asylum. The Commercial Hospital and Lunatic Asylum of 
Ohio was incorporated in 1821. 

Cincinnati is a large manufacturing city, and possesses fine water-power 
facilities. It communicates with the world by means of its canal, river, turnpikes, 
and railways. North Bend is another prominent town in this county, having 
been the residence of Gen. William H. Harrison, and the site of his burial 
place. The town was of considerable importance in the early settlement of the 
State. About thirty yards from Harrison's tomb is the grave of Judge 
Symmes. 

Hancock County was formed x\pril 1, 1820. It produces wheat, oats, corn, 
pork and maple sugar. The surface is level and its soil is fertile. Blanchard's 
Fork waters the central and southern part of the county. Findlay, the county 
seat, was laid out by ex-Gov. Joseph Vance and Elnathan Corry, in 1821. It 
was relaid in 1829. William Vance settled there in the fall of 1821. At the 
south end of the town, are two gas wells. In the eastern part, is a mineral 
spring, and west of the bridge, is a chalybeate spring. 

Hardin County was formed April 1, 1820, from the old Indian Territory. 
It produces, principally, wheat, corn and swine. A portion of the surface is 
level, and the remainder undulating. Fort McArthur was built on the Scioto 
River, but proved a weak stockade. Kenton is the county seat, situated on the 
Mad River. 

Harrison County was formed from Jefferson and Tuscarawas January 1, 
1814. The surface is hilly, abounding in coal and limestone. Its soil is clayey. 
It is one of the important wool-growing counties in Ohio. It produces large 
quantities of wheat, corn, oats and hay, besides a considerable number of horses, 
cattle and swine. 

In April, 1799, Alexander Henderson and family settled in this county, and 
at the same time, Daniel Peterson and his family resided at the forks of Short 
Creek. The early settlers were much annoyed by Indians and wild beasts. 
Cadiz is the county seat, and was laid out in 1803 and 1804, by Messrs. Briggs 
and Beatty. 

Henry County was formed from the old Indian Territory, April 1, 1820. 
Indian corn, oats, potatoes, and maple sugar constitute the main products. 
The county is well supplied with running streams, and the soil is unusually rich. 

The greater portion of this county is covered by the "Black Swamp." 
Throughout this swamp are ridges of limestone, covered with black walnut, red 
elm, butternut and maple. The soil is superior for grain. Fruit thrives and 
all varieties of vegetables are produced in large quantities. Simon Girty, noto- 
rious for his wicked career, resided in this county. Girty led the attack on 
Fort Henry, in September, 1777. He demanded the surrender of the fort, 
and menaced its inmates with an Indian massacre, in case of refusal. The 



146 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 

action began, but the fort gained the victory. He led a ferocious band of Indi- 
ans, and committed the most fiendish atrocities. 

Napoleon, the county seat, is situated on the Maumee River. 

Highland County was formed in May, 1805, from Ross, Adams and Cler- 
mont. It is a wealthy, productive county. Its wheat commands a high mar- 
ket price. The crops consist of wheat, corn, oats, maple sugar, wool, swine 
and cattle. Its first settlement began in 1801, at New Market, by Oliver Ross, 
Robert Keeston, George W. Barrere, Bernard Weyer and others. Simon Ken- 
ton made a trace through this county in early times. Hillsboro is the 
county seat, and was laid out in 1807, by David Hays, on the land of Benja- 
min Ellicott. It is situated on the dividing ridge, between the Miami and Sci- 
oto. The Hillsboro Academy was founded in 1827. 

Hocking County was formed March 1, 1818, from Ross, Athens and Fair- 
field. Its principal products are corn, wheat, tobacco and maple sugar. Its 
surface is broken and hilly, but is level and fertile beside the streams. 

The Wyandots once occupied this tract, and built a large town herein. In 
1798, a few white families ventured to settle. Logan is its county seat, and is 
situated on the Hocking River. 

Holmes County was formed from Coshocton, Tuscarawas and Wayne, Janu- 
ary 20, 1824. It produces wheat, corn, oats, potatoes, maple sugar, swine, 
sheep and cattle. The southwestern portion is broken. Thomas Butler was 
the first settler, in 1810. Millersburg is the county seat, and was laid out in 
1830. 

Huron County was organized in 1815. It produces hay, wheat, corn, oats, 
barley, buckwheat, flaxseed, potatoes, butter, cheese, wool and swine. Nor- 
walk is the county seat. 

Jackson County was organized March, 1816. The country is rich in min- 
erals and abounds in coal and iron ore. The exports are cattle, wool, swine, 
horses, lumber, millstones, tobacco and iron. Jackson, the county seat, was 
laid out in 1817. The old Scioto salt-works were among the first worked in 
Ohio by the whites. Prior to this period, the Indians came some distance to 
this section to make salt. When Daniel Boone was a prisoner, he spent some 
time at these works. 

Jefferson County was proclaimed by Gov. St. Clair July 29, 1797, and 
was the fifth county established in Ohio. It is one of the most important 
manufacturing counties in the State. Its resources in coal are also extended. 
The surface is hilly and the soil fertile, producing wheat, corn and oats. The 
old "Mingo" town was on the present farms of Jeremiah Hallock and Mr- 
Daniel Potter. The troops of Col. Williamson rendezvoused at this point, 
when they set out in their cruel Moravian campaign, and also the troops of 
Col. Crawford, when they started on the campaign against the Sandusky 
Indians. Here Logan, the powerful and manly chief of the Mingo nation, 
once resided. He took no active part in the old French war, which closed in 



HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 147 

1760, except that of a peacemaker. He was a stanch friend of the whites 
until the abominable and unprovoked murder of his father, brother and sister, 
which occurred in 1774, near the Yellow Creek. He then raised the battle 
cry and sought revenge. 

However, Logan was remarkably magnanimous toward prisoners who fell 
into his hands. The year 1793 was the last spent in Indian warfare in Jeffer- 
son County. 

Fort Steuben was erected on the present site of Steubenville, the county seat, 
in 1789. It was constructed of block-houses, with palisade fences, and was dis- 
mantled during Wayne's campaign. Bezaleel Wells and Hon. James Ross laid 
the town out in 1798. It was incorporated February 14, 1805. It is situated 
upon an elevated plain. In 1814, Messrs. Wells and Dickerson built a woolen 
manufactory, and introduced merino sheep to the county. 

Knox County was formed March 1, 1808, from Fairfield. It is drained by 
the Vernon River. It produces wheat, corn, oats, tobacco, maple sugar, pota- 
toes and wool. Mount Vernon was laid out in 1805. The early settlers found 
two wells on the Vernon River, built of hammered stone, neatly laid, and near 
by was a salt-lick. Their direct origin remains a mystery. Gilman Bryant, 
in 1807, opened the first store in Mount Vernon. The court house was built 
in 1810. The Indians came to Mount Vernon in large numbers for the pur- 
pose of trading in furs and cranberries. Each Saturday, the settlers worked 
on the streets, extracting stumps and improving the highway. The first settler 
north of the place was N. M. Young, who built his cabin in 1803. Mount 
Vernon is now the county seat, beautifully situated on Vernon River. Kenyon 
College is located at Gambier. It is richly endowed with 8,000 acres, and is 
valued at $100,000. This institution was established under the auspices of 
Bishop Chase, in July, 1826, in the center of a $4,000-acre tract belonging to 
Kenyon College. It was chartered as a theological seminary. 

Lucas County is of comparatively recent origin. A large portion is covered 
by the "Black Swamp." It produces corn, wheat, potatoes and oats. This 
county is situated in the Maumee Valley, which was the great arena of histori- 
cal events. The frightful battle of Wayne's campaign, where the Indians found 
the British to be traitors, was fought at Fort Meigs, in this county. Maumee 
City, the county seat, was laid out in 1817, as Maumee, by Maj . William Oliver 
and others. It is situated on the Maumee, at the head of navigation. The 
surface is 100 feet above the water level. This town, with Perrysburg, its neighbor, 
is exceedingly picturesque, and was in early times frequented by the Indians. 
The French had a trading station at this point, in 1680, and in 1794, the Brit- 
ish Fort — Miami — was built. Toledo is on the left bank of the Maumee, and 
covers the site of a stockade fort, known as Fort Industry, erected in 1800. 
An Indian treaty was held here July 4, 1805, by which the Indians relinquished 
all rights to the " fire lands." In 1832, Capt. Samuel Allen gave an impetus 
to the place, and Maj. Stickney also became interested in its advancement. 



148 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 

Speculation in lots began in 1834. The Wabash & Erie Canal interest arose in 
1836. Mr. Mason and Edward Bissel added their energies to assist the growth 
of the town. It was incorporated as a city in 1836. It was the center of the 
military operations in the " Ohio and Michigan war," known as the "boundary 
conilict." 

The Ordinance of 1787 provided for the division of the Northwestern Terri- 
tory into three or five States. The three southern were to be divided from the 
two northern by a line drawn east and west through the southern point of Lake 
Michigan, extending eastward to the Territorial line in Lake Erie. The consti- 
tution of Ohio adds a provision that if the line should not go so far north as the 
north cape of Maumee Bay, then the northern boundary of Ohio should be a 
line drawn from the southerly part of Lake Michigan to the north cape of the 
Maumee Bay. 

The line of the ordinance was impossible, according to its instructions and 
the geography of the country. 

When Michigan became a Territory, the people living between the " Fulton " 
and '• Harris " lines found it more to their wishes to be attached to Michigan. 
They occupied disputed ground, and were thus beyond the limits of absolute 
law. In 1835, the subject was greatly agitated, and J. Q. Adams made a warm 
speech before Congress against the Ohio claim. The Legislature of Ohio dis- 
cussed the matter, and an act was passed to attach the disputed section to Ohio, 
according to the constitutional decree. An active campaign opened between 
Michigan and Ohio. Gov. Lucas came out with the Ohio troops, in the spring 
of 1835, and Gov. Mason, of Michigan, followed the example. He marched 
into Toledo, robbed melon-patches and chicken-houses*, crushed in the front 
door of Maj. Stickney's house, and carried him away prisoner of war. Embas- 
sadors were sent from Washington to negotiate matters — Richard Rush, of Penn- 
sylvania and Col. Howard, of Maryland. At the next session of Congress, the 
matter was settled. Samuel Vinton argued for Ohio, in the House, and Thomas 
Ewing in the Senate. Michigan received an equivalent of the large peninsula 
between Lakes Huron, Michigan and Superior. Ohio received the disputed 
strip, averaging eight miles in width. Manhattan, Waterville and Providence 
are all flourishing towns. 

Lorain County was formed from Huron, Cuyahoga and Medina, on Decem- 
ber 26, 1822. The soil is generally fertile, and the surface level. Wheat> 
grass, oats, corn, rye and potatoes constitute the principal crops. Bog-iron ore 
is found in large quantities. A curious relic has been found in this county, bear- 
ing the date of 1533. Elyria is the county seat, and was laid out in 1817. 
The first settler was Mr. Heman Ely. Oberlin is situated about eight miles 
southwest of Elyria. The Oberlin Collegiate Institute has attained a wide 
celebrity. 

Logan County was formed March 1, 1817. The surface is broken and hilly 
near the Mad River, but is generally level. The soil is fertile, producing 



HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO 149 

wheat, corn, rye, oats, clover, flax and timothy seed. The Shawnee Indians 
were located here, and built several villages on the Mad River. These towns 
were destroyed in 1786, by a body of Kentuckians, under Gen. Benjamin 
Logan. The whites surprised the towns. However, they returned after the 
work of destruction had been completed, and for many years frequented the 
section. On the site of Zanesville was a Wyandot village. By the treaty of 
September 29, 1817, the Senecas and Shawnees held a reservation around 
Lewistown. April 6, 1832, they vacated this right and removed west. Isaac 
Zane was born about the year 1753, and was, while a boy, captured and after- 
ward adopted by the Wyandots. Attaining the age of manhood, he had no 
desire to return to his people. He married a Wyandot woman, who was half 
French. After the treaty of Greenville, he bought 1,800 acres on the site of 
Zanesville, where he lived until the year 1816, when he died, lamented by all 
his friends. 

Logan County was settled about the year 1806. During the war of 1812, 
it was a rendezvous for friendly Indians. Bellefontaine, the county seat, was 
laid out March 18, 1820, on land owned by John Tulles and William Powell. 
Joseph Gordon built a cabin, and Anthony Ballard erected the first frame 
dwelling. 

Gen. Simon Kenton is buried at the head of Mad River, five miles from 
Bellefontaine. He died April 29, 1836, aged eighty-one years and twenty-six 
days. This remarkable man came West, to Kentucky, in 1771. He probably 
encountered more thrilling escapes than any other man of his time. In 1778, 
he was captured and suffered extreme cruelties, and was ransomed by the British. 
He soon recovered his robust health, and escaped from Detroit the following 
spring. He settled in Urbana in 1802. He was elected Brigadier General of 
the militia, and in the war of 1812, joined Gen. Harrison's army. In the year 
1820, he removed to Mad River. Gen. Vance and Judge Burnet secured him 
a pension, of $20 per month 

Licking County was formed from Fairfield March 1, 1808. The surface is 
generally level, diversified by slight hills in the eastern portion. The soil is 
fertile, producing wheat, corn, oats and grass. Coal and iron ore of good 
quality add to the wealth of the county. Wool and dairy productions are also 
staples. Newark is the county seat, and is situated at the confluence of the 
three principal branches of the Licking. It was laid out by Gen. William C. 
Schenk, George W. Burnet and John M. Cummings, who owned this military 
section of 4,000 acres, in 1801. In 1802, Samuel Elliott and Samuel Parr 
built hewed-log houses. The picturesque "Narrows of the Licking " are in 
the eastern part of the county, which have elicited general praise from scenic 
hunters. 

Lawrence County was organized March 1, 1816. There are many high 
and abrupt hills in this section, which abound in sand or freestone. It is rich 
in minerals, and the most important section of Ohio for iron manufacture. 



150 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 

Coal is abundant, and white clay exists in the western part suitable for pot- 
tery purposes. Agricultural productions are not extensive. 

The county was settled in 1797 by the Dutch and Irish. The iron region 
extends through the west part of this county. Lawrence County produces a 
superior quality of iron, highly esteemed for castings, and is equal to Scotch 
pig for furnace purposes. Burlington is the county seat. 

Lake County was formed from Geauga and Cuyahoga March 6, 1840. The 
soil is good and the surface rolling. It produces wheat, corn, oats, buckwheat, 
barley, hay and potatoes. Dairy products, cattle and wool are also staples. 
Its fruits — apples, peaches, pears, plums and grapes are highly prized. As 
early as 1799, a settlement was formed at Mentor. Painesville, the county 
seat, is situated on Grand River, in a beautiful valley. The Painesville Acad- 
emy is a classical institution for the education of both sexes. Near the town 
is the Geauga furnace. Painesville was laid out by Henry Champion in 1805. 
At Fairport, the first warehouse in this section, and probably the first on the 
lake, was built by Abraham Skinner in 1803. This town has a fine harbor, 
and has a light-house and beacon. Kirtland, southwest from Painesville, was, 
in 1834, the headquarters of the Mormons. At that time, they numbered 
about three thousand. The old Mormon temple is of rough stone, plastered 
over, colored blue, and marked to imitate regular courses of masonry. As is 
well known, the Mormons derive their name from the book of Mormon, said to 
have been translated from gold plates found in a hill in Palmyra, N. Y. 

Madison County was organized in March, 1810. The surface is generally 
level. It produces grass, corn, oats and cattle — the latter forming a chief 
staple, while wool and pork add to the general wealth. 

Jonathan Alder was much interested in the settlement of the county. He, 
like some other whites, had lived with the Indians many years, and had formed 
a lasting affection for them, and had married a squaw, with whom he became 
dissatisfied, which caused him to desire finding his own family. He suc- 
ceeded in this through the assistance of John Moore. He left his wife and 
joined his people. 

This county was first settled in 1795. Benjamin Springer made a clearing 
and built a cabin. He settled tiear Alder, and taught him the English lan- 
guage. Mr. Joshua Ewing brought four sheep to this place, and the Indians 
exhibited great astonishment over these strange animals. When the hostilities 
of 1812 began, the British offered inducements to the Indians to join them, and 
they consulted Alder regarding the best policy to adopt. He advised them to 
preserve neutrality until a later period, which they did, and eventually became 
firm friends of the Americans. 

London is the county seat, and was laid out in 1810-11, by Patrick McLene. 

Marion County was organized March 1, 1824. The soil is fertile, and pro- 
duces extensive farm crops. The Delaware Indians once held a reservation 
here, and conceded their claims in 1829, August 3, and removed west of the 



HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 153 

Mississippi-. Marion, the county seat, was laid out in 1821, by Eber Baker 
and Alexander Holmes. Gen. Harrison marched through this section during 
his campaign. 

Mahoning County was formed in 1846, from Trumbull and Columbiana. 
The surface is rolling and the soil generally fertile. The finer qualities of wood 
are produced here. Bituminous coal and iron are found in large quantities. 
Col. James Hillman came to the Western Reserve in 1786. The settlement 
of the county went forward. Canfield is the county seat. 

Medina County was formed from the Western Reserve February 12, 1812. 
The surface is rolling and the soil is fertile, producing fine agricultural prod- 
ucts. The first trail made through the county was made by George Poe, 
Joseph H. Larwell and Roswell M. Mason. The first settlement was made 
by Joseph Harris in 1811. He was soon joined by the Burr brothers. Me- 
dina is the county seat. 

Meigs County was formed from Gallia and Athens April 1, 1819. The 
general character of the soil is clayey, producing large quantities of wheat, oats, 
corn, hay and potatoes. Vast quantities of salt are made and exported. Pom- 
eroy, the county seat, is situated under a lofty hill, surrounded by picturesque 
scenery. Mr. Nathaniel Clark was the first settler of the county. He arrived in 
1816. The first coal mine opened in Pomeroy was in 1819, by David Bradshaw. 

Mercer County was formed from the Indian Territory in 1820. The sur- 
face is generally flat, and while covered with forests, inclined to be wet ; but, 
being cleared, it is very fertile, and adapted to producing farm crops. St. 
Clair's Battle was fought on the boundary line between this and Darke County. 
The Hon. Lewis Cass and Duncan McArthur made a treaty at St. Mary's with 
the Wyandots, Shawnees and Ottawas, in 1818. The odious Simon Girty lived 
at one time at St. Mary's. Wayne built St. Mary's Fort, on the west bank of 
the river. John Whistler was the last commander of the fort. The largest 
artificial lake in the world, so it is asserted, is formed by the reservoir sup- 
plying the St. Mary's feeder of the Miami Extension Canal. It is about nine 
miles long, and from two to four broad. Celina is the county seat. 

Miami County was formed January 16, 1807, from Montgomery. It abounds 
in excellent limestone, and possesses remarkable water-power facilities. Its agri- 
cultural products rank highly in quality and quantity. John Knoop came into this 
section about the year 1797, and its first settlement began about this time. Troy, 
the county seat, is situated upon the Great Miami. Piqua is another lovely 
town. The Miami River affords delightful scenery at this point. 

Monroe County was formed January 29, 1813, from Belmont, Washington, 
and Guernsey. A portion of its surface is abrupt and hilly. Large quantities 
of tobacco are raised, and much pork is exported. Wheat and corn grow well 
in the western portion. Iron ore and coal abound. The valleys of the streams 
are very narrow, bounded by rough hills. In some places are natural rock 
grottoes. The first settlement was made in 1799, near the mouth of the Sunfish. 



154 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 

At this time, wolves were numerous, and caused much alarm. Volney entered 
this county, but was not prepossessed in its favor. One township is settled by 
the Swiss, who are educated and refined. Woodsfield is the county seat. 

Montgomery County was formed from Ross and Hamilton May 1, 1803. 
The soil is fertile, and its agricultural products are most excellent. Quarries of 
grayish-white limestone are found east of the Miami. 

Dayton is the county seat, situated on the Great Miami, at the mouth of 
Mad River. It was settled in 1788, but the Indian wars prevented a rapid 
growth. After Wayne's treaty, in 1795, a new company was formed. It 
advanced rapidly between the years 1812 and 1820. The beginning of the Miami 
Canal renewed its prosperity, in 1827. The first coal-boat from Cincinnati arrived 
at Dayton on the 25th of January, 1829. The first one arrived from Lake 
Erie in June, 1845. Col. Robert Patterson came to Dayton in 1804. At one 
time, he owned Lexington, Ky., and about one third of Cincinnati. 

Morgan County was organized in 1818, March 1. The surface is hilly and 
the soil strong and fertile, producing wheat, corn, oats and tobacco. Pork is a 
prolific product, and considerable salt is made. The first settlement was made 
in 1790, on the Muskingum. McConnelsville is the county seat. Mr. Ayres 
made the first attempt to produce salt, in 1817. This has developed into a 
large industry. 

Morrow County was organized in 1848. It is drained by the Vernon 
River, which rises in it, by the East Branch of the Olontangy or Whetstone 
River, and by Walnut Creek. The surface is undulating, the soil fertile. 
The staple products are corn, wheat, oats, hay, wool and butter. The sugar 
maple abounds in the forests, and sandstone or freestone in the quarries. 
Mount Gilead, the county seat, is situated on the East Branch of the Olen- 
tangy River. 

Muskingum County was formed from Washington and Fairfield. The sur- 
face is rolling or hilly. It produces wheat, corn, oats, potatoes, tobacco, wool 
and pork. Large quantities of bituminous coal are found. Pipe clay, buhr- 
stone or cellular quartz are also in some portions of the State. Salt is made in 
large quantities — the fine being obtained from a stratum of whitish sandstone. 
The Wyandots, Delawares, Senecas and Shawanoese Indians once inhabited this 
section. An Indian town occupied the site of Duncan's Falls. A large Shawan- 
oese town was located near Dresden. 

Zanesville is the county seat, situated opposite the mouth of the Licking. 
It was laid out in 1799, by Mr. Zane and Mr. Mclntire. This is one of the 
principal towns in the State, and is surrounded by charming scenery. 

Noble County, organized in 1851, is drained by Seneca, Duck and Wills 
Creeks. The surface is undulating, and a large part of it is covered with for- 
ests. The soil is fertile. Its staples are corn, tobacco, wheat, hay, oats and 
wool. Among its mineral resources are limestone, coal and petroleum. Near 
Caldwell, the county seat, are found iron ore, coal and salt. 



HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 155 

Ottawa County was formed from Erie, Sandusky and Lucas, March 6, 1840, 
It is mostly within the Black Swamp, and considerable of its land is prairie and 
marsh. It was very thinly settled befere 1830. Extensive plaster beds exist 
on the peninsula, which extends into Lake Erie. It has also large limestone 
quarries, which are extensively worked. The very first trial at arms upon the 
soil of Ohio, during the war of 1812, occurred upon this peninsula. Port Clin- 
ton, the county seat, was laid out in 1827. 

Perry County was formed from Washington, Fairfield and Muskingum, 
March 1, 1817. Fine tobacco is raised in large quantities. Wheat, corn, oats, 
hay, cattle, pork and wool add to the general wealth. This county was first set- 
tled in 1802. In 1807, John Finck erected the first cabin near the site of 
Somerset, formerly the county seat. New Livingston is now the county seat. 

Paulding County was formed from old Indian territory August 1, 1820. 
It produces corn, Avheat and oats. Paulding is the county seat. 

Pickaway County was formed from Fairfield, Ross and Franklin, January 
12, 1810. The county has woodland, barren, plain and prairie. The barrens 
were covered by shrub oaks, and when cleared are adapted to the raising of corn 
and oats. The Pickaway plains are three and a half miles west of Circleville, 
and this tract is said to contain the richest land in Ohio. Here, in the olden 
times, burned the great council fires of the red man. Here the allied tribes met 
Gen. Lewis, and fought the battle of Mount Pleasant. Dunmore's campaign 
was terminated on these plains. It was at the Chillicothe towns, after Dun- 
more's treaty, that Logan delivered his famous speech. Circleville, the county 
seat, is situated on the Scioto River and the Ohio Canal. It was laid out in 
1810, by Daniel Dresbach. It is situated on the site of ancient fortifications. 

Portage County was formed June 7, 1807, from Trumbull. It is a wealthy, 
thriving section. Over a thousand tons of cheese are annually produced. It 
also produces wheat, corn, oats, barley, buckwheat, rye, butter and wool. 
Ravenna is the county seat, and was originally settled by the Hon. Benjamin 
Tappen in June, 1799. In 1806, an unpleasant difficulty arose between the 
settlers and a camp of Indians in Deerfield, caused by a horse trade between a 
white man and an Indian. David Daniels settled on the site of Palmyra in 1799. 

Pike County was organized in 1815. The surface is generally hilly, which 
abound with freestone, which is exported in large quantities for building pur- 
poses. Rich bottom lands extend along the Scioto and its tributaries. John 
Noland and the three Chenoweth brothers settled on the Pee Pee prairie about 
1796. Piketown, the former county seat, was laid out about 1814. Waverly, 
the present county seat, is situated on the Scioto River. 

Preble County was formed March 1, 1808, from Montgomery and Butler. 
The soil is varied. Excellent water-power facilities are furnished. 

Eaton, the county seat, was laid out in 1806, by William Bruce, who owned 
the land. An overflowing well of strong sulphur water is near the town, while 
directly beside it is a limestone quarry. Holderman's quarry is about two 



156 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO 

miles distant, from which is obtained a beautifully clouded gray stone. ' Fort St. 
Clair was built near Eaton, in the winter of 1791-92. Gen. Harrison was an En- 
sign at the time, and commanded a guard every other night for three weeks, during 
the building. The severe battle of November 6, 1792, was fought under its very 
guns. Little Turtle, a distinguished chief of the Miamis, roamed over this county 
for a time. He was witty, brave and earnest, and, although engaged in several 
severe contests with the whites, he was inclined toward peace. But when his 
warriors cried for war he led them bravely. 

Putnam County was formed April 1, 1820, from old Indian territory. The 
soil is fertile, its principal productions being wheat, corn, potatoes and oats. 
Large quantities of pork are exported. Kalida, once the county seat, was laid 
out in 1834. Ottawa is the county seat. 

Ross County was formed August 20, 1798, by the proclamation of Gov. St. 
Clair, and was the sixth county formed in the Northwestern Territory. The 
Scioto River and Paint Creek run through it, bordered with fertile lands. 
Much water-power is obtained from the many streams watering it. The main 
crops are wheat, corn and oats. It exports cattle and hogs. 

The Rev. Robert W. Finley, in 1794, addressed a letter of inquiry to Col. 
Nathaniel Massie, as many of his associates had designed settling in the new 
State. This resulted in packing their several effects and setting out. A triv- 
ial Indian encounter was the only interruption they met with on their way. 
After Wayne's treaty, Col. Massie and many of these early explorers met 
again and formed a settlement — in 1796 — at the mouth of Paint Creek. In 
August of this year, Chillicothe was laid out by Col. Massie, in a dense forest. 
He donated lots to the early settlers. A ferry was established over the Scioto, 
and the opening of Zane's trace assisted the progress of settlement. 

Chillicothe, the county seat, is situated on the Scioto. Its site is thirty 
feet above the river. In 1800, it was the seat of the Northwestern Territorial 
Government. It was incorporated as a city in January, 1802. During the war 
of 1812, the city was a rendezvous for the United States troops. A large num- 
ber of British were at one time guarded here. Adena is a beautiful place, and 
the seat of Gov. Worthington's mansion, which was built in 1806. Near this 
is Fruit Hill, the residence of the late Gen. Mc Arthur, and latterly the home 
of his son-in-law, the Hon. William Allen. Eleven miles from Chillicothe, on 
the road to Portsmouth, is the home of the hermit of the Scioto. 

Richland was organized March 1, 1813. It produces wheat, corn, oats, hay, 
potatoes, rye, hemp and barley. It was settled about 1809, on branches of the 
Mohican. Two block-houses were built in 1812. Mansfield, the county seat, 
is charmingly situated, and was laid out in 1808, by Jacob Newman, James 
Hedges and Joseph H. Larwell. The county was at that period a vast wilder- 
ness, destitute of roads. From this year, the settlement progressed rapidly. 

Sandusky County was formed April 1, 1820, from the old Indian Territory. 
The soil is fertile, and country generally level. It mainly produces corn, wheat, 



HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 157 

oats, potatoes and pork. The Indians were especially delighted with this tract. 
Near Lower Sandusky lived a band of Wyandots, called the Neutral Nation. 
These two cities never failed to render refuge to any who sought their protec- 
tion. They preserved their peacemaking attributes through the Iroquois 
conflicts. Fremont, formerly called Lower Sandusky, the county seat, is 
situated at the head of navigation, on the Sandusky, on the site of the old 
reservation grant to the Indians, at the Greenville treaty council. Fort 
Stephenson was erected in August, 1813, and was gallantly defended by Col. 
Croghan. 

Summit County was formed March 3, 1840, from Medina, Portage and 
Stark. The soil is fertile and produces excellent fruit, besides large crops of 
corn, wheat, hay, oats and potatoes. Cheese and butter may be added as 
products. 

The first settlement made in the county was at Hudson, in 1800. The old 
Indian portage-path, extending through this county, between the Cuyahoga, and 
Tuscarawas Branch of the Muskingum. This was a part of the ancient boundary 
between the Six Nations and the Western Indians. Akron, the county seat, is 
situated on the portage summit. It was laid out in 1825. In 1811, Paul 
Williams and Amos and Minor Spicer settled in this vicinity. Middlebury was 
laid out in 1818, by Norton & Hart. 

Stark County was formed February 13, 1808. It is a rich agricultural 
county. It has large quantities of mineral coal, iron ore, flocks of the finest 
sheep and great water-power. Limestone and extensive beds of lime-marl exist. 
The manufacture of silk has been extensively carried on. Frederick Post, the 
first Moravian missionary in Ohio, settled here in 1761. 

Canton is the county seat, situated in the forks of the Nimishillen, a tribu- 
tary of the Muskingum. It was laid out in 1806, by Bezaleel Wells, who 
owned the land. Massillon was laid out in March, 1826, by John Duncan. 

Shelby County was formed in 1819, from Miami. The southern portion is 
undulating, arising in some places to hills. Through the north, it is a flat table- 
land. It produces wheat, corn, oats and grass. The first point of English set- 
tlement in Ohio was at the mouth of Laramie's Creek, in this county, as early 
as 1752. Fort Laramie was built in 1794, by Wayne. The first white family 
that settled in this county was that of James Thatcher, in 1804. Sidney, the 
county seat, was laid out in 1819, on the farm of Charles Starrett. 

Seneca County was formed April 1, 1820, from the old Indian territory. 
Its principal products are corn, wheat, grass, oats, potatoes and pork. 

Fort Seneca was built during the war of 1812. The Senecas owned 
40,000 acres of land on the Sandusky River, mostly in Seneca County. 
Thirty thousand acres of this land was granted to them in 1817, at the treaty 
held at the foot of the Maumee Rapids. The remaining 10,000 was granted 
the following year. These Indians ceded this tract, however, to the Govern- 
ment in 1831. It was asserted by an old chief, that this band was the remnant 



158 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 

of Logan's tribe. Tiffin, the county seat, was laid out by Josiah Hedges in 
the year 1821. 

Scioto County was formed May 1, 1803. It is a good agricultural section, 
besides producing iron ore, coal and freestone. It is said that a French fort 
stood at the mouth of the old Scioto, as early as 1740. In 1785, four families 
settled where Portsmouth now stands. Thomas McDonald built the first cabin in 
the county. The "French grant" was located in this section — a tract com- 
prising 24,000 acres. The grant was made in March, 1795. Portsmouth, the 
county seat, is located upon the Ohio. 

Trumbull County was formed in 1800. The original Connecticut Western 
Reserve was within its limits. The county is well cultivated and very wealthy. 
Coal is found in its northern portion. We have, in our previous outline, given 
a history of this section, and it is not, therefore, necessary to repeat its details. 
Warren, the county seat, is situated on the Mahoning River. It was laid out 
by Ephraim Quinby in 1801. Mr. Quinby owned the soil. His cabin was built 
here in 1799. In August, 1800, while Mr. McMahon was away from home, 
a party of drunken Indians called at the house, abused the family, struck a 
child a severe blow with a tomahawk and threatened to kill the family. Mrs. 
McMahon could not send tidings which could reach her husband before noon 
the following day. The following Sunday morning, fourteen men and two 
boys armed themselves and went to the Indian camp to settle the difficulty. 
Quinby advanced alone, leaving the remainder in concealment, as he was better 
acquainted with these people, to make inquiries and ascertain their intentions. 
He did not return at once, and the party set out, marched into camp, and found 
Quinby arguing with Capt. George, the chief. Capt. George snatched his 
tomahawk and declared war, rushing forward to kill McMahon. But a bullet 
from the frontierman's gun killed him instantly, while Storey shot " Spotted 
John" at the same time. The Indians then fled. They joined the council at 
Sandusky. Quinby garrisoned his house. Fourteen days thereafter, the 
Indians returned with overtures of peace, which were, that McMahon and 
Storey be taken to Sandusky, tried by Indian laws, and if found guilty, pun- 
ished by them. This could not be done. McMahon was tried by Gen. St. 
Clair, and the matter was settled. The first missionary on the Reserve was the 
Rev. Joseph Badger. 

Tuscarawas County was formed February 15, 1808, from Muskingum. It 
is well cultivated with abundant supplies of coal and iron. 

The first white settlers were Moravian missionaries, their first visits dating 
back to 1761. The first permanent settlement was made in 1803. Miss Mary 
Heckewelder, the daughter of a missionary, was born in this county April 16, 
1781. Fort Laurens was built during the Revolution. It was the scene of a 
fearful carnage. It was established in the fall of 1778, and placed under the 
command of Gen. Mcintosh. New Philadelphia is the county seat, situated on 
the Tuscarawas. It was laid out in 1804 by John Knisely. A German 



HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 159 

colony settled in this county in 1817, driven from their native land by religious 
dictation they could not espouse. They called themselves Separatists. They 
are a simple-minded people, strictly moral and honest. 

Union County was formed from Franklin, Delaware, Logan and Madison in 
1820. It produces corn, grass, wheat, oats, potatoes, butter and cheese. 
Extensive limestone quarries are also valuable. The Ewing brothers made the 
first white settlement in 1798. Col. James Curry, a member of the State Leg- 
islature, was the chief instigator in the progress of this section. He located 
within its limits and remained until his death, which occurred in 1834. Marys- 
ville is the county seat. 

Van Wert County was formed from the old Indian territory April 1, 1820. 
A great deal of timber is within the limits of this county, but the soil is so 
tenacious that water will not sink through it, and crops are poor during wet 
seasons. The main product is corn. Van Wert, the county seat, was founded 
by James W. Riley in 1837. An Indian town had formerly occupied its site. 
Capt. Riley was the first white man who settled in the county, arriving in 1821. 
He founded Willshire in 1822. 

Vinton County was organized in 1 850. It is drained by Raccoon and Salt 
Creeks. The surface is undulating or hilly, and is extensively covered with 
forests in which the oak, buckeye and sugar maple are found. Corn, hay, but- 
ter and wool are staple products. Bituminous coal and iron ore are found. 
McArthur is the county seat. 

Washington County was formed by proclamation of Gov. St. Clair July 27, 
1788, and was the first county founded within the limits of Ohio. The surface 
is broken with extensive tracts of level, fertile land. It was the first county 
settled in the State under the auspices of the Ohio Company. A detachment 
of United States troops, under command of Maj. John Doughty, built Fort 
Harmar in 1785, and it was the first military post established in Ohio by 
Americans, with the exception of Fort Laurens, which was erected in 1778. 
It was occupied by United States troops until 1790, when they were ordered 
to Connecticut. A company under Capt. Haskell remained. In 1785, the 
Directors of the Ohio Company began practical operations, and settlement 
went forward rapidly. Campus Martius, a stockade fort, was completed in 
1791. This formed a sturdy stronghold during the war. During the Indian 
war there was much suffering in the county. Many settlers were killed and 
captured. 

Marietta is the county seat, and the oldest town in Ohio. Marietta College 
was chartered in 1835. Herman Blannerhassett, whose unfortunate association 
with Aaron Burr proved fatal to himself, was a resident of Marietta in 1796. 
About the year 1798, he began to beautify and improve his island. 

Warren County was formed May 1, 1803, from Hamilton. The soil is 
very fertile, and considerable water-power is furnished by its streams. Mr. 
Bedell made the first settlement in 1795. Lebanon is the county seat. Henry 



160 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 

Taylor settled in this vicinity in 1796. Union Village is a settlement of 
Shakers. They came here about 1805. 

Wayne County was proclaimed by Gov. St. Clair August 15, 1796, and 
was the third county in the Northwest Territory. The settlement of this sec- 
tion has already been briefly delineated. Wooster is the county seat. It was 
laid out during the fall of 1808, by John Beaver, William Henry and Joseph 
H. Larwell, owners of the land. Its site is 337 feet above Lake Erie. The 
first mill was built by Joseph Stibbs in 1809, on Apple Creek. In 1812, a 
block-house was erected in Wooster. 

Wood County was formed from the old Indian territory in 1820. The soil 
is rich, and large crops are produced. The county is situated within the Mau- 
mee Valley. It was the arena of brilliant military exploits during early times. 

Bowling Green is the county seat. 

Williams County was formed April 1, 1820, from the old Indian territory. 
Bryan is the county seat. It was laid out in 1840. 

Wyandot County was formed February 3, 1845, from Marion, Harden, 
Hancock and Crawford. The surface is level and the soil is fertile. The 
Wyandot Indians frequented this section. It was the scene of Crawford's 
defeat, in June, 1782, and his fearful death. The treaty of 1817, Hon. Lewis 
Cass and Hon. Duncan McArther, United States Commissioners, granted to 
the Indians a reservation ten miles square, the central point being Fort Ferree. 
This reservation was ceded to the United States in 1829. The Wyandots 
ceded theirs March 17, 1842. The United States Commissioner was Col. 
John Johnson, who thus made the last Indian treaty in Ohio. Every foot of 
this State was fairly purchased by treaties. The Wyandots were exceedingly 
brave, and several of their chiefs were men of exalted moral principles. 

Upper Sandusky is the county seat, and was laid out in 1843. Gen. Har- 
rison had built Ferree on this spot during the war of 1812. Gov. Meigs, in 
1813, encamped near the river, with several thousand of the Ohio militia. 

The Indian town of Upper Sandusky was originally Crane Town. The 
Indians transferred their town, after the death of Tarke, to Upper Sandusky. 

GOVERNORS OF OHIO. 

The Territorial Governors we have already mentioned in the course of our 
brief review of the prominent events of the State of Ohio. After the Terri- 
tory was admitted as a State, in '1802, Edward Tiffin was elected to that position, 
and again received the same honor, in 1804 and 1806. In 1807, circumstances 
led him to resign, and Thomas Kirker, Speaker of the House, acted as Gover- 
nor, until the close of the term. 

Edward Tiffin was born in Carlisle, England, coming to this country in 
1784, at the age of eighteen. He entered the University of Pennsylvania, and 
applied himself to the study of medicine, graduating and beginning his practice 
at the age of twenty, in the State of Virginia. In 1789, he married Mary, 



HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 161 

daughter of Col. Worthington, and sister of Thomas Worthington, who subse- 
quently became Governor of Ohio. In his profession, Gov. Tiffin was highly 
esteemed, and his public labors were carried forward with a zealous earnestness 
which marked his career as one of usefulness. He settled in Chillicothe, Ohio, 
in 1796, where he died, in 1829. 

Samuel Huntington, the recipient of the honor of second Governor, was 
inaugurated in 1808. He was an American by birth, Norwich, Conn, 
being his native place. He was a diligent student in Yale College, graduating 
in 1785. He removed to Cleveland, Ohio, in 1801. He attained a reputation 
for integrity, ability and rare discretion. As a scholar, he was eminently supe- 
rior. He resided in Cleveland at the time of his death, in 1817. 

Return Jonathan Meigs followed Gov. Huntington. He was born in Mid- 
dletown, Conn., in 1765. He was also a student in Yale College, graduating 
in 1785, with the highest honors. He immediately entered the study of law, 
and was admitted to practice in his twenty-third year. He married Miss Sophia 
Wright, and settled in Marietta, Ohio, in 1788. He took his seat as Gover- 
nor in 1810, and was re-elected in 1812. In 1813, President Madison appointed 
him to the position of Postmaster General, which occasioned his resignation as 
Governor. Othniel Looker, Speaker of the House, acted as Governor during 
the remainder of the term. Mr. Meigs died in 1825, leaving as a memento of 
his usefulness, a revered memory. 

Thomas Worthington, the fourth Governor, was born in Jefferson County, 
Va., in 1769. He gained an education in William and Mary's College. 
In 1788, he located at Chillicothe, and was the first Senator from the new 
State. He was also the first man to erect the first saw-mill in Ohio. He 
served two terms as Senator, from 1803 to 1815, resigning in 1814, to take his 
position as Governor. In 1816, he was re-elected. He was exceedingly active 
m paving the way for the future prosperity of Ohio. His measures were famous 
for practical worth and honesty. Chief Justice Chase designated him as "a 
gentleman of distinguished ability and great influence." He died in 1827. 

Ethan Allen Brown followed Mr. Worthington. His birthplace was on the 
shore of Long Island Sound, in Fairfield County, Conn., July 4, 1766. His 
education was derived under the most judicious instruction of a private tutor. 
In classics, he became proficient. Directly he had reached the required stand- 
ard in general education, he began the study of law, at home. After becoming 
conversant with preliminary requirements, he entered the law office of Alex^ 
ander Hamilton, who at that time was a national pride, as a scholar, lawyer and 
statesman. Opportunities coming in his way, which promised a fortune, he 
abandoned the law, and achieved success and a fortune. He then decided to 
return to his study, and was admitted to practice in 1802. Thereafter, he was 
seized with an exploring enthusiasm, and with his cousin as a companion, set 
out upon a horseback tour, following the Indian trails from east to west, through 
Pennsylvania, until they reached Brownsville, on the Monongahela River. Here 



162 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 

they purchased two flatboats, and fully stocking them with provisions and 
obtaining efficient crews, started for New Orleans. Reaching that city, they 
found they could not dispose of their cargoes to any advantage, and shipped the 
flour to Liverpool, England, taking passage in the same vessel. They succeeded 
in obtaining good prices for their stock, and set sail for America, arriving in Bal- 
timore nine months after first leaving " home," on this adventure. Mr. Brown's 
father decided to secure a large and valuable tract of Western land, as a per- 
manent home, and authorized his son to select and purchase the same for him. 
He found what he desired, near Rising Sun, Ind. After this, he settled in 
Cincinnati, and engaged in the practice of law, speedily achieving prominency 
and distinction. Financially, he was most fortunate. In 1810, he was elected 
Judge of the Supreme Court, which position he filled with honor, until he was 
chosen Governor, in 1818. He was re-elected in 1820. In 1821, he received 
the honor of Senator, and served one term, with the highest distinction, gain- 
ing emolument for himself and the State he represented. In 1830, he was 
appointed Minister to Brazil. He remained there four years, and returning, 
was appointed Commissioner of Public Lands, by President Jackson, holding 
this position two years. At this time, he decided to retire from public life. 
Since he never married, he was much with his relatives, at Rising Sun, Ind., 
during the latter part of his life. His death was sudden and unexpected, occur- 
ring in February, 1852, while attending a Democratic Convention, at Indianap- 
olis, Ind. He was interred near his father, at Rising Sun. 

Jeremiah Morrow, the sixth Governor of Ohio, was born at Gettysburg, 
Penn., in October, 1771. His people were of the " Scotch-Irish " class, and his 
early life was one of manual labor upon his father's farm. During the winter, 
he had the privilege of a private school. With a view of establishing himself 
and securing a competency, he bade the old home farewell, in 1795, and set out 
for the " Far West." A flatboat carried him to a little cluster of cabins, known 
by the name of Columbia, six miles from Fort Washington — Cincinnati. He 
devoted himself to whatever came in his way, that seemed best and most worthy 
— teaching school, surveying and working on farms between times. Having 
accumulated a small capital, he ascended the Little Miami, as far as Warren 
County, and there purchased an extensive farm, and erected an excellent log 
house. In the spring of 1799, he married Miss Mary Packtrell, of Columbia, 
The young couple set out upon pioneer farming. Gaining popularity as well as 
a desirable property, he was deputized to the Territorial Legislature, which met 
at Chillicothe, at which time measures were inaugurated to call a Constitutional 
Convention, during the following year, to organize the State of Ohio. Mr. 
Morrow was one of the Delegates to this convention, and steadfastly worked in the 
interests of those who sent him, until its close in 1802. The following year, 
he was elected to the Senate of Ohio, and in June of the same year, he was 
appointed the first Representative to the United States Congress from the new 
State. 



HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 163 

Ohio was then entitled to but one Representative in Congress, and could not 
add to that number for ten years thereafter. During these years, Mr. Morrow 
represented the State. In 1813, he was sent to the United States Senate, and 
in 1822, was elected Governor of Ohio, almost unanimously, being re-elected in 
1824. It was during his administration that work was begun on the Ohio 
Canal. Mr. Morrow received the national guest, La Fayette, with an earnest 
and touching emotion, which affected the emotions of the generous Frenchman 
more profoundly than any of the elaborate receptions which paved his way 
through America. On the 4th of July, 1839, Gov. Morrow was appointed to 
lay the corner stone of the new State capitol, at Columbus, and to deliver the 
address on this occasion. Again, in 1840, he was in the House of Representa- 
tives, filling the vacancy caused by the resignation of Hon. Thomas Corwin. 
He was elected for the following term also. He died at his own homestead, in 
Warren County, March 22, 1853. 

Allen Trimble was a native of Augusta County, Va. The date of his birth 
was November 24, 1783. His ancestors were of Scotch-Irish origin, and were 
among the early settlers of Virginia. His father moved to Ohio in 1804, pur- 
chasing a tract of land in Highland County. His cabin was remarkably spa- 
cious, and elicited the admiration of his neighbors. He cleared six acres of 
land for an orchard, and brought the trees on horseback, from Kentucky. Be- 
fore this new home was completed, Allen, then a young man of twenty, took 
possession. This was in the year 1805. Four years thereafter, he occupied 
the position of Clerk of the Court of Common Pleas and Recorder of High- 
land County. He was serving in the latter capacity at the breaking out of the 
war of 1812. Naturally enthusiastic and patriotic, he engaged a competent 
person to perform his civil duties, while he went into active service as Colonel 
of a regiment he had summoned and enlisted. He was always eager to be in 
the front, and led his men with such valor that they were termed soldiers who 
did not know the art of flinching. His commanding General lavished praises 
upon him. In 1816, he was in the State Senate, representing Highland 
County. He occupied the same position for four terms, two years each. In 
1818, he was Speaker of the Senate, over Gen. Robert Lucas. He remained 
in this office until elected to the United States Senate, to fill the vacancy caused 
by the death of his brother, Col. William A. Trimble. In October, 1826, he 
was elected the seventh Governor of Ohio, by an astonishing majority. The 
united vote of his three competitors was but one-sixth of the vote polled. Gov. 
Trimble was an earnest Henry Clay Whig. In 1828, he was re-elected, 
although Jackson carried the State the following November. Gov. Trimble 
was married in 1806, to Miss Margaret McDowell. Three years thereafter, 
she died, leaving two children. He was united in marriage to Miss Rachel 
Woodrow, and they lived together sixty years, when he died, at home, in Hills- 
boro, Highland County, February 3, 1870. His wife survived him but a few 
months. 



164 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 

Duncan Mc Arthur, the eighth Governor of Ohio, was born in Dutchess 
County, N. Y., in 1772. While yet a child, his parents removed to the west- 
ern part of Pennsylvania, where they entered upon the hard life of pioneers. 
While there, young Duncan had the meager advantages of a backwoods school. 
His life was a general routine until his eighteenth year, when he enlisted under 
Gen. Harmer for the Indian campaign. His conduct and bravery won worthy 
laurels, and upon the death of the commander of his company, he was elected 
to that position, although the youngest man in the company. When his days 
of service had expired, he found employment at salt-making in Maysville, Ky., 
until he was engaged as chain-bearer in Gen. Massie's survey of the Scioto 
Valley. At this time, Indian atrocities alarmed the settlers occasionally, and 
his reputation for bravery caused him to be appointed one of the three patrols 
of the Kentucky side of the Ohio, to give the alarm to scattered cabins in case 
of danger. This was during the summer of 1793. Gen. Massie again secured 
his services, this time as assistant surveyor. He was thus engaged for several 
years, during which time he assisted in platting Chillicothe. He purchased a 
large tract of land just north of town, and under his vigorous and practical 
management, it became one of the finest estates of Ohio, which reputation it 
sustains at the present time. He amassed wealth rapidly, his investments 
always being judicious. In 1805, he was elected to the State Legislature. 
He was a Colonel of an Ohio regiment, and accompanied Gen. Hull to Detroit 
in 1813. At Hull's surrender he was a prisoner, but released on parole, 
returned to Ohio in a state of indignation over his commander's stupidity. 
Soon thereafter he was sent to Congress on the Democratic ticket. Soon there- 
after he was released from parole by exchange, and, greatly rejoiced, he 
resigned his seat, entered the army as a Brigadier General under Gen. Harri- 
son, and the following year succeeded him as commander of the Northwestern 
forces. At the termination of the war, he was immediately returned to the 
State Legislature. He occupied State offices until 1822, when he was again 
sent to Congress. Serving one term, he declined re-election. In 1830, he 
was elected Governor of Ohio. When his term expired, he decided to enjoy 
life as a citizen on his farm, "Fruit Hill," and lived there in contentment until 
1840, when he died. 

Robert Lucas was another Virginian, having been born in 1781, in Jeffer- 
son County of that State. While a boy, his father liberated his slaves, moving 
to Chillicothe as one of the early settlers. He procured a proficient tutor for 
his children. Robert became an expert in mathematics and surveying. Before 
he reached his majority, he was employed as surveyor, earning liberal compen- 
sation. At the age of twenty-three, he was appointed Surveyor of Scioto 
County. At twenty-five, he was Justice of the Peace for Union Township, 
Scioto County. He married Miss Elizabeth Brown in 1810, who died two 
years thereafter, leaving a young daughter. In 1816, he married Miss Sum- 
ner. The same year he was elected a member of the Ohio Legislature. For 



HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 165 

nineteen consecutive years he served in the House or Senate. In 1820 and 
1828, he was chosen one of the Presidential electors of Ohio. In 1832, 
he was Chairman of the National Convention at Baltimore, which nom- 
inated Gen. Jackson as President of the United States. In 1832, he 
became Governor of Ohio, and was re-elected in 1834. He declined a third 
nomination, and was appointed by President Van Buren Territorial Governor 
of Iowa and Superintendent of Indian Affairs. On the 16th of August, 
1838, he reached Burlington, the seat of government. He remained in Iowa 
until his death, in 1853. 

Joseph Vance, the tenth Governor of Ohio, was born in Washington 
County, Penn., March 21, 1781. He was of Scotch-Irish descent, and his 
father emigrated to the new Territory when Joseph was two years of age. He 
located on the southern bank of the Ohio, building a solid block house. This 
formed a stronghold for his neighbors in case of danger. In 1801, this pioneer 
decided to remove north of the Ohio River, and eventually settled in Urbana. 
Joseph had the primitive advantages of the common schools, and became pro- 
ficient in handling those useful implements — the plow, ax and rifle. The first 
money he earned he invested in a yoke of oxen. He obtained several barrels 
of salt, and set out on a speculative tour through the settlements. He traveled 
through a wilderness, over swamps, and surmounted serious difficulties. At 
night he built a huge fire to terrify the wolves and panthers, and laid down to 
sleep beside his oxen, frequently being obliged to stand guard to protect 
them from these ferocious creatures. Occasionally he found a stream so swol- 
len that necessarily he waited hours and even days in the tangled forest, before 
he could cross. He often suffered from hunger, yet he sturdily persevered and 
sold his salt, though a lad of only fifteen years. When he attained his major- 
ity, he married Miss Mary Lemen, of Urbana. At twenty-three, he was 
elected Captain of a rifle company, and frequently led his men to the front to 
fight the Indians prior to the war of 1812. During that year, he and his 
brother piloted Hull's army through the dense forests to Fort Meigs. In 1817, 
with Samuel McCullough and Henry Van Meter, he made a contract to supply 
the Northwestern army with provisions. They drove their cattle and hogs 
many miles, dead weight being transported on sleds and in wagons. He 
engaged in mercantile business at Urbana and Fort Meigs — now Perrysburg. 

While thus employed, he was elected to the Legislature, and there remained 
four years. He then purchased a large tract of land on Blanchard's Fork, 
and laid out the town of Findlay. He was sent to Congress in 1821, and was 
a member of that body for fifteen years. In 1836, he was chosen Governor of 
Ohio. Again he was sent to Congress in 1842. While attending the Consti- 
tutional Convention in 1850, he was stricken with paralysis, and suffered 
extremely until 1852, when he died at his home in Urbana. 

Wilson Shannon was a native of Belmont County, Ohio. He was born 
during 1803. At the age of fifteen, he was sent to the university at Athens, 



166 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 

where he remained a year, and then changed to the Transylvania University, 
at Lexington, Ky. He continued his studies two years, then returning home 
and entering upon reading law. He completed his course at St. Clairsville, 
Belmont County, and was admitted to practice. He was engaged in the courts 
of the county for eight years. In 1832, the Democrats nominated him to Con- 
gress, but he was not elected. He received the position of Prosecuting Attor- 
ney in 1834, in which position his abilities were so marked and brilliant that 
he was elected Governor by a majority of 3,600. He was re-nominated in 
1840, but Tom Corwin won the ticket. Two years thereafter, he was again 
nominated and elected. In 1843, he was appointed Minister to Mexico, by 
President Tyler, and resigned the office of Governor. When Texas was 
admitted as a State, Mexico renounced all diplomatic relations with the United 
States. Mr. Shannon returned home, and resumed the practice of law. He 
was sent to Congress in 1852. President Pierce conferred upon him the posi- 
tion of Territorial Governor of Kansas, which duty he did not perform satis- 
factorily, and was superseded after fourteen months of service. He settled in 
Lecompton, Kan., and there practiced law until his death, which occurred in 
1877. 

Thomas Corwin, the twelfth Governor of Ohio, was born in Bourbon 
County, Ky., July 29, 1794. His father settled at Lebanon in 1798. The 
country was crude, and advantages meager. When Thomas was seventeen 
years of age, the war of 1812 was inaugurated, and this young man was 
engaged to drive a wagon through the wilderness, loaded with provisions, to 
Gen. Harrison's headquarters. In 1816, he began the study of law, and 
achieved knowledge so rapidly that in 1817 he passed examination and was 
admitted to practice. He was elected Prosecuting Attorney of his county, in 
1818, which position he held until 1830. He was elected to the Legislature of 
Ohio in 1822. Again, in 1829, he was a member of the same body. He was 
sent to Congress in 1830, and continued to be re-elected for the space of ten 
years. He became Governor of Ohio in 1840. In 1845, he was elected to 
the United States Senate, where he remained until called to the cabinet of Mr. 
Fillmore, as Secretary of the Treasury. He was again sent to Congress in 
1858, and re-elected in 1860. He was appointed Minister to Mexico, by Pres- 
ident Lincoln. After his return, he practiced law in Washington, D. C, 
where he died in 1866. 

Mordecai Bartley was born in 1783, in Fayette County, Penn. There he 
remained, on his father's farm, until he was twenty-one years of age. He mar- 
ried Miss Wells in 1804, and removed to Jefferson County, Ohio, where he 
purchased a farm, near Cross Creek. At the opening of the war of 1812, he 
enlisted in a company, and was elected its Captain. He entered the field under 
Harrison. At the close of the war, he removed to Richland County, and opened 
a clearing and set up a cabin, a short distance from Mansfield. He remained 
on his farm twenty years, then removing to Mansfield, entered the mercantile 



HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 167 

business. In 1817, he was elected to the State Senate. He was sent to Con- 
gress in 1823, and served four terms. In 1844, he became Governor of Ohio, 
on the Whig ticket. He declined a re-nomination, preferring to retire to his 
home in Mansfield, where he died in 1870. 

William Bebb, the fourteenth Governor, was from Hamilton County, Ohio. 
He was born in 1804. His early instructions were limited, but thorough. He 
opened a school himself, when he was twenty years of age, at North Bend, 
residing in the house of Gen. Harrison. He remained thus employed a year, 
during which time he married Shuck. He very soon began the study of law, 
continuing his school. He was successful in his undertakings, and many pupils 
were sent him from the best families in Cincinnati. In 1831, he was admitted 
to practice, and opened an office in Hamilton, Butler County, remaining thus 
engaged for fourteen years. In 1845, he was elected Governor of Ohio. In 
1847, he purchased 5,000 acres of land in the Rock River country, 111., and 
removed there three years later. On the inauguration of President Lincoln, he 
was appointed Pension Examiner, at Washington, and remained in that position 
until 1866, when he returned to his Illinois farm. He died at Rockford, 111., 
in 1873. 

Seabury Ford, the fifteenth Governor of Ohio, was born in the year 1802, 
at Cheshire, Conn. His parents settled in Burton Township. He attended 
the common schools, prepared for college at an academy in Burton, and entered 
Yale College, in 1821, graduating in 1825. He then began the study of law, 
in the law office of Samuel W. Phelps, of Painesville, completing his course 
with Judge Hitchcock. He began practice in 1827, in Burton. He married 
Miss Harriet E. Cook, of Burton, in 1828. He was elected by the Whigs to 
the Legislature, in 1835, and served six sessions, during one of which he was 
Speaker of the House. He entered the State Senate in 1841, and there 
remained until 1844, when he was again elected Representative. In 1846, he 
was appointed to the Senate, and in 1848, he became Governor of Ohio. On 
the first Sunday after his retirement, he was stricken with paralysis, from which 
he never recovered. He died at his home in Burton in 1855. 

Reuben Wood, the sixteenth Governor, was a Vermonter. Born in 1792, 
in Middleton, Rutland County, he was a sturdy son of the Green Mountain 
State. He was a thorough scholar, and obtained a classical education in Upper 
Canada. In 1812, he was drafted by the Canadian authorities to serve against 
the Americans, but being determined not to oppose his own land, he escaped 
one stormy night, accompanied by Bill Johnson, who was afterward an Ameri- 
can spy. In a birchbark canoe they attempted to cross Lake Ontario. A 
heavy storm of wind and rain set in. The night was intensely dark, and they 
were in great danger. They fortunately found refuge on a small island, where 
they were storm-bound three days, suffering from hunger and exposure. They 
reached Sacket's Harbor at last, in a deplorable condition. Here they were 
arrested as spies by the patrol boats of the American fleet. They were prisoners 



168 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 

four days, when an uncle of Mr. Wood's, residing not far distant, came to 
their rescue, vouched for their loyalty, and they were released. Mr. Wood 
then went to Woodville, N. Y., where he raised a company, of which he was 
elected Captain. They marched to the northern frontier. The battles of 
Plattsburg and Lake Champlain were fought, the enemy defeated, and the com- 
pany returned to Woodville and was disbanded. 

Young Wood then entered the law office of Gen. Jonas Clark, at Middle- 
bury, Vt. He was married in 1816, and two years later, settled in Cleveland, 
Ohio. When he first established himself in the village, he possessed his wife, 
infant daughter and a silver quarter of a dollar. He was elected to the State 
Senate in 1825, and filled the office three consecutive terms. He was appointed 
Judge of the Court of Common Pleas. He was promoted to the Bench of the 
Supreme Court, serving there fourteen years, the latter portion of the term as 
Chief Justice. He was termed the "Cayuga Chief," from his tall form and 
courtly bearing. He was elected Governor in 1850, by a majority of 11,000. 
The new constitution, which went into effect in March, 1851, vacated the office 
of Governor, and he was re-elected by a majority of 26,000. The Democrats 
holding a national convention in Baltimore in 1852, party division caused fifty 
unavailing votes. The Virginia delegation offered the entire vote to Gov. 
Wood, if Ohio would bring him forward. The opposition of one man pre- 
vented this. The offer was accepted by New Hampshire, and Frank Pierce 
became President. Mr. Wood was appointed Consul to Valparaiso, South 
America, and resigned his office of Governor. He resigned his consulship and 
returned to his fine farm near Cleveland, called "Evergreen Place." He 
expected to address a Union meeting on the 5th of October, 1864, but on the 
1st he died, mourned by all who knew him. 

William Medill, the seventeenth Governor, was born in New Castle County, 
Del., in 1801. He was a graduate of Delaware College in 1825. He began 
the study of law under Judge Black, of New Castle, and was admitted to the 
bar in 1832. He removed to Lancaster, Ohio, in 1830. He was elected Rep- 
resentative from Fairfield County in 1835. He was elected to Congress in 
1838, and was re-elected in 1840. He was appointed Assistant Postmaster 
General by President Polk. During the same year, he was appointed Com- 
missioner of Indian Affairs. In 1851, he was elected Lieutenant Governor, and, 
in 1853, he became Governor. He occupied the position of First Comptroller 
of the United States Treasury in 1857, under President Buchanan, retaining the 
office until 1861, when he retired from public life. His death occurred in 
1865. 

Salmon P. Chase was a native of Cornish, N. II. He was born in 1803. 
He entered Dartmouth College in 1822, graduating in 1826. He was there- 
after successful in establishing a classical school in Washington, but finan- 
cially it did not succeed. He continued to teach the sons of Henry Clay, 
William Wirt and S. L. Southard, at the same time reading law when not busy 



...... 





CR^ENVILLE 



HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 171 

as tutor. He was admitted to practice in 1829, and opened a law office in Cin- 
cinnati. He succeeded but moderately, and during his leisure hours prepared 
a new edition of the "Statutes of Ohio." He added annotations and a well- 
written sketch of the early history of the State. This was a thorough success, 
and gave the earnest worker popularity and a stepping-stone for the future. 
He was solicitor for the banks of the United States in 1834, and soon there- 
after, for the city banks. He achieved considerable distinction in 1837, in the 
case of a colored woman brought into the State by her master, and escaping 
his possession. He was thus brought out as an Abolitionist, which was further 
sustained by his defense of James G. Birney, who had suffered indictment for 
harboring a fugitive slave. In 1846, associated with William H. Seward, he 
defended Van Zandt before the Supreme Court of the United States. His 
thrilling denunciations and startling conjectures alarmed the slaveholding 
States, and subsequently led to the enactment of the fugitive-slave law of 1850. 
Mr. Chase was a member of the United States Senate in 1849, through the 
coalition of the Democrats and Free-Soilers. In 1855, he was elected Gover- 
nor of Ohio by the opponents of Pierce's administration. He was re-elected 
in 1859. President Lincoln, in 1861, tendered him the position of Secretary 
of the Treasury. To his ability and official management we are indebted for 
the present national bank system. In 1864, he was appointed Chief Justice of 
the United States. He died in the city of New York in 1873, after a useful 
career. 

William Dennison was born in Cincinnati in 1815. He gained an educa- 
tion at Miami University, graduating in 1835. He began the study of law in 
the office of the father of George H. Pendleton, and was qualified and admitted 
to the bar in 1840. The same year, he married a daughter of William Neil, 
of Columbus. The Whigs of the Franklin and Delaware District sent him to 
the State Senate, in 1848. He was President of the Exchange Bank in Cin- 
cinnati, in 1852, and was also President of Columbus & Xenia Railway. He was 
elected the nineteenth Governor of Ohio in 1859. By his promptness and 
activity at the beginning of the rebellion, Ohio was placed in the front rank of 
loyalty. At the beginning of Lincoln's second term, he was appointed Post- 
master General, retiring upon the accession of Johnson. He then made his 
home at Columbus. 

David Tod, the twentieth Governor of Ohio, was born at Youngstown, Ohio, 
in 1805. His education was principally obtained through his own exertions. 
He set about the study of law most vigorously, and was admitted to practice in 
1827. He soon acquired popularity through his ability, and consequently was 
financially successful. He purchased the Briar Hill homestead. Under Jack- 
son's administration, he was Postmaster at Warren, and held the position until 
1838, when he was elected State Senator by the Whigs of Trumbull District, by 
the Democrats. In 1844, he retired to Briar Hill, and opened the Briar Hill 
Coal Mines. He was a pioneer in the coal business of Ohio. In the Cleveland 



172 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 

& Mahoning Railroad, he was largely interested, and was its President, after the 
death of Mr. Perkins. He was nominated, in 1844, for Governor, by the Dem- 
ocrats, but was defeated. In 1847, he went to Brazil as Minister, where he 
resided for four and a half years. The Emperor presented him with a special 
commendation to the President, as a testimonial of his esteem. He was also the 
recipient of an elegant silver tray, as a memorial from the resident citizens of 
Rio Janeiro. He was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention, which 
met at Charleston in 1860. He was Vice President of this Convention. He 
was an earnest advocate for Stephen A. Douglas. When the Southern members 
withdrew, the President, Caleb Cushing, going with them, the convention 
adjourned to Baltimore, when Mr. Tod assumed the chair and Douglas was nom- 
inated. He was an earnest worker in the cause, but not cfisheartened by its 
defeat. When Fort Sumter was fired upon, he was one of the most vigorous 
prosecutors of the war, not relaxing his active earnestness until its close. He 
donated full uniforms to Company B, of the Nineteenth Regiment, and contrib- 
uted largely to the war fund of his township. Fifty-five thousand majority 
elected him Governor in 1861. His term was burdened with war duties, 
and he carried them so bravely as Governor that the President said of him : 
" Governor Tod of Ohio aids me more and troubles me less than any other Gov- 
ernor." His death occurred at Briar Hill during the year 1868. 

John Brough was a native of Marietta, Ohio. He was born in 1811. The death 
of his father left him in precarious circumstances, which may have been a discipline 
for future usefulness. He entered a printing office, at the age of fourteen, in 
Marietta, and after serving a few months, began his studies in the Ohio Uni- 
versity, setting type mornings and evenings, to earn sufficient for support. He 
occupied the leading position in classes, and at the same time excelled as a 
type-setter. He was also admired for his athletic feats in field amusements. 
He completed his studies and began reading law, which pursuit was interrupted 
by an opportunity to edit a paper in Petersburg, Va. He returned to Marietta 
in 1831, and became editor and proprietor of a leading Democratic newspaper 
— the Washington County Republican. He achieved distinction rapidly, 
and in 1833, sold his interest, for the purpose of entering a more extended field 
of journalism. He purchased the Ohio Eagle, at Lancaster, and as its editor, 
held a deep influence over local and State politics. He occupied the position 
of Clerk of the Ohio Senate, between the years 1835 and 1838, and relinquished his 
paper. He then represented the counties of Fairfield and Hocking in the Leg- 
islature. He was then appointed Auditor of State by the General Assembly, 
in which position he served six years. He then purchased the Phoenix news- 
paper in Cincinnati, changed its name to the Enquirer, placing it in the care 
of his brother, Charles, while he opened a law office in the city. His editorials 
in the Enquirer, and his activity in political affairs, were brilliant and strong. 
He retired from politics in 1848, sold a half-interest in the Enquirer and carried 
on a prosperous business, but was brought forward again by leaders of both 



HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 173 

political parties in 1863, through the Vallandigham contest, and was elected 
Governor the same year, by a majority of 101,099 votes in a total of 471,643. 
He was three times married. His death occurred in 1865 — Charles Anderson 
serving out his term. 

Jacob Dolson Cox, the twenty-second Governor, was born in 1828, in Mon- 
treal, Canada, where his parents were temporarily. He became a student of 
Oberlin College, Ohio, in 1846, graduating in 1851, and beginning the practice 
of law in Warren in 1852. He was a member of the State Senate in 1859, 
from the Trumbull and Mahoning Districts. He was termed a radical. He 
was a commissioned Brigadier General of Ohio in 1861, and, in 1862, was pro- 
moted to Major General for gallantry in battle. While in the service he was 
nominated for Governor, and took that position in 1865. He was a member of 
Grant's Cabinet as Secretary of the Interior, but resigned. He went to Con- 
gress in 1875, from the Toledo District. His home is in Cincinnati. 

Rutherford B. Hayes, now the nineteenth President of the United States, 
the twenty-third Governor of Ohio, was born at Delaware, Ohio, in 1822. He 
was a graduate of Kenyon College in 1842. He began the study of law, and, 
in 1843, pursued that course in the Cambridge University, graduating in 1845. 
He began his practice at Fremont. He was married to Miss Lucy Webb in 
1852, in Cincinnati. He was Major of the Twenty-third Ohio Volunteer 
Infantry in 1861, and in 1862, was promoted to Colonel on account of bravery 
in the field, and eventually became Major General. In 1864, he was elected to 
Congress, and retired from the service. He remained in Congress two terms, 
and was Governor of Ohio in 1867, being re-elected in 1869. He filled this 
office a third term, being re-elected in 1875. 

Edward F. Noyes was born in Haverhill, Mass., in 1832. While a lad of 
fourteen, he entered the office of the Morning Star, published at Dover, N. H., 
in order to learn the business of printing. At the age of eighteen, he entered 
the academy at Kingston, N. H. He prepared for college, and entered 
Dartmouth in 1853, graduating with high honors in 1857. He had begun the 
study of law, and continued the course in the Cincinnati Law School, and be^an 
to practice in 1858. He was an enthusiast at the opening of the rebellion and 
was interested in raising the Twentieth Regiment, of which he was made Major. 
He was promoted to Colonel in 1862. At the conflict at Ruif's Mills, in 
Georgia, in 1864, he was so unfortunate as to lose a leg. At the time, amputa- 
tion was necessary, but was unskillfully performed. He was brought to Cincin- 
nati, and the operation was repeated, which nearly cost him his life. He reported 
three months later, to Gen. Hooker for duty, on crutches. He was assigned to 
command of Camp Dennison. He was promoted to the full rank of Brio-adier 
General, and while in discharge of his duty at that place, he was elected City 
Solicitor of Cincinnati. He occupied the position until 1871, when he was 
elected Governor, by a majority of 20,000. He went to France in 1877, aa 
Minister, appointed by President Hayes. 



174 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 

William Allen, the twenty-fifth Governor of Ohio, was born in 1807, in 
Chowan County, N. C. While an infant, he was left an orphan, and his sister 
superintended his education. He was placed in a private school in Lynchburg, 
Va. 3 at the age of fourteen. Two years later, he joined his sister and family, 
in Chillicothe, and attended the academy a year, when he entered the law office 
of Edward King, and began a course of study. In his seventeenth year, he 
began practice, and through his talent speedily acquired fame and popu- 
larity. Before he was twenty-five, he was sent to Congress by a strong Whig 
district. He was elected United States Senator in 1837, there remaining 
until 1849. In 1845, he married Effie McArthur, who died soon after the 
birth of their daughter. In 1873, he was elected Governor. His adminis- 
tration gave general satisfaction. He died, at his home at " Fruit Hill,"' in 
1879. 

R. M. Bishop, the twenty-sixth Governor of Ohio, was born Novem- 
ber 4, 1812, in Fleming County, Ky. He began the vocation of mer- 
chant, and for several years devoted himself to that business in his native 
State. In 1848, he engaged in the wholesale grocery business, in Cincinnati. 
His three sons became partners, under the firm name of R. M. Bishop & Sons. 
The sales of this house frequently exceeded $5,000,000 per annum. Mr. 
Bishop was a member of the Council of Cincinnati, and in 1859 was its Mayor, 
holding that office until 1861. In 1860, the Legislatures of Indiana and Ten- 
nessee visited Ohio, to counsel each other to stand by the Constitution and the 
flag. At the reception given at Pike's Opera House, Mayor Bishop delivered 
an eloquent address, which elicited admiration and praises. During the same 
year, as Mayor, he received the Prince of Wales in the most cordial manner, a 
national credit as a mark of respect to a distinguished foreign guest. In 1877, 
he was elected Governor of Ohio, by a large majority. 

Charles Foster, the present and twenty-seventh Governor of Ohio, was born 
in Seneca County, Ohio, April 12, 1828. He was educated at the common 
schools and the academy at Norwalk, Ohio. Engaged in mercantile and bank- 
ing business, and never held any public office until he was elected to the Forty- 
second Congress ; was re-elected to the Forty-third Congress, and again to the 
Forty-fourth Congress, as a Republican. In 1879, he was nominated by the 
Republicans and elected Governor of the State. 

In reviewing these slight sketches of the Governors of this grand Western 
State, one is impressed with the active relationship they have all sustained, with 
credit, with national measures. Their services have been efficient, earnest and 
patriotic, like the State they have represented and led. 

ANCIENT WORKS. 

Ohio has furnished a prolific field for antiquarians and those interested in 
scientific explorations, either for their own amusement and knowledge, or for 
the records of " facts and formations.*' 



HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 175 

It is well known that the " Mound Builders " had a wide sweep through this 
continent, but absolute facts regarding their era have been most difficult to 
obtain. Numerous theories and suppositions have been advanced, yet they are 
emphatic evidences that they have traced the origin and time of this primeval race. 

However, they have left their works behind them, and no exercise of faith 
is necessary to have confidence in that part of the story. That these works are 
of human origin is self-evident. Temples and military works have been found 
which required a considerable degree of scientific skill on the part of those early 
architects and builders. 

Evidently the Indians had no knowledge of these works of predecessors, 
which differed in all respects from those of the red men. An ancient cemetery 
has been found, covering an area of four acres, which had evidently been laid 
out into lots, from north to south. Nearly 3,000 graves have been discovered, 
containing bones which at some time must have constituted the framework of 
veritable giants, while others are of no unusual size. In 1815, a jaw-bone was 
exhumed, containing an artificial tooth of silver. 

Mounds and fortifications are plentiful in Athens County, some of them 
being of solid stone. One, differing in the quality of stone from the others, is 
supposed to be a dam across the Hocking. Over a thousand pieces of stone 
were used in its construction. Copper rings, bracelets and ornaments are 
numerous. It is also evident that these people possessed the knowledge of 
hardening copper and giving it an edge equal to our steel of to-day. 

In the branch formed by a branch of the Licking River and Raccoon Creek, 
in Licking County, ancient works extend over an area of several miles. Again, 
three miles northwest of this locality, near the road between Newark and Gran- 
ville, another field of these relics may be found. On the summit of a high hill 
is a fortification, formed to represent an alligator. The head and neck includes 
32 feet ; the length of the body is 73 feet ; the tail was 105 feet; from the termini of 
the fore feet, over the shoulders, the width is 100 feet ; from the termini of 
the hind feet, over the hips, is 92 feet ; its highest point is 7 feet. It is composed 
of clay, which must have been conveyed hither, as it is not similar to the clay 
found in the vicinity. 

Near Miamisburg, Montgomery County, are other specimens. Near the 
village is a mound, equaled in size by very few of these antiquities. It meas- 
ures 800 feet around the base, and rises to a height of sixty-seven feet. Others 
are found in Miami County, while at Circleville, Pickaway County, no traces 
remain. 

Two forts have been discovered, one forming an exact square, and the other 
describing a circle. The square is flanked by two walls, on all sides, these 
being divided by a deep ditch. The circle has one wall and no ditch. This is 
sixty-nine rods in diameter, its walls being twenty feet high. The square fort 
measures fifty-five rods across, with walls twelve feet high. Twelve gateways 
lead into the square fort, while the circle has but one, which led to the other, at 



17C HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 

the point where the walls of the two came together. Before each of these 
entrances were mounds of earth, from four to five feet high and nearly forty 
feet in diameter. Evidently these were designed for defenses for the openings, 
in cases of emergency. 

A short distance from Piketon, the turnpike runs, for several hundred feet, 
between two parallel artificial walls of earth, fifteen feet high, and six rods 
apart. In Scioto County, on both sides of the Ohio, are extensive ancient 
works. 

" Fort Ancient " is near Lebanon in Warren County. Its direct measure- 
ment is a mile, but in tracing its angles, retreating and salient, its length would 
be nearly six miles. Its site is a level plain, 240 feet above the level of the 
river. The interior wall varies in height to conform with the nature of the 
ground without — ranging from 8 to 10 feet. On the plain it reaches 100 feet. 
This fort has 58 gateways, through one of which the State road runs, passing 
between two mounds 12 feet high. Northeast from these mounds, situated on 
the plain, are two roads, about a rod wide each, made upon an elevation about 
three feet high. They run parallel to each other about a quarter of a mile, 
when they each form a semicircle around a mound, joining in the circle. It is 
probable this was at some time a military defense, or, on the contrary, it may 
have been a general rendezvous for games and high holiday festivities. 

Near Marietta, are the celebrated Muskingum River works, being a half- 
mile from its juncture with the Ohio. They consist of mounds and walls of 
earth in circular and square forms, also tracing direct lines. 

The largest square fort covers an area of 40 acres, and is inclosed by a wall 
of earth, 6 to 10 feet in height, and from 25 to 30 feet at its base. On each 
side are three gateways. The center gateways exceed the others in size, more 
especially on the side toward the Muskingum. From this outlet runs a covered 
means of egress, between two parallel walls of earth, 231 feet distant from each 
other, measuring from the centers. The walls in the interior are 21 feet high 
at the most elevated points, measuring 42 feet at the base, grading on the exte- 
rior to about five feet in heigth. This passage-way is 360 feet in length, lead- 
ing to the low grounds, which, at the period of its construction, probably reached 
the river. 

At the northwest corner, within the inclosure, is a plateau 188 feet long, 
132 feet broad and 9 feet high. Its sides are perpendicular and its surface 
level. At the center of each side is a graded pathway leading to the top, six 
feet wide. Another elevated square is near the south Avail, 150x120 feet square, 
and 8 feet high, similar to the other, with the exception of the graded walk. 
Outside and next the wall to ascend to the top, it has central hollow ways, 10 
feet wide, leading 20 feet toward the center, then arising with a gradual slope to 
the top. A third elevated square is situated at the southeast corner, 108x54 
feet square, with ascents at the ends. This is neither as high or as perfect as 
the others. 



HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 177 

Another ancient work is found to the southeast, covering an area of 20 acres 
with a gateway in the center of each side, and others at the corners — each of 
these having the mound defense. 

On the outside of the smaller fort, a mound resembling a sugar loaf was 
formed in the shape of a circle 115 feet in diameter, its height being 30 feet. 
A ditch surrounds it, 15 feet wide and 4 feet deep. These earthworks have 
contributed greatly to the satisfactory results of scientific researches. Their 
builders were evidently composed of large bands that have succumbed to the 
advance of enlightened humanity. The relics found consists of ornaments, 
utensils and implements of war. The bones left in the numerous graves convey 
an idea of a stalwart, vigorous people, and the conquests which swept them away 
from the face of the country must have been fierce and cruel. 

Other mounds and fortifications are found in different parts of the State, of 
which our limited space will not permit a description. 

Many sculptured rocks are found, and others with plainly discernible 
tracery in emblematical designs upon their surface. The rock on which the 
inscriptions occur is the grindstone grit of the Ohio exports — a stratum found 
in Northern Ohio. Arrow-points of flint or chert have been frequently found. 
From all investigations, it is evident that an extensive flint bed existed in Lick- 
ing County, near Newark. The old pits can now be recognized. They 
extended over a hundred acres. They are partially filled with water, and sur- 
rounded by piles of broken and rejected fragments. The flint is a grayish- 
white, with cavities of a brilliant quartz crystal. Evidently these stones were 
chipped into shape and the material sorted on the ground. Only clear, homo- 
genous pieces can be wrought into arrow-heads and spear-points. Flint chips 
extend over many acres of ground in this vicinity. Flint beds are also found 
in Stark and Tuscarawas Counties. In color it varies, being red, white, black 
and mottled. The black is found in Coshocton County. 

SOME GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS. 

Ohio, as a State, is renowned as an agricultural section. Its variety, quality 
and quantity of productions cannot be surpassed by any State in the Union. Its 
commercial importance ranks proudly in the galaxy of opulent and industrious 
States composing this Union. Her natural resources are prolific, and all improve- 
ments which could be instituted by the ingenuity of mankind have been added. 

From a quarter to a third of its area is hilly and broken. About the head- 
waters of the Muskingum and Scioto, and between the Scioto and the two 
Miami Rivers, are wide prairies ; some of them are elevated and dry, with fertile 
soil, although they are frequently termed "barrens." In other parts, they are 
low and marshy, producing coarse, rank grass, which grows to a height of five 
feet in some places. 

The State is most fortunate in timber wealth, having large quantities of 
black walnut, oak of different varieties, maple, hickory, birch, several kinds of 



1(8 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 

beech, poplar, sycamore, papaw, several kinds of ash, cherry, whitewood and 
buckeye. 

The summers are usually warm, and the winters are mild, considering the 
latitude of the State. Near Lake Erie, the winters are severe, corresponding 
with sections in a line with that locality. Snow falls in sufficient quantities 
in the northern part to afford several weeks of fine sleighing. In the southern 
portion, the snowstorms are not frequent, and the fall rarely remains long on 
the ground. 

The climate is generally healthy, with the exception of small tracts lying 
near the marshes and stagnant waters. 

The Ohio River washes the southern border of the State, and is navigable 
for steamboats of a large size, the entire length of its course. From Pitts- 
burgh to its mouth, measuring it meanderings, it is 908 miles long. Its current 
is gentle, having no falls except at Louisville, Ky., where the descent is twenty- 
two and a half feet in two miles. A canal obviates this obstruction. 

The Muskingum is the largest river that flows entirely within the State. It 
is formed by the junction of the Tuscarawas and Walhonding Rivers, and enters 
the Ohio at Marietta One hundred miles of its length is navigable. 

The Scioto is the second river in magnitude, is about 200 miles long, and 
flows into the Ohio at Portsmouth. It affords navigation 130 miles of its length. 
The Great Miami is a rapid river, in the western part of the State, and is 100 
miles long. The Little Miami is seventy miles in length, and enters the Ohio 
seven miles from Cincinnati. 

The Maumee rises in Indiana, flows through the northwestern part of the 
State, and enters Lake Erie at Maumee Bay. It affords navigation as far as. 
Perrysburg, eighteen miles from the lake, and above the rapids, it is again nav- 
igable. 

The Sandusky rises in the northern part of the State, is eighty miles long, 
and flows into Lake Erie, via Sandusky Bay. 

Lake Erie washes 150 miles of the northern boundary. The State has sev- 
eral fine harbors, the Maumee and Sandusky Bays being the largest. 

We have, in tracing the record of the earlier counties, given the educational inter- 
ests as exemplified by different institutions. We have also given the canal system 
of the State, in previous pages. The Governor is elected every two years, by 
the people. The Senators are chosen biennially, and are apportioned according 
to the male population over twenty-one years of age. The Judges of the 
Supreme and other courts are elected by the joint ballot of the Legislature, for 
the term of seven years. 

During the early settlement of Ohio, perfect social equality existed among the 
settlers. The line of demarkation that was drawn was a separation of the good 
from the bad. Log-rollings and cabin-raisings were mutual affairs. Their 
sport usually consisted of shooting, rowing and hunting. Hunting shirts and 
buckskin pants were in the fashion, while the women dressed in coarse material, 



HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 179 

woven by their own hands. A common American cotton check was con- 
sidered a magnificent addition to one's toilet. In those times, however, the 
material was $1 per yard, instead of the shilling of to-day. But five yards 
was then a large "pattern," instead of the twenty-five of 1880. In cookino- 
utensils, the pot, pan and frying-pan constituted an elegant outfit. A few plain 
dishes were added for table use. Stools and benches were the rule, although a 
few wealthy families indulged in splint-bottom chairs. The cabin floors were 
rough, and in many cases the green sward formed the carpet. Goods were very 
expensive, and flour was considered a great luxury. Goods were brought by 
horses and mules from Detroit, or by wagon from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, 
and then down the Ohio. Coarse calicoes were $1 per yard ; tea $2 to $3 per 
pound ; coffee 75 cents ; whisky, from $1 to $2 per gallon, and salt, $5 to $6 
per barrel. In those towns where Indian trade constituted a desirable interest, 
a bottle was set at each end of the counter — a gratuitous offering to their red 
friends. 

OUTLINE GEOLOGY OF OHIO. 

Should we group the rocks of Ohio, according to their lithological characters, 
we should give five distinct divisions. They are marked by difference in appear- 
ance, hardness, color and composition : 

1 — Limestone. 

2 — Black shale. 

3 — Fine-grained sandstone. 

4 — Conglomerate. 

5 — Coal series. 

They are all stratified and sedimentary. They are nearly horizontal. The 
lowest one visible, in a physical as well as a geological sense, is " blue lime- 
stone." 

The bed of the Ohio River near Cincinnati is 133 feet below the level of 
Lake Erie. The strata incline in all directions from the southwestern angle of 
the State. In Scioto County may be seen the outcropping edges of all these 
rocks. They sink at this point in the direction south 80|° east ; easterly at the 
rate of 37 T 4 7 feet per mile. The cliff limestone, the upper stratum of the lime- 
stone deposit, is 600 feet above the river at Cincinnati ; at West Union, in 
Adams County, it is only 350 feet above the same level. 

The finely grained sandstone found on the summit of the hills east of Brush 
Creek and west of the Scioto sinks to the base of the hills, and appears beneath 
the conglomerate, near the Little Scioto. Although the rock formations are the 
same in all parts of the State, in the same order, their thickness, mass and dip, 
are quite different. 

Chillicothe, Reynoldsburg, Mansfield, Newburg, Waverly and Rockville, are 
situated near the western border of the " fine-grained limestone." Its outcrop 
forms a continuous and crooked line from the Ohio River to Lake Erie. In the 
southwest portion of the State is the "blue limestone." occupying a circular 



180 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 

space from West Union via Dayton, to the State line. The conglomerate is to 
the east of the given towns, bending around from Cuyahoga Falls to Burton, in 
Geauga County, and then eastward into Pennsylvania. Near this outcrop are 
the coal-bearing rocks which occupy the east and southeastern portions of Ohio. 
From Rockville to Chillicothe, the course is north, about 10° east, and nearly 
corresponds with the line of outcrop of the fine-grained sandstone for an equal 
distance. The dip at Rockville, given by Charles Whittlesey, is 80J°, almost 
at a right angle, and at the rate of 37 feet per mile. 

At Chillicothe, the other end of the line, the general dip is south 70° east, 
30 feet to the mile, the line curving eastward and the dip line to the southward. 
This is the universal law. 

The northern boundary of the great coal fields passes through Meadville, in 
Pennsylvania, and turning south arrives at Portage Summit, on the summit of 
the Alleghanies, 2,500 feet above the ocean level. It then plunges rapidly to 
the westward. From the Alleghanies to the southwest, through Pennsylvania, 
Virginia and Tennessee, sweeps this great coal basin. 

Much of the county of Medina is conglomerate upon the surface, but the 
streams, especially the South Branch of the Rocky River, set through this sur- 
face stratum, and reach the fine-grained sandstone. This is the case with 
Rocky, Chagrin, Cuyahoga and Grand Rivers — also Conneaut and Ashtabula 
Creeks. This sandstone and the shale extend up the narrow valleys of these 
streams and their tributaries. Between these strata is a mass of coarse-grained 
sandstone, without pebbles, which furnishes the grindstones for which Ohio is 
noted. In Lorain County, the coarse sandstone grit nearly displaces the fine- 
grained sandstone and red shale, thickening at Elyria to the black shale. South 
of this point, the grindstone grit, red shale and ash-colored shale vary in thick- 
ness. The town of Chillicothe, the village of Newburg, and a point in the west 
line of Crawford County, are all situated on the "black shale." 

Dr. Locke gives the dip, at Montgomery and Miami Counties, at north 14°, 
east, six feet to the mile; at Columbus, Whitelesey gives it, 81° 52' east, 22 T 7 ¥ 3 7 
feet to the mile. The fine-grained sandstone at Newburg is not over eighty 
feet in thickness ; at Jacktown and Reynoldsburg, 500 ; at Waverly 250 to 
300 feet, and at Brush Creek, Adams County, 343 feet. The black shale is 
251 feet thick at Brush Creek ; at Alum Creek, 250 to 300 feet thick ; in Craw- 
ford County, about 250 feet thick. The conglomerate in Jackson County is 
200 feet thick ; at Cuyahoga Falls, 100 to 120 feet ; at Burton, Geauga County, 
300 feet. The great limestone formation is divided into several numbers. At 
Cincinnati, at the bed of the river, there is : 

1 — A blue limestone and slaty marlite. 

2 — Dun-colored marl and layers of lime rock. 

3 — Blue marl and layers of blue limestone. 

4 — Marl and bands of limestone, with immense numbers of shells at the 
surface. 



HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 181 

In Adams County, the detailed section is thus : 

1 — Blue limestone and marl. 

2 — Blue marl. 

3 — Flinty limestone. 

4 — Blue marl. 

5 — Cliff limestone. 

The coal-fields of Ohio are composed of alternate beds of coarse-grained 
sandstone, clay shales, layers of ironstone, thin beds of limestone and numer- 
ous strata of coal. The coal region abounds in iron. From Jacktown to Con- 
cord, in Muskingum County, there are eight beds of coal, and seven strata of 
limestone. The distance between these two points is forty-two miles. From 
Freedom, in Portage County, to Poland, in Trumbull County, a distance of 
thirty-five miles, there are five distinct strata. Among them are distributed 
thin beds of limestone, and many beds of iron ore. The greater mass of coal 
and iron measures is composed of sandstone and shale. The beds of sandstone 
are from ten to twenty or eighty feet thick. Of shale, five to fifty feet thick. 
The strata of coal and iron are comparatively thin. A stratum of coal three 
feet thick can be worked to advantage. One four feet thick is called a good 
mine, few of them averaging five. Coal strata are found from six to ten and 
eleven feet. There are four beds of coal, and three of limestone, in Lawrence 
and Scioto Counties. There are also eight beds of ore, and new ones are con- 
stantly being discovered. The ore is from four to twelve inches thick, occasion- 
ally being two feet. The calcareous ore rests upon the second bed of limestone, 
from the bottom, and is very rich. 

The most prominent fossils are trees, plants and stems of the coal-bearing 
rocks, shells and corals and crustaceae of the limestone, and the timber, leaves 
and dirt-beds of the "drift" — the earthy covering of the rocks, which varies 
from nothing to 200 feet. Bowlders, or " lost rocks," are strewn over the State. 
They are evidently transported from some remote section, being fragments of 
primitive rock, granite, gneiss and hornblende rock, which do not exist in 
Ohio, nor within 400 miles of the State, in any direction. In the Lake Suj e- 
rior region we find similar specimens. 

The superficial deposits of Ohio are arranged into four geological formations : 

1 — The ancient drift, resting upon the rocks of the State. 

2 — The Lake Erie marl and sand deposits. 

3 — The drift occupying the valleys of large streams, such as the Great Miami, 
the Ohio and Scioto. 

4 — The bowlders. 

The ancient drift of Ohio is meager in shell deposits. It is not, therefore, 
decided whether it be of salt-water origin or fresh water. 

It has, at the bottom, blue clay, with gravel-stones of primitive or sedimen- 
tary rocks, containing carbonate of lime. The yellow clay is found second. 
Above that, sand and gravel, less stratified, containing more pebbles of the 



182 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 

sedimentary rocks, such as limestone and stone, iron ore, coal and shale. The 
lower layer contains logs, trees, leaves, sticks and vines. 

The Lake Erie section, or "Lake Erie deposits," may be classed in the 
following order : 

1 — From the lake level upward, fine, blue, marly sand — forty-five to sixty 
feet. 

2 — Coarse, gray, water-washed sand — ten to twenty feet. 

3 — Coarse sand and gravel, not well stratified, to surface — twenty to fifty feet. 

Stratum first dissolves in water. It contains carbonate of lime, magnesia, 
iron, alumina, silex, sulphur, and some decomposed leaves, plants and sticks. 
Some pebbles are found. In contact with the water, quicksand is formed. 

The Hickory Plains, at the forks of the Great Miami and White Water, and 
also between Kilgore's Mill and New Richmond, are the results of heavy dilu- 
vial currents. 

In presenting these formations of the State, we have quoted from the experi- 
ence and conclusions of Charles Whittlesey, eminent as a geologist, and who 
was a member of the Ohio Geological Corps. 

Ohio's rank during the war. 

The patriotism of this State has been stanch, unswerving and bold, ever 
since a first settlement laid its corner-stone in the great Western wilder- 
ness. Its decisive measures, its earnest action, its noble constancy, have earned 
the laurels that designate it "a watchword for the nation." In the year 1860, 
Ohio had a population of 2,343,739. Its contribution of soldiers to the great 
conflict that was soon to surge over the land in scarlet terror, was apportioned 
310,000 men. In less than twenty-four hours after the President's proclama- 
tion and call for troops, the Senate had matured and carried a bill through, 
appropriating $1,000,000 for the purpose of placing the State on a war footing. 
The influences of party sentiments were forgotten, and united, the State 
unfurled the flag of patriotism. Before the bombardment of old Fort Sumter 
has fairly ceased its echoes, twenty companies were offered the Governor for 
immediate service. When the surrender was verified, the excitement was 
tumultuous. Militia officers telegraphed their willingness to receive prompt 
orders, all over the State. The President of Kenyon College — President 
Andrews — tendered his services by enlisting in the ranks. Indeed, three 
months before the outbreak of the war, he had expressed his readiness to the 
Governor to engage in service should there be occasion. He was the first citi- 
zen to make this offer. 

The Cleveland Grays, the Rover Guards, the State Fencibles, the Dayton 
Light Guards, the Governor's Guards, the Columbus Videttes and the Guthrie 
Grays — the best drilled and celebrated militia in the State — telegraphed to 
Columbus for orders. Chillicothe, Portsmouth and Circleville offered money 
and troops. Canton, Xenia, Lebanon, Lancaster, Springfield, Cincinnati, 



HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 183 

Dayton, Cleveland, Toledo and other towns urged their assistance upon the State. 
Columbus began to look like a great army field. The troops were stationed 
wherever they could find quarters, and food in sufficient quantities was hard to 
procure. The Governor soon established a camp at Miamiville, convenient to 
Cincinnati. He intended to appoint Irvin McDowell, of the staff of Lieut. 
Gen. Scott, to the leading command, but the friends of Capt. McClellan became 
enthusiastic and appealed to the Governor, who decided to investigate his case. 
Being satisfied, he desired Capt. McClellan to come up to Columbus. But that 
officer was busy and sent Capt. Pope, of the regular army, in his stead. This 
gentleman did not suit Gov. Dennison. The friends of McClellan again set 
forth the high qualities of this officer, and Gov. Dennison sent an earnest 
request for an interview, which was granted, and resulted in the appointment 
of the officer as Major General of the Ohio militia. Directly thereafter, he 
received an invitation to take command of the Pennsylvania troops, but Ohio 
could not spare so valuable a leader. 

For three-years troops were soon called out, and their Generals were to be 
appointed by the President. Gov. Dennison advised at once with the War 
Department at Washington, and McClellan received his appointment as Major 
General in the regular army. 

Cincinnati and Louisville became alarmed lest Kentucky should espouse the 
Confederate cause, and those cities thus be left insecure against the inroads of a 
cruel foe. Four hundred and thirty-six miles of Ohio bordered Slave States. 
Kentucky and West Virginia were to be kept in check, but the Governor pro- 
claimed that not only should the border of Ohio be protected, but even beyond 
that would the State press the enemy. Marietta was garrisoned, and other river 
points rendered impregnable. On the 20th of May, 1861, official dispatches 
affirmed that troops were approaching Wheeling under the proclamation of 
Letcher. Their intention was to route the convention at Wheeling. 

Military orders were instantly given. Col. Steedman and his troops crossed 
at Marietta and crushed the disturbance at Parkersburg — swept into the country 
along the railroad, built bridges, etc. Col. Irvine crossed at Wheeling and 
united with a regiment of loyal Virginians. At the juncture of the two tracks 
at Grafton, the columns met, but the rebels had retreated in mad haste. The 
loyal troops followed, and, at Philippi, fought the first little skirmish of the war. 
The great railway lines were secured, and the Wheeling convention protected, 
and West Virginia partially secured for the Union. 

After preliminary arrangements, McClellan's forces moved in two columns 
upon the enemy at Laurel Hill. One remained in front, under Gen. Morris, 
while the other, under his own command, pushed around to Huttonsville, in 
their rear. Gen. Morris carried his orders through promptly, but McClellan 
was late. Rosecrans was left with McClellan's advance to fight the battle of 
Rich Mountain, unaided. Garnett being alarmed at the defeat of his outpost, 
retreated. McClellan was not in time to intercept him, but Morris continued 



184 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 

the chase. Steedman overtook the rear-guard of Garnett's army at Carrick's 
Ford, where a sharp skirmish ensued, Garnett himself falling. The scattered 
portions of the rebel army escaped, and West Virginia was again free from 
armed rebels — and was the gift of Ohio through her State militia to the nation 
at the beginning of the war. 

At this period, Gen. McClellan was called to Washington. Gen. Rose- 
crans succeeded him, and the three-years troops left in the field after the dis- 
banding of the three-months men, barely sufficed to hold the country. He 
telegraphed Gov. Dennison to supply him immediately with re-enforcements, the 
request being made on the 8th of August. Already had the Confederate lead- 
ers realized the loss they had sustained in Western Virginia, and had dispatched 
their most valued General, Robert E. Lee, to regain the territory. Rosecrans 
again wrote: "If you, Governor of Indiana and Governor of Michigan, will 
lend your efforts to get me quickly 50,000 men, in addition to my present 
force, I think a blow can be struck which will save fighting the rifled-cannon 
batteries at Manassas. Lee is certainly at Cheat Mountain. Send all troops 
you can to Grafton." Five days thereafter, all the available troops in the 
West were dispatched to Fremont, Mo., and the plans of Rosecrans were 
foiled. 

Heavy re-enforcements had been sent to the column in Kanawha Valley 
under Gen. Cox. He became alarmed, and telegraphed to Gov. Dennison. 
Rosecrans again appealed to Gov. Dennison, that he might be aided in march- 
ing across the country against Floyd and Wise to Cox's relief, "I want to 
catch Floyd while Cox holds him in front." 

The response was immediate and effective. He was enabled to employ 
twenty-three Ohio regiments in clearing his department from rebels, securing 
the country and guarding the exposed railroads. With this achievement, the 
direct relation of the State administrations with the conduct and methods of 
campaigns terminated. The General Government had settled down to a sys- 
tem. Ohio was busy organizing and equipping regiments, caring for the sick 
and wounded, and sustaining her home strength. 

Gov. Dennison's staff officers were tendered better positions in the national 
service. Camps Dennison and Chase, one at Cincinnati and the other at 
Columbus, were controlled by the United States authorities. A laboratory was 
established at Columbus for the supply of ammunition. During the fall and 
early winter, the Ohio troops suffered in Western Virginia. The people of 
their native State responded with blankets, clothing and other supplies. 

In January, 1862, David A. Tod entered upon the duties of Governor. 
The first feature of his administration was to care for the wounded at home, 
sent from Pittsburg Landing. A regular system was inaugurated to supply 
stores and clothing to the suffering at home and in the field. Agencies were 
established, and the great and good work was found to be most efficacious in 
alleviating the wretchedness consequent upon fearful battles. A. B. Lyman. 



HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 185 

had charge of affairs in Cincinnati, and Royal Taylor held the same position 
in Louisville. J. C. Wetmore was stationed at Washington, F. W. Bingham 
at Memphis, Weston Flint at Cairo and St. Louis. Thus the care which Ohio 
extended over her troops at home and in the battle-field, furnished a practical 
example to other States, and was the foundation of that commendable system 
all over the Union. Stonewall Jackson's sudden advent in the valley created 
the greatest consternation lest the safety of the capital be jeopardized, and the 
War Department called for more troops. Gov. Tod immediately issued a 
proclamation, and the people, never shrinking, responded heartily. At Cleve- 
land a large meeting was held, and 250 men enlisted, including 27 out of 32 
students attending the law school. Fire bells rang out the alarm at Zanesville, 
a meeting was convened at 10 in the morning, and by 3 in the afternoon, 300 
men had enlisted. Court was adjourned sine die, and the Judge announced 
that he and the lawyers were about to enter into military ranks. Only three 
unmarried men between the ages of eighteen and twenty-three were left in the 
town of Putnam. Five thousand volunteers reported at Camp Chase within 
two days after the proclamation. 

Again in June, the President called for troops, followed by yet another call. 
Under these calls, Ohio was to raise 74,000 men. The draft system was 
advised to hasten and facilitate filling regiments. It has always been a repul- 
sive measure. To save sections from this proceeding, enormous sums were 
offered to induce men to volunteer, and thus fill the quota. 

Counties, townships, towns and individuals, all made bids and urged the 
rapid enlistment of troops. The result was, that the regiments were filled rap- 
idly, but not in sufficient numbers to prevent the draft. Twenty thousand four 
hundred and twenty-seven men were yet lacking, and the draft was ordered, 
September 15. At the close of the year, Ohio was ahead of her calls. Late 
in the fall, the prospect was disheartening. The peninsula campaign had failed. 
The Army of Northern Virginia had been hurled back nearly to Washington. 
The rebels had invaded Maryland ; Cincinnati and Louisville were threatened, 
and the President had declared his intention to abolish slavery, as a war meas- 
ure. During the first part of 1862, artillery, stores and supplies were carried 
away mysteriously, from the Ohio border ; then little squads ventured over the 
river to plunder more openly, or to burn a bridge or two. The rebel bands 
came swooping down upon isolated supply trains, sending insolent roundabout 
messages regarding their next day's intentions. Then came invasions of our 
lines near Nashville, capture of squads of guards within sight of camp, the seizure 
of Gallatin. After Mitchell had entered Northern Alabama, all manner of depre- 
dations were committed before his very eyes. These were attributed to John 
Morgan's Kentucky cavalry. He and his men, by the middle of 18(32, were 
as active and dangerous as Lee or Beauregard and their troops. Morgan was a 
native of Alabama, but had lived in Kentucky since boyhood. His father was 
large slave-owner, who lived in the center of the "Blue Grass Country." His 



186 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 

life had been one of wild dissipation, adventure and recklessness, although in 
his own family he had the name of being most considerate. The men who fol- 
lowed him were accustomed to a dare-devil life. They formed and independent 
band, and dashed madly into the conflict, wherever and whenever inclination 
prompted. Ohio had just raised troops to send East, to assist in the overthrow 
of Stonewell Jackson. She had overcome her discouragements over failures, 
for the prospects were brightening. Beauregard had evacuated Corinth ; Mem- 
phis had fallen ; Buell was moving toward Chattanooga ; Mitchell's troops held 
Northern Tennessee and Northern Alabama ; Kentucky was virtually in the 
keeping of the home guards and State military board. And now, here was 
Morgan, creating confusion in Kentucky by his furious raids ! On the 11th of 
July, the little post of Tompkinsville fell. He issued a call for the Kentuckians 
to rise in a body. He marched toward Lexington, and the southern border of 
Ohio was again in danger. Cincinnati was greatly excited. Aid was sent to 
Lexington and home guards were ready for duty. Morgan was not prominent 
for a day or so, but he was not idle. By the 9th of July, he held possession of 
Tompkinsville and Glasgow ; by the 11th, of Lebanon. On the 13th, he 
entered Harraldsburg ; Monday morning he was within fifteen miles of Frank- 
fort. He had marched nearly 400 miles in eight days. Going on, toward 
Lexington, he captured the telegraph operator at Midway, and his messages 
also ! He was now aware of the plans of the Union armies at Lexington, 
Louisville, Cincinnati and Frankfort. In the name of the operator, he sent 
word that Morgan was driving in the pickets at Frankfort ! Now that he 
had thrown his foes off guard, he rested his men a couple of days. He 
decided to let Lexington alone, and swept down on Cynthiana, routing a few 
hundred loyal Kentucky cavalrymen, capturing the gun and 420 prisoners, and 
nearly 300 horses. Then he was off to Paris ; he marched through Winchester, 
Richmond, Crab Orchard and Somerset, and again crossed the Cumberland River. 
He started with 900 men and returned with 1,200, having captured and paroled 
nearly as many, besides destroying all the Government arms and stores in seven- 
teen towns. The excitement continued in Cincinnati. Two regiments were 
hastily formed, for emergencies,' known as Cincinnati Reserves. Morgan's raid 
did not reach the city, but it demonstrated to the rebel forces what might be 
accomplished in the " Blue Grass " region. July and August were passed in 
gloom. Bragg and Buell were both watchful, and Chattanooga had not been 
taken. Lexington was again menaced, a battle fought, and was finally deserted 
because it could not be held. 

Louisville was now in danger. The banks sent their specie away. Railroad 
companies added new guards. 

September 1, Gen. Kirby Smith entered Lexington, and dispatched Heath 
with about six thousand men against Cincinnati and Covington. John Morgan 
joined him. The rebels rushed upon the borders of Ohio. The failure at Rich- 
mond only added deeper apprehension. Soon Kirby Smith and his regiments 



HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 189 

occupied a position where only a few unmanned siege guns and the Ohio 
prevented his entrance through Covington into the Queen City. The city was 
fully armed, and Lew. Wallace's arrival to take command inspired all with 
fresh courage. And before the people were hardly aware that danger was so 
near, the city was proclaimed under strict martial law. " Citizens for labor, 
soldiers for battle." 

There was no panic, because the leaders were confident. Back of Newport 
and Covington breastworks, riflepits and redoubts had been hastily thrown up, 
and pickets were thrown out. From Cincinnati to Covington extended a pon- 
ton bridge. Volunteers marched into the city and those already in service 
were sent to the rescue. Strict military law was now modified, and the city 
being secured, some inconsiderate ones expressed themselves as being outraged 
with " much ado about nothing." But Gen. Wallace did not cease his vigilance. 
And Smith's force began to move up. One or two skirmishes ensued. The 
city was again excited. September 11 was one of intense suspense. But 
Smith did not attack in force. He was ordered to join Bragg. On the Mon- 
day following, the citizens of Cincinnati returned to their avocations. In the 
spring of 1863, the State was a trifle discouraged. Her burdens had been 
heavy, and she was weary. Vicksburg was yet in the hands of the enemy. 
Rosecrans had not moved since his victory at Stone River. There had been 
fearful slaughter about Fredericksburg. 

But during July, 1863, Ohio was aroused again by Bragg's command to 
Morgan, to raid Kentucky and capture Louisville. On the 3d of July, he was 
in a position to invade Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. He continued his depre- 
dations, bewildering the militia with his movements. His avowed intention 
was to burn Indianapolis and " take Cincinnati alive." Morgan's purposes 
were never clear. It was his audacious and sudden dashes, here and there, 
which gave him success. Before Cincinnati was aware, he was at Harrison — 
13th of July. He expected to meet the forces of Burnside and Judah, and to 
cut his way through. His plans here, as everywhere, were indefinable, and he 
succeeded in deceiving everybody. While printers in Cincinnati were setting 
up " reports " as to his whereabouts, he was actually marching through the sub- 
urbs, near troops enough to devour them, and yet not encountered by a single 
picket ! They fed their horses within sight of Camp Dennison. At 4 
o'clock that day, they were within twenty-eight miles of Cincinnati — having 
marched more than ninety miles in thirty-five hours. 

The greatest chagrin was expressed, that Morgan had so easily eluded the 
great military forces. A sudden dash was made to follow him. There was a 
universal bolting of doors, burying of valuables, hiding of horses, etc., all along 
the route of the mad cavalryman and his 2,000 mounted men. They plundered 
beyond all comparison. They made a principle of it. On the 14th of July, 
he was feeding his horses near Dennison ; he reached the ford at Buffington 
Island on the evening of the 18th ; he had encountered several little skirmishes, 



190 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 

but he had marched through at his own will, mostly ; all the troops of Kentucky 
had been outwitted. The Indiana forces had been laughed to scorn. The 
50,000 Ohio militia had been as straws in his way. The intrepid band would 
soon be upon friendly soil, leaving a blackened trail behind. But Judah was 
up and marching after him, Hobson followed and Col. Runkle was north of 
him. The local militia in his advance began to impede the way. Near Pome- 
roy, a stand was made. Morgan found militia posted everywhere, but he suc- 
ceeded in running the gantlet, so far as to reach Chester. He should have 
hastened to cross the ford. Fortunately, he paused to breathe his horses and 
secure a guide. The hour and a half thus lost was the first mistake Morgan is 
known to have made in his military career. They reached Portland, and only 
a little earthwork, guarded by about 300 men, stood between him and safety. 
His men were exhausted, and he feared to lead them to a night attack upon a 
position not understood perfectly ; he would not abandon his wagon train, nor 
his wounded ; he would save or lose all. As Morgan was preparing next 
morning, having found the earthworks deserted through the night, Judah came 
up. He repulsed the attack at first, capturing Judah's Adjutant General, and 
ordering him to hold the force on his front in check. He was not able to join 
his own company, until it was in full retreat. Here Lieut. O'Neil, of the Fifth 
Indiana, made an impulsive charge, the lines were reformed, and up the Chester 
road were Hobson's gallant cavalrymen, who had been galloping over three 
States to capture this very Morgan ! And now the tin-clad gunboats steamed 
up and opened fire. The route was complete, but Morgan escaped with 1,200 
men ! Seven hundred men were taken prisoners, among them Morgan's brother, 
Cols. Ward, Duke and Huffman. The prisoners were brought to Cincinnati, 
while the troops went after the fugitive. He was surrounded by dangers ; his 
men were exhausted, hunted doAvn ; skirmishes and thrilling escapes marked a 
series of methods to escape — his wonderful sagacity absolutely brilliant to the 
very last — which was his capture, on the 26th, with 346 prisoners and 
400 horses and arms. It may be added, that after several months of con- 
finement, Morgan and six prisoners escaped, on the 27th of November. Again 
was-he free to raid in the " Blue Grass " country. 

John Brought succeeded Gov. Tod January 11, 1864. His first prominent 
work was with the Sanitary Commission. In February, of the same year, the 
President called for more troops. The quota of Ohio was 51,465 men. The 
call of March added 20,995. And in July was a third demand for 50,792. In 
December, the State was ordered to raise 26,027. The critical period of the 
war was evidently approaching. Gov. Brough instituted a reformation in the 
"promotion system " of the Ohio troops. He was, in many cases, severe in his 
measures. He ignored " local great men " and refused distinction as a bribe. 
The consequence was that he had many friends and some enemies. The acute- 
ness of his policy was so strong, and his policy so just, that, after all his severe 
administration, he was second to no statesman in the nation during the struggle. 



HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 191 

Ohio during the war was most active in her relief and aid societies. The most 
noted and extensive organization was the Cincinnati Branch of the United 
States Sanitary Commission. The most efficient organization was the Soldiers' 
Aid Society of Northern Ohio. 

When the happy tidings swept over the land that peace was proclaimed, an 
echo of thanksgiving followed the proclamation. The brave sons of Ohio 
returned to their own soil — those who escaped the carnage. But 'mid the 
rejoicing there was deepest sadness, for a fragment only remained of that brave 
army which had set out sturdily inspired with patriotism. 

A BRIEF MENTION OF PROMINENT OHIO GENERALS. 

George Briton McClellan, the first General appointed in Ohio, was born 
December 3, 1826, in Philadelphia. His father was a physician of high stand- 
ing and Scottish descent. Young George was in school in Philadelphia, and 
entered West Point at the age of sixteen. At the age of twenty, he was a bre- 
vet Second Lieutenant, tracing lines of investment before Vera Cruz, under the 
supervision of Capt. R. E. Lee, First Lieut. P. G. T. Beauregard, Second Lieut. 
G. W. Smith. At the close of the Mexican war, old Col. Totten reported in 
favor of them all to Winfield Scott. He had charge of an exploring expedition 
to the mountains of Oregon and Washington, beginning with the Cascade Range. 
This was one of a series of Pacific Railway explorations. Returning to Wash- 
ington, he was detailed to visit the West Indies and secretly select a coaling sta- 
tion for the United States Navy. He was dispatched by Jefferson Davis, 
Secretary of War, to Europe, with instructions to take full reports of the organ- 
ization of military forces connected with the Crimean war. This work elicited 
entire satisfaction. He returned in January, 1857, resigned as regular army 
officer, and was soon installed as engineer of Illinois Central Railroad. In 1860, 
he was President of the Ohio & Mississippi. He removed to Cincinnati, where 
he was at the opening of the war. 

William Starke Rosecrans was born September 6, 1819, in Delaware County, 
Ohio. His people were from Amsterdam. He was educated at West Point. 
When the war opened, he espoused the cause of the Union with enthusiastic 
zeal, and was appointed by McClellan on his staff as Engineer. June 9, he 
was Chief Engineer of the State under special law. Soon thereafter, he was 
Colonel of the Twenty-third Ohio, and assigned to the command of Camp 
Chase, Columbus. On May 16, his commission was out as Brigadier General 
in the United States Army. This reached him and he was speedily sum- 
moned to active service, under Gen. McClellan. After the battle of Rich Moun- 
tain, he was promoted to the head of the department. 

In April, 1862, he was succeeded by Fremont, and ordered to Wash- 
# ington to engage in immediate service for the Secretary of War. About the 
15th of May, he was ordered to Gen. Halleck, before Corinth. He was 
relieved from his command December 9, 1864. 



19 2 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 

Ulysses S. Grant, whose history we cannot attempt to give in these pages, 
was born on the banks of the Ohio, at Point Pleasant, Clermont Co, Ohio, 
April 27 1822. He entered West Point in 1839. 

« That the son of a tanner, poor and unpretending, without influential friends 
until his performance had won them, ill-used to the world and its ways, should 
rise— not suddenly, in the first blind worship of helpless ignorance which made 
any one who understood regimental tactics illustrious in advance for what he 
was going to do, not at all for what he had done— but slowly, grade by grade, 
through all the vicissitudes of constant service and mingled blunders and suc- 
cess, till, at the end of four years' war he stood at the head of our armies, 
crowned by popular acclaim our greatest soldier, is a satisfactory answer to 
criticism and a sufficient vindication of greatness. Success succeeds." 

" We may reason on the man's career ; we may prove that at few stages has 
he shown personal evidence of marked ability; we may demonstrate his mis- 
takes • we may swell the praises of his subordinates. But after all, the career 
stands wonderful, unique, worthy of study so long as the nation honors her 
benefactors, or the State cherishes the good fame of the sons who contributed 
most to her honor." 

Lieut. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman was another Ohio contribution to 
the great Union war. He was born at Lancaster February 8, 1820. He 
entered West Point in June, 1836. His " march to the sea " has fully brought 
out the details of his life, since they were rendered interesting to all, and we 
refrain from repeating the well-known story. 

Philip H. Sheridan was born on the 6th of March, 1831, in Somerset, 
Perry Co, Ohio. He entered West Point in 1848. During the war, his 
career was brilliant. His presence meant victory. Troops fighting under his 
command were inspired. Gen. Rosecrans said of him, " He fights, he fights. 
A staff officer once said, " He is an emphatic human syllable." 

Maj. Gen. James B. McPherson was born in Sandusky County, town of 
Clyde, November 14, 1828. 

Maj. Gen. Q. A. Gillmore was born February 28, 1825, at Black River, 

Lorain Co, Ohio. 

Maj. Gen. Irvin McDowell was born at Franklinton, Ohio, October 1£, 

1818 

Maj. Gen. Don Carlos Buell was born near Marietta on the 23d of March, 
1818. His grandfather on the maternal side was one of the first settlers of 

Cincinnati. 

Maj. Gen. 0. M. Mitchell was a native of Kentucky, but a resident ol 

Ohio from the age of four years. 

Maj. Gen. Robert C. Schenck was born October 4, 1809, in Franklin, 

Warren Co, Ohio. 

Maj. Gen. James A. Garfield, was born in Orange, Cuyahoga Co, Ohio, 

November 19, 1831. 



ISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 193 

Maj. Gen. Jacob D. Cox was born in Canada in 1828, and removed to 
Ohio in 1846. 

Maj. Gen. James B. Steedman was born in Pennsylvania July 30, 1818, 
and removed to Toledo in 1861. 

Maj. Gen. David S. Stanley was born in Wayne County, Ohio, June 1, 
1828. 

Maj. Gen. George Crook was born in Montgomery County, Ohio, Septem- 
ber 8, 1828. 

Maj. Gen. Mortimer D. Leggett was born in New York April 19, 1831, 
and emigrated to Ohio, in 1847. 

Brevet Maj. Gen. John C. Tidball was born in Virginia, but removed while 
a mere lad to Ohio with his parents. 

Brevet Maj. Gen. John W. Fuller was born in England in 1827. He 
removed to Toledo in 1858. 

Brevet Maj. Gen. Manning F. Force was born in Washington, D. C, on 
the 17th of December, 1824. He became a citizen of Cincinnati. 

Brevet Maj. Gen. Henry B. Banning was born in Knox County, Ohio, 
November 10, 1834. 

We add the names of Brevet Maj. Gens. Erastus B. Tyler, Thomas H. 
Ewing, Charles R. Woods, August V. Kautz, Rutherford B. Hayes, Charles 
C. Walcutt, Kenner Garrard, Hugh Ewing, Samuel Beatty, James S. Robinson, 
Joseph W. Keifer, Eli Long, William B. Woods, John W. Sprague, Benjamin 
P. Runkle, August Willich, Charles Griffin, Henry J. Hunt, B. W. Brice. 

Brig. Gens. Robert L. McCook, William H. Lytle, William Leroy 
Smith, C. P. Buckingham, Ferdinand Van Derveer, George P. Este, Joel A. 
Dewey, Benjamin F. Potts, Jacob Ammen, Daniel McCook, J. W. Forsyth, 
Ralph P. Buckland, William H. Powell, John G. Mitchell, Eliakim P. Scam- 
mon, Charles G Harker, J. W. Reilly, Joshua W. Sill, N. C. McLean, Will- 
iam T. H. Brooks, George W. Morgan, John Beatty, William W. Burns, John 
S. Mason, S. S. Carroll, Henry B. Carrington, M. S. Wade, John P. Slough, 
T. K. Smith. 

Brevet Brig. Gens. C. B. Ludlow, Andrew Hickenlooper, B. D. 
Fearing, Henry F. Devol, Israel Garrard, Daniel McCoy, W. P. Richardson, 
G. F. Wiles, Thomas M. Vincent, J. S. Jones, Stephen B. Yeoman, F. W. 
Moore, Thomas F. Wilder, Isaac Sherwood, C. H. Grosvenor, Moses E. 
Walker, R. N. Adams, E. B. Eggleston, I. M. Kirby. 

We find numerous other names of Brevet Brigadier Generals, mostly of late 
appointments, and not exercising commands in accordance with their brevet 
rank, which we omit quoting through lack of space. They are the names of 
men of rare abilities, and in many cases of brilliant achievements. 

In looking over the "War Record of Ohio," we find the State a great 
leader in men of valor and heroic deeds. It was the prolific field of military 
geniuses. 



194 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 

Ohio was draped with the garb of mourning at the close of the war. Her 
human sacrifice in behalf of the nation had been bitter. There were tears and 
heart-aches all over the land. Her ranks were swept by a murderous fire, from 
which they never flinched, and many officers fell. 

Col. John H. Patrick will be remembered as opening the battle of Lookout 
Mountain. He fell mortally wounded, during the Atlanta campaign, May 
15, 1862, while actively engaged. He was struck by a canister shot, and 
expired half a hour thereafter. 

Col. John T. Toland, in July, 1863, was placed in command of a mounted 
brigade, including his regiment, and was instructed to destroy the Virginia & 
Tennessee Railroad. He reached Wytheville, Va., on the afternoon of the 
18th of July. The rebels were safely intrenched in the house, and poured a 
galling fire into the national troops. Col. Toland was on horseback, at the 
head of his command. A sharpshooter sent a bullet with fatal certainty, and 
he fell on the neck of his horse, but was instantly caught by his Orderly 
Sergeant, who heard the fervent words : " My horse and my sword to my 
mother." 

Lieut. Col. Barton S. Kyle accompanied his regiment to the battle of Pitts- 
burg Landing. The regiment was forced back, though resisting bravely. 
Lieut. Col. Kyle was at his post of duty, encouraging his men, when he received 
a bullet in his right breast. He survived five hours. 

Col. William G. Jones was engaged in the battle of Chickamauga, June, 
1863. His regiment, the Thirty-sixth Ohio, was included in Turchin's Brigade 
of the Fourteenth Corps. He wrote in his pocket memoranda : " Off to the 
left ; merciful Father, have mercy on me and my regiment, and protect us from 
injury and death " — at 12 o'clock. At 5 that afternoon, he was fatally wounded 
and expired at 7 that same evening, on the battle-field His remains were 
taken by the rebels, but in December, 1863, they were exhumed and interred 
in Spring Grove Cemetery, Cincinnati. 

Col. Fred. C. Jones held command of the Tenth Brigade, in October, 1862, 
marching from Wild Cat, Ky., to Nashville, through a perpetual skirmish, 
During the battle of Stone River, Col. Jones' regiment, the Twenty-fourth, was 
on the front and left of the line. During the afternoon, when the rebel assault 
upon the left became furious, Col. Jones ordered his men to lie down and hold 
fire, which was obeyed. They rose to pour a deadly volley into the rebel ranks, 
and rush forward in a fierce charge. The capture of an entire rebel regiment was 
thus effected, but Col. Jones was shot in the right side. He was carried to the 
rear. " I know it ; I am dying now ; pay no attention to me, but look after 
my wounded men." He survived about ten hours. His remains are buried in 
Spring Grove, Cincinnati. 

Col. Lorin Andrews went with his command to Western Virginia, where 
he succumbed to exposure and severe duty. He was removed to his home, 
Gambier, Ohio, where he died surrounded by friends September 18, 1861. 



HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 195 

Col. Minor Milliken was sent to repel the attacks of the rebels at the rear. 
He led a superb cavalry charge against the enemy, vastly superior in numbers, 
and was cut off with a small portion of his regiment. He disdained to sur- 
render, and ordered his men to cut their way out. A hand-to-hand conflict 
ensued. Col. Milliken, being an expert swordsman, was able to protect himself 
with his saber. While parrying the strokes of his assailant, another shot him. 
The regiment, again charging, recovered his body, stripped of sword, purse and 
watch. 

Col. George P. Webster, with his regiment, the Ninety-eighth, left Steu- 
benville for Covington, Ky., August 23, 1862, marching from that point to Lex- 
ington and Louisville. He was placed at the command of the Thirty-fourth 
Brigade, Jackson's division, Cooke's corps. He fell in the battle of Perryville, 
and died on the field of battle. 

Col. Leander Stem was appointed Colonel of the One Hundred and First 
Ohio Infantry August 30, 1862. His premonitions that he should fall during 
his first regular engagement proved too true. As the army was advancing on 
Murfreesboro, the engagement of Knob Gap occurred, when Col. Stem's regi- 
ment charged and took a rebel battery, with several prisoners. The army 
closed around Murfreesboro, and on the evening of the 30th, the One Hun- 
dred and First was engaged in demonstrations against the enemy. Next 
morning, the battle of Stone River began in earnest. When Col. Stem's regi- 
ment began to waver, he called out: " Stand by the flag now, for the good 
old State of Ohio ! " and instantly fell, fatally wounded. 

Lieut. Col. Jonas D. Elliott held his position in May, 1863. During the 
summer of 1864, he commanded the left wing of the regiment at Dodsonville, 
Ala.; in September, he was sent after Wheeler, and was ordered into camp at 
Decatur. On the 23d, he was dispatched to Athens, to participate in the attack 
of Gen. Forrest, of the rebels. Col. Elliott was sent out, with 300 men, and 
being surrounded by Gen. Forrest, with vastly superior numbers, a forced resist- 
ance enabled them to sustain their own ground, until a fresh brigade of rebels 
arrived, under Gen. Warren. This officer instructed one of his men to shoot 
Lieut. Col. Elliott, and a moment later he fell. He lingered nineteen days. 

Col. Joseph L. Kirby Smith took command of the Forty-third Ohio Regi- 
ment. He fell at the battle of Corinth, under Rosecrans. 

Lieut. Col. James W. Shane fell, June 27, 1864, in an assault upon the 
enemy's works at Kenesaw. He survived but forty minutes. 

Col. Augustus H. Coleman displayed the abilities of a successful commander. 
He was in the first charge on the bridge across Antietam Creek. He was 
fatally wounded. His last words were inquiries regarding his men. 

Col. J. W. Lowe commanded the Twelfth Ohio, and was ordered to assist 
the Tenth in the battle of Carnifex Ferry. Cheering his men, in the thickest 
of the fight, a rifle ball pierced his forehead, and he fell dead — the first field 
officer from Ohio killed in battle in the war for the L T nion. 



196 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 

Lieut. Col. Moses F. Wooster was engaged with liis regiment, the One Hun- 
dred and First Ohio, at Perryville. He was mortally wounded on the 31st 
of December, 1862, in the grand effort to stem the tide of defeat at Stone 
River. 

The list of staff officers we refrain from giving, through lack of space. 

At the opening of the war, William Dennison was Governor of Ohio. David 
Tod succeeded him. John B rough was the third War Governor. 

Secretary Edwin M. Stanton was one of the most popular war Ministers. 
He was born in Steubenville, Ohio, in 1815 ; he was engaged in the United 
States Circuit Court, in 1860, in a leading law suit, at Cincinnati, known as the 
Manny and McCormick reaper trial ; on the 20th of January, 1862, he was 
appointed Secretary of War by Mr. Lincoln. 

Ex-Secretary Salmon P. Chase's public services in Ohio have already been 
mentioned in these pages. In 1861, he was appointed Secretary of the Treas- 
ury, in Mr. Lincoln's cabinet. 

United States Senator B. F. Wade made his reputation in Ohio. This 
Senator of the State stood at the head of the Committee on the Conduct of the 
War throughout its duration. 

United States Senator John Sherman was a leading member of the Finance 
Committee, during the war. For some time he was its Chairman. 

Jay Cooke was the financial agent of the Government, furnishing money for 
the payment of the troops. He was born in Portland, Huron Co., Ohio. 

In our brief review of the war record of Ohio, we have omitted a vast 
amount of detail information that would prove interesting to our readers. We 
believe we have been accurate in whatever we have given, taking as our authority, 
that accepted "encyclopedia" of Ohio war facts — Whitelaw Reid, who has pub- 
lished a valuable volume on the subject. 

SOME DISCUSSED SUBJECTS. 

It may be well in glancing over the achievements of Ohio, her momentous 
labors and grand successes, to refer to the Ordinance of 1787, more minutely 
than we have done, in relation to many events, since its inherent principles are 
not only perpetuated in the laws of the entire Northwest, but have since been 
woven into the general Constitution of the United States. It made permanent 
the standard and character of immigration, social culture and political and edu- 
cational institutions. It was thoroughly antislavery and denounced involuntary 
servitude, which was sanctioned in every other State at that time, with the 
exception of Massachusetts. It protected religion and property. As late as 
1862, Gen. William Henry Harrison, Governor of Indiana, called a convention 
for the purpose of considering the slavery question, and the feasibility of intro- 
ducing the system in the new States and Territories being formed. There 
was at this time a spirited contest, and Illinois, Indiana and possibly Ohio, 
barely escaped a decision that a full support should be given its introduction 



HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 197 

into these States. Its adoption was based upon certain specifications and 
limits of time, which upon a deeper consideration was deemed perplexing and 
impractical. 

An animated discussion arose not long since, regarding the correct author- 
ship of this important ordinance, and its chief worker in gaining its sanction 
by Congress. 

Mr. Webster ascribed its authorship to Mathew Dane, of Massachusetts, 
which statement was immediately refuted by Mr. Benton, of Mississippi, who 
laid claim to it as the birthright of Thomas Jefferson, of Virginia. 

It has been almost impossible to obtain accurate reports of the actions of the 
old Continental Congress, from the fact that its meetings were held in secret, 
and any reports either narrated or shown in schedules or lists, were deemed a 
striking lack of trust on the part of the person who furnished the information. 
It was sufficient that its acts and conclusions be proclaimed without any prelude 
or reasoning process. Hence it has been difficult to obtain early Congressional 
documents. But it has been conclusively proven that the great motive power 
in gaining the approbation of the Ordinance of 1787, was neither Dane nor 
Jefferson, but Dr. Cutler. 

He arrived at New York, July 5 of that year, after a journey from Ipswich, 
Mass., in his sulky. He obtained lodgings at the " Plow and Harrow," and 
saw that his good horse was properly cared for and fed at the same place. 
Congress was then in session, and he had come on a mission for the Ohio Com- 
pany, to negotiate their grant and its privileges in the new Territory of Ohio. 
He remained in New York three weeks, constantly engaged in the work vital to 
the interests of the future great State. But he secured the installment of the 
principles deemed the corner-stone of a future powerful State constitution. Mr. 
Poole, Librarian of the Chicago Public Library, searched assiduously for con- 
clusive proof of Dr. Cutler's right to this honor, and in the North American 
Review, Vol. 122, this is emphatically set forth with substantiating proof under 
his signature. 

Other facts have been discussed and proven at a very recent date, relative 
to the State of Ohio, which heretofore have been omitted, and nearly lost from 
the historic thread which unites the present with the past. 

The first settlement of the lands of the Northwest is necessarily surrounded 
with interest. But those were exciting, troublesome times, and a few links 
were passed over lightly. However, the years are not so far removed in the 
past but the line may be traced. 

Mr. Francis W. Miller, of Cincinnati, has supplied some missing chapters. 
The earliest documentary trace extant, regarding the southern settlement at 
Cincinnati, is an agreement of partnership between Denman, Filson and Pat- 
terson, in the fractional section of land to which the city of Cincinnati was 
originally limited. It bears the date August 25, 1788. This was entered on 
the records of Hamilton County, Ohio, October 6, 1803. 



198 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 

A letter from Jonathan Dayton to the Hon. Judge Symmes, dated Septem- 
ber 26, 1789, says: "You have been selling your lands, I am told, for two 
shillings specie, the acre. The price at this moment is, and seems to be, and 
undoubtedly is, a good one; but as much cannot be said of it when you find 
hereafter that in consequence of the rise of certificates, another acre, in another 
payment, may cost you in specie two shillings and sixpence." 

A letter from John C. Symmes to Capt. Dayton, dated April 30, 1790, 
says: "The land in the reserved township is held at much too high a price. 
Not a foot of land beyond the five-acre lots will sell. Five shillings, specie, 
or two dollars in certificates, is the utmost they will bring, and they will rarely 
sell at that." 

This state of affairs was in a large degree brought about by the breaking-up 
of North Bend and a removal of the town to Fort Washington, or Cincinnati, 
. A search through the old letters and other preserved documents prove 
that North Bend was at one time the beginning of the great city on the Ohio, 
rather than Cincinnati. Judge Symmes wrote, May 18, 1789 : " I have not as 
yet been able to make a decisive choice of a plat for the city, though I have 
found two pieces of ground, both eligible, but not upon the present plan of a 
regular square. It is a question of no little moment and difficulty to deter- 
mine which of these spots is preferable, in point of local situation. I know 
that at first thought men will decide in favor of that on the Ohio, from the 
supposition that the Ohio will command more trade and business than the 
Miami. * * * But if it were built on the Miami, the settlers 
throughout the purchase would find it very convenient." 

Another of the earliest selections of town sites was adjacent to the most 
southerly point of what is now Delhi Township. To this the name of South 
Bend was given. Judge Symmes reports November 4, 1790, of this place, 
over forty framed and hewed-log two-story houses, since the preceding spring. 
Ensign Luce is said to have taken his troops to North Bend, but decided to 
remove to Cincinnati, on account of the object of his affections having settled 
there — the wife of a settler. But this story is refuted by contradictory evi- 
dence from Judge Symmes' letters, which illustrate the fact that the post of 
North Bend was abandoned by Ensign Luce and his men in consequence of a 
panic, caused by Indian attacks. The removal of the troops caused a general 
decline of the town. Again, history and letters from the same eminent Judge, 
assert that Fort Washington was completed and garrisoned by Maj. Doughty 
before the close of that same year, and was begun by him during the summer, 
that Ensign Luce must have still been at his post at the bend at that time. It 
has been, therefore, recently accepted that the traditional "black eyes" and 
the "Indian panic," had nothing to do with the founding of Cincinnati, and 
that the advantages of the position gained the victory. 

Cincinnati has advanced, not only in prosperity and culture, but in national 
significance. Our readers must have observed, in perusing these pages, that 



HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 199 

from this city and the State which it represents, have emanated some of the 
superior intellects which have used their wise faculties and talents, tempered bv 
a wise judgment, in behalf of the American Union. 

The originality of the Senecas and Wy an dots have been debated at some 
length, while others have called the tribes the same, having two branches. We 
have searched the earlier records and have found an authenticated account of 
these two tribes. 

The Indian tribes of Ohio were originally bold, fierce and stalwart. The 
country watered by the Sandusky and its tributaries was frequented by the 
Wyandot tribe, who came from the north side of the St. Lawrence River. The 
Senecas were blood relatives of this tribe. Both tribes were numbered by the 
thousands. A war originated between them, in this manner: A Wyandot 
chief desired to wed the object of his affections, who laughed him to scorn, 
because he had taken no scalps, and was no warrior " to speak of." To change 
her opinion, he led out a party, and falling upon a number of Senecas, slaugh- 
tered them mercilessly, that he might hasten to the side of his dusky belle, with 
his trophies. This act inaugurated hostilities, which extended through a century. 
The Wyandots began to fear extermination, and, gathering their entire effects, 
the natives escaped to Green Bay, and settled in several villages. But the Sen- 
ecas made up a war parity and followed them, killing many Wyandots and burn- 
ing some of their villages. They then returned to Canada. Soon thereafter, 
they secured fire-arms from the French. Again they followed the Wyandots, 
firing their guns into their huts, and frightening them severely. They did not 
succeed as well as they expected. But the third party nearly exterminated the 
villages, because the young warriors were nearly all gone to war with the Foxes. 
The few at home escaping, promised to return with the Senecas, but desired 
two days for preparation. The Wyandots sent word to the two villages left 
undisturbed, and held a consultation. They decided to go as near the Senecas 
as possible, unobserved, and discover their real motive. They found them feast- 
ing on two roasted Wyandots, shouting over their victory. They danced nearly 
all night, and then fell asleep. A little before daylight, the Wyandots fell on 
them, leaving not one to carry back the news. 

The Wyandots then procured guns, and began to grow formidable. They 
set out to return to their own country, and proceeded on their way as far as 
Detroit, where they met a party of Senecas, on the lake. A fierce conflict 
ensued, and the Wyandots beheld the Senecas fall, to the last man, suffering 
fearful carnage themselves. They soon settled in this part of the world, their 
principal village being on the Sandusky. Northwestern Ohio was particularly 
dangerous with new Indian tribes, and the Wyandots were cruelly aw<yressive. 
The death of their chief, and their total defeat by Harrison, destroyed their 
power forever. 

On the 29th of September, 1817, a treaty was held, at the foot of the rapids 
of the Miami of Lake Erie, between Lewis Cass and Duncan McArthur, 



200 HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO 

Commissioners of the United States, and the sachems, chiefs and warriors of the 
Wyandot, Seneca, Delaware, Shawnee, Potawattomie, Ottawa and Chippewa 
nations. All their lands in Ohio were ceded to the United States forever. 

There was really not a Seneca in the Seneca nation. They were chiefly 
Cayugas, Mohawks, Onondagas, Tuscarawas, Wyandots and Oneidas. But the 
Mingoes were originally Cayugas, and their chief was the celebrated Logan. 
After the murder of his family by the whites, the Mingoes were scattered over 
the territory northwest of the Ohio. 

The notorious Simon Girty was adopted by the Senecas. Girty's name was 
a terror and fiendish horror for many years. He not only led the Indians in 
their atrocities, but he added barbarism to their native wickedness. 

CONCLUSION. 

When peace was proclaimed, after the surrender of Gen. Robert E. Lee to 
Gen. U. S. Grant, the volunteer troops disbanded, and a return to home indus- 
tries instituted, Ohio, like many other States, gave direct attention to the inter- 
ests of returned soldiers. The thrift of the State was augmented by a spasmodic, 
and thereafter recognized as a fictitious, demand for products, commercial and 
industrial pursuits redoubled their forces. But the great wave of stagnation 
swept over this fair land — the re-action of a war excitement. Laborers were 
many, but wages were inadequate. Deeper and deeper settled this lethargy — 
called by many " hard times" — until the wheels of commercial life revolved 
slowly, and from the workshops and the factories went up the echoes of priva- 
tion and distress. There was no famine, no fever, no epidemic, it was simply 
exhaustion. In the larger cities there was much suffering. Idle people loitered 
about, barely seeking employment, the task seeming worse than hopeless. 

During the years 1870, 1871 and 1872, the stringent measures brought 
about by the depressed state of business retarded any material advancement in 
general matters. The years 1873-74 were marked by a preceptible improve- 
ment, and a few factories were established, while larger numbers were employed 
in those already founded. The year 1875 was under the direction of a Demo- 
cratic Legislature. It was marked in many respects by a " reverse motion " in 
many laws and regulations. 

The Legislature which convened in 1876, January 3, was Republican in the 
main. It repealed the " Geghan Law" passed by the preceding body. At 
the time of its adoption, there was the most intense feeling throughout the State, 
the charge being made that it was in the interests of the Catholics. Among 
the general enactments were laws re-organizing the government of the State insti- 
tutions, which the previous Legislature had ordered according to their own belief 
to follow new doctrines. The office of Comptroller of the Treasury was abolished. 
The powers of municipal corporations to levy taxes was limited, and their 
authority to incur debts was limited. Furthermore, this body prohibited any 
municipal appropriations, unless the actual money Avas in the Treasury to meet 



HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 201 

the same in full. A law was passed for the protection of children under fourteen 
years of age, exhibited in public shows. 

The temperance cause received more vigorous and solid support than was 
ever rendered by the State previously. A common-sense, highly moral and 
exalted platform was formed and supported by many leading men. 

This year witnessed the serious "strikes" among the miners in Stark and 
Wayne Counties. The consequences were painful — distress, riots and distrac- 
tion of property. 

The State Mine Inspector reported 300 coal mines in the State, with only 
twenty-five in operation. Not over 3,000,000 tons of coal were raised during 
the year, owing to the dullness of the times. 

The State charities reported the aggregate number under public care to be 
29,508. The taxation for the maintenance of these classes was one and one 
six-hundredth of a mill on each dollar of taxable property. 

The reports given of the year 1877 indicated a revival of business interests 
and prosperity. The State produced of wheat, 27,306,566 bushels ; rye, 
914,106 bushels; buckwheat, 225,822 bushels; oats, 29,325,611; barley, 
1,629,817 bushels ; corn, 101,884,305 bushels ; timothy, tons of hay, 2,160,334 ; 
clover, tons of hay, 286,265; flax, pounds of fiber, 7,343,294; potatoes, 
10,504,278 bushels; sweet potatoes, 126,354| bushels; tobacco, 24,214,950 
pounds; sorghum, sugar, 7,507| pounds; syrup, 1,180,255 gallons; maple 
sugar, 1,625,215 pounds; maple syrup, 324,036 gallons; honey, 1,534,902 
pounds. 

The year 1878 was marked by a more vigorous and combined effort of the 
people to entirely overcome the stagnation of business, the influence of the 
lethargy yet combating the awakened interest. This energy was amply rewarded 
in 1879, by a general dawning of the "good times " so ardently desired. New 
enterprises were instituted, manufactories erected, improvements carried on, and 
agriculture was successful. Before the year closed, the State was basking in 
the light of prosperity, and the year 1880 was ushered in when the confidence 
of the people was again a permanent incentive — confidence in the nation, 
their State, each in the other and themselves. The old-time crown of power, 
influence and integrity, which Ohio has earned, is conspicuous in this year of 
1880. The jewels have been reset, and we confidently doubt not that their 
luster will remain undimmed intrusted to so faithful and so earnest a people. 







202 



HISTORY OF THE STATE OF OHIO. 



POPULATION OF OHIO BY COUNTIES. 



COUNTIES. 



The State 



Adams 

Allen 

Ashland. .. 
Ashtabula. 

Athens 

Auglaize . 
Belmont .. 

Brown 

Butler 

Carroll .... 



Champaign . 

Clark 

Clermont ... 

Clinton 

Columbiana 
Coshocton . . 
Crawford ... 
Cuyahoga .. 

Darke 

Defiance 

Delaware ... 

Erie 

Fairfield .... 

Fayette 

Franklin 

Fulton 

Gallia 

Geauga 

Greene 

Guernsey ... 
Hamilton ... 

Hancock 

Hardin 

Harrison 

Henry 

Highland — 

Hocking 

Holmes 

Huron 

Jackson 

Jefferson 

Knox 

Lake 

Lawrence . . . 

Licking 

Logan 

Lorain 



Lucas. 

Madison 

Mahoning 

Marion 

Medina 

Meigs 

Mercer 

Miami 

Monroe 

Montgomery. 

Morgan 

Morrow 

Muskingum . 

Noble 

Ottawa 

Paulding 

Ferry 

Pickaway . . . 

Pike 

Portage 

Preble 

Putnam 

Richland 

Ross 

Sandusky 

Scioto 

Seneca 

Shelby 

Stark 

Summit 

Trumbull ..., 

Tuscarawas . 

Union 

Van Wert 

Vinton 

Warren 

Washington . 

Wayne 

Williams 

HTlWood 

B8I Wyandot .... 



7332 
6838 



20329 
18356 

21J46 



8479 
9533 
15820 
8085 

221133 
7086 



6328 
3717 



16633 
6316 
10292 



7098 
7791 

10529 
9292 

31764 



12308 
2130 



6675 
3746 
18531 
8326 



3499 
11861 
3181 



4480 



8851 
4645 
15999 
5297 



17824 



8429 
13149 

4253 
10095 

10237 



9169 
20619 

852 
5750 



2106 

121(16 



15516 
8328 
1996 



17*37 
10125 
11933 



12281 
578 



1458 1 
9787 



28827 
17867 
27142 



12131 
13114 
20466 

11436 
35:92 
11161 

4791 
10373 

6204 



11504 



217S6 
8182 
14741 



9733 
15813 
14301 
18036 
52317 
813 
210 
20916 
262 
16345 
4008 
9135 
13341 
59 11 
22189 
17085 



5367 



6440 
5696 



6190 



6551 
7560 
6158 
1110 

12807 
8768 
21362 
11800 



21)331 



161 
13970 
16001 
6024 
16826 
16291 
230 
2400S 
24068 
2851 
8740 
5159 
3671 



26153 

14291 

3192 

49 



21468 
11731 
23333 
387 
1102 



1.3183 
9079 



23724 
19109 



30901 
22715 
28173 
18108 
16721 
16882 
23106 
15719 
40378 
21590 
13152 
26.-.06 
13282 



22060 
12599 
31921 
10984 
25049 



13444 
16297 
17528 
27748 
60145 

9986 

4598 
20099 

2503 
22269 

9.41 
18088 
23933 

9744 
250150 
29579 
13719 

9738 
35096 
14015 
18467 

9382 

9025 



14765 
18352 
11452 
8277 
19688 
18521 
819S8 
20852 



88749 



2248 
1034 
19314 
19725 

7626 

229115 
19482 
5189 
44582 
21 160 
10182 
11192 
18128 
12154 
31603 
2256,0 
3S107 
25631 
8422 
1577 



•23141 

'20S23 
35808 
4 165 
5357 



188S3 
12109 

23813 

28767 
18215 
11338 
3 1600 
27332 
30789 
17685 
19782 
22178 
30155 
18838 
33621 
25674 
18177 
48099 
20276 

6966 
21817 
18568 
30264 
12726 
42909 

7781 
17063 
17827 
21946 
30438 
156844 
16751 

8251 
20157 

3434 
25781 
14119 
20452 
26203 
12719 
29133 
28872 
14654 
15246 
38846 
19162 
260S6 
12363 
10015 
23735 
12618 
24441 
17971 

7712 
24999 
28351 
38218 
28585 
20280 
45049 



3308 
1766 
20775 
21006 
10953 
21119 
21736 
7221 
80879 

14305 
18428 
27104 
13958 
39ST8 
27485 
30190 
31761 
12201 
4793 
9858 
25560 
29540 
32281 
8018 
9157 
11191 



2665260 



20309 
19185 
22951 
31814 
21364 
17187 
36398 
29958 
35840 
15738 
2269s 
25800 
33031 
21461 
32836 
25032 
23881 
78033 
2600!) 
11886 
23902 
24474 
30533 
15935 
50361 
14043 
22043 
15817 
26197 
24474 
216410 
22886 
13570 
19110 
8901 
27773 
17057 
20589 
26616 
17941 
26115 
27735 
15576 
23249 
37011 
20996 
29744 
25831 
13015 
25894 
15490 
22517 
26534 
14104 
29959 
25741 
52220 
22119 
20445 
44416 
20751 
7016 
4945 
19678 
23169 
13643 
21208 
21820 

12808 
31158 
35071 
21429 
2 1297 
80868 
17493 
42978 
27344 
30656 
32163 
16507 
10238 
13631 
2690-2 
36268 
32483 
166X3 
17886 
15596 



20750 
231123 
21933 
32517 

23763 

20041 
39714 
2H802 
39912 
14491 
24188 
32070 
34268 
21914 
38299 
23600 
25556 

132010 
3227s 
15719 
25175 
28188 
31138 
17170 
63019 
17789 
25545 
14190 
2802s 
23838 

26i 1370 
23847 
18714 
18682 
14028 
29133 
17925 
18177 
28532 
21759 
29188 
26333 
15935 
313S0 
35756 
23,128 
30308 

46722 
15633 
31001 
16184 
20092 
81465 
17254 
3271,0 
25779 
64006 
20363 
18583 
44886 
19949 
13364 
85 1 1 
18153 
24875 
15447 
2 1584 
21809 
17031 
32516 
37097 
25503 

80827 

20748 
5250S 
34674 
38659 
33810 
18730 
15823 
15027 
26689 
40609 
35116 
20991 
21596 
i 558 



MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. 



208 



POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES. 



States and 
Territories. 



States. 

Alabama 

Arkansas 

California 

Connecticut 

Delaware 

Florida 

Georgia 

Illinois 

Indiana 

Iowa 

Kansas 

Kentucky 

Louisiana 

Maine 

Maryland 

Massachusetts... 

Michigan* 

Minnesota 

Mississippi 

Missouri 

Nebraska 

Nevada 

New Hampshire. 

New Jersey 

New York 

North Carolina. . 

Ohio 

Oregon 



Area in 
square 
Miles. 1870 



50,722 

52,198 

188 981 

4.674 

2,120 

59,268 

58,000 

55,410 

33,809 

55,045 

81,318 

37,600 

41,346 

31,776 

11,184 

7,800 

56,451 

83,531 

47,156 

65,350 

75,995 

112,090 

9,280 

8,320 

47,000 

50,704 

39,964 

95,244 



Population. 



996,992 

484.471 

560,247 

537,454 

125,015 

187,748 

1,184,109 

2,539,891 

1,680,637 

1,191.792 

364,399 

1,321,011 

726,915 

626,915 

780,894 

1,457,351 

1,184,059 

439,706 

827,922 

1,721,295 

123,993 

42,491 

318,300 

906,096 

4,382,759 

1,071,361 

2,665,260 

90,923 



Miles 
R. R. 
1875. 1872. 



1,350,544 
528,349 



857,039 



1,651,912 

1,334,031 

598,429 



246,280 
52,540 



1,026,502 
4,705,208 



; Last Census of Michigan taken in 1874 



1,671 

25 

1,013 

820 

2S 

466 

2,108 

5,904 

3,5:.::-) 

3.160 

1,760 

1,123 

539 

871 

820 

1,606 

2,235 

1,01:. 

990 

2,580 

828 

593 

790 

1,265 

4,470 

1,190 

3,740 

109 



States and 
Territories. 



States. 

Pennsylvania 

Rhode Island 

South Carolina.. 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Vermont 

Virginia 

West Virginia.... 
Wisconsin 



Total States. 



Territories. 

Arizona 

Colorado 

Dakota 

Dist. of Columbia. 

Idaho 

Montana 

New Mexico 

Utah 

Washington 

Wyoming 



Total Territories. 



Area in 
square 
Miles. 



46,000 
1,306 
29,385 
45,600 
237,504 
10,212 
40,904 
23,000 
53,924 



1,950,171 



113,916 

104,500 

147,490 

60 

90,932 

143,776 

121,201 

80,056 

69,944 

93,107 



Population. 



1870. 



1875. 



3,521,791 
217,353 
705,606 

1,258,520 
818,579 
330,551 

1,225,163 
442,014 

1,054.670 



965,03* 



38,113,253 



9,658 
39,864 
14,181 
131,700 
14,999 
20,595 
91,874 
86,786 
23,955 

9,118 



442,730 



258,239 
925,145 



1,236 



Miles 
R. R. 
1872. 



,113 
136 
,201 
,r.-.'0 
865 
675 
,490 
485 
725 



59,587 



392 



375 

"498 
1,265 



Aggregateof U.S.. 12,915,203 38,555,983 60,852 

* Included in the Railroad Mileage of Maryland. 



PRINCIPAL COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD; 

Population and Area. 



China 

British Empire 

Russia 

United States with Alaska 

France 

Austria and Hungary 

Japan 

Great Britain and Ireland 

German Empire 

Italy 

Spam 

Brazil 

Turkey 

Mexico ' 

Sweden and Norway ] 

Persia 

Belgium 

Bavaria ] 

Portugal , 

Holland 

New Grenada ' 

Chili 

Switzerland 

Peru \ 

Bolivia ' 

Argentine Republic '. 

Wurtemburg 

Denmark \ 

Venezuela ,' 

Baden 

Greece ['/" 

Guatemala ]','.',' 

Ecuador 

Paraguay 

Hesse ""' 

Liberia !.!.!."."' 

San Salvador 

Hayti ]]' 

Nicaragua 

Uruguay " 

Honduras * 

San Domingo 

Costa Rica '."' 

Hawaii 



Population. 



446,500,000 

226,817,108 

81,925,400 

38,925,600 

36,469, 8' mi 

35,904,40!) 

34,785,300 

31,817,100 

29,906,092 

27,439,921 

16,64231,1(1 

10,000.000 

16,463,000 

9,173.000 

5,921.500 

5,000,000 

5,021.300 

4,861,400 

3,995,200 

3,688,300 

3,000,000 

2,000,000 

2,669,100 

2,500,000 

2,000,000 

1,812,000 

1,818,500 

1,784,700 

1,500,000 

1,461,400 

1,457. 900 

1,180,000 

1,300,000 

1,000,000 

823,138 

718,000 

600,000 

572,000 

350,000 

300,000 

350,000 

136,000 

165,000 

62,950 



Date of 
Census. 



1871 
1871 
1871 
1870 
1866 
1869 
1871 
1871 
1871 
1871 
1867 



1861) 
1870 
1870 
1869 
1871 
1868 
1870 
1870 
1869 
1870 
1871 



1869 
1871 
1870 

1871 

1870 
1871 



1871 
1871 

'1871 
1871 
1871 

'1870 



Area in 
Square 
Miles. 



3,741,846 

4,677,432 

8,003,778 

2,603,884 

204,091 

240,348 

149,399 

121,315 

160,207 

118,847 

195,775 

3,253,029 

672,621 

761,526 

292,871 

635,964 

11,373 

29,292 

34,494 

12,680 

357,157 

132,616 

15,992 

471,838 

497,321 

871,848 

7,533 

14,753 

368,238 

5,912 

19,353 

40,879 

218,928 

63,787 

2,969 

9,576 

7,335 

10,205 

58,171 

66,722 

47,092 

17,827 

21,505 

7.633 



Inhabitants 

to Square 

Mile. 



119.3 

48.6 

10.2 

7.78 

178.7 

149.4 

232.8 

262.3 

187. 

230.9 

85. 

3.07 

24.4 



20. 
7.8 
441.5 
165.9 
115.8 
290.9 
8.4 
15.1 
166.9 
5.3 
4. 
2.1 
241.4 
120.9 
4.2 
247. 
75.3 
28.9 
5.9 
15.6 
277. 
74.9 
81.8 
56. 
6. 
6.5 
7.4 
7.6 
7.7 
80. 



Capitals. 



Pekin 

London 

St. Petersburg 

Washington 

Paris 

Vienna 

Yeddo 

London 

Berlin 

Rome 

Madrid 

Rio Janeiro 

Constantinople ... 

Mexico 

Stockholm 

Teheran 

Brussels 

Munich 

Lisbon 

Hague 

Bogota 

Santiago 

Berne 

Lima 

Chuquisaca 

Buenos Ayres 

Stuttgart 

Copenhagen 

Caraccas 

Carlsruhe 

Athens 

Guatemala 

Quito 

Asuncion 

Darmstadt 

Monrovia 

Sal Salvador 

Port au Prince... 

Managua 

Monte Video 

Comayagua , 

San Domingo 

San Jose , 

Honolulu 



Population. 



,648,800 

1,251,800 

667,000 

109,199 

,825,300 

833,900 

,554,900 

,251,800 

825,400 

244,484 

332,000 

420,000 

,075,000 

210.300 

136,900 

120,000 

314,100 

169,500 

224,063 

90,100 

45,000 

115,400 

36,000 

160,100 

25,000 

177.800 

91,600 

162,042 

47,000 

36,600 

43,400 

40,000 

70,000 

48,000 

30,000 

3,000 

15,000 

20,000 

10,000 

44,500 

12,000 

20,000 

2.000 

7,633 



204 



POPULATION OF DARKE COUNTY. 





1860. 


1870. 


1870. 


1880 




Native. 


Foreign. 






1755 


2291 
243 
228 
781 

1239 
221 

1524 
177 

1366 

1743 

264 

67 

5688 
86 

2520 
356 

2007 
239 
452 

2088 
792 
798 

1226 

1093 
107 
346 
978 

1105 

1998 

450 

87 

150 

1212 
824 

1537 
117 

1983 


2196 
220 
211 

745 
1157 

203 
1491 

169 
1318 
1718 

255 

65 

5069 

85 

2161 

304 
1947 

239 

408 
1953 

686 

757 

1138 

1072 

99 

346 

857 
1066 
1931 

443 
82 

146 
1189 

797 
1498 

104 
1736 


95 
23 

17 

26 

82 

18 

33 

8 

48 

25 

9 

2 

619 
1 

359 
52 
60 


2827 


Bradford 


526 


AileD 


536 
1066 


285 
1246 


Blown 


1948 


Dallas 


542 


Butler 


1398 


1729 


Castine 


238 




983 
1385 


1837 


(J crnian 


1800 




257 


*Tampico 






Greenville 


4321 


6809 




69 




1650 


3535 


Pikeville 


85 


Harrison 


1823 


2159 


*Hollandsburg 








44 
135 

106 
41 
88 

21 
8 


546 


Jackson 


1346 


3192 


Union City 


1163 


Monroe 


722 

1015 

906 


1507 
1400 


Neave 


1083 


* Jefferson 




*Sampson 






Patterson 


748 

914 

1673 


121 

39 

67 

7 

5 

4 

23 

27 

39 

13 

247 


1283 




1249 


Twin 


2734 


Arcanum 


786 








Ithaca 




128 


Van Buren 


912 

542 

1397 


1530 


Wabash 


1135 


Washington 


1602 


Hillgrove 


186 


Wayne 


1652 


2763 


Versailles 


1163 


York -.. 


625 


797 


762 


35 


1000 






Totals 


26009 


32278 






40833 











* Not taken separately in 1880. 







^s:,~i. '■■• '■■'% ■'■"'?*:'■■- 



^^r, ^77/6rr^ 



GREENVILLE TP. 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 



Indian History — Organization and Early Settlement of the County, and 
Early History of Greenville Township and City. 



BY JOHX WHABBY. 



TO narrate the histoiy of an}' given locality is a labor that seldom satisfies the 
writer who engages in it. and more frequently fails to interest or gratify 
the reader. Many things must be omitted from want of information, and the rela- 
tion of many more, for the want of correct information as to both actors and 
events, would be better left unattempted. The uncertainty of human memory, and 
the defects, mutilations and losses of record evidence must frequently expose the 
labor of the historian to just criticism, and not unfrequently to unjust incredulity. 

The rise and fall of the " Northwest Territory." from its creation by the ordi- 
nance of July 13, 1787, to its present status of five large and populous States, 
now in a great measure controlling the nation of which the}' form so important a 
part, seems so like a vision of Ezekiel, Daniel or John, that the narration of that 
rise and progress must now, near the close of the first century of that progress, 
be deemed mythical and incredible. 

Ninety -three years ago. there were not within the limits of the Territory, 
exclusive of fifty or sixty thousand Indians, who have been swept away like the 
mist on the river, two thousand people, if half that number, of Caucasian lineage, 
and that thousand or upward have multiplied until the census of the current year, 
1880, will show a product of ten millions. This transformation has taken place 
within three generations, and has never been equaled, save in the close of the 
fourth and beginning of the fifth century, when the North Pole swarmed and a new 
race swept down and trod out of sight the old Roman Empire, extending from 
Thule to the Caspian, and from Ormus to the Pillars of Hercules. 

Ohio was the first-born of the ordinance of '87. and is now — if not the " key- 
stone " of the arch of the Union — the " Valley of Achor and the door of hope " of 
the Nation (we spell the word with a big N), of which she forms so conspicuous a 
part. 

But the writer has not undertaken to write the history of the United States, 
the Northwest Territory, nor the State of Ohio ; that duty must devolve upon 
somebody else. His only purpose is to gather up and save from utter oblivion 
some of the incidents, men and events, where presence and occurrence go to make 
a part, and a part only, of the history of the town of Greenville, and the township 
in which it is located. 

Some events in its earlier years made it then a place of some note, while many 
other events of later date may not seem to deserve recital or perusal here, and 
would be recorded to little purpose, save that the narrator desires to give obedi- 
ence to the old injunction, "not to despise the day of small things." 

The town of Greenville, the county seat of one of the largest and best agri- 
cultural counties of Ohio, like many other towns of the State, has a history, and, 
like many others whose history dates back to a period be3*ond the memory of '-the 

A 



208 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

oldest inhabitant," many events making part of the history are certain, and capa- 
ble of truthful and accurate narration, whilst many others arc of that character 
that, to now relate them with a truthful regard to time and place, and actors and 
circumstances, is a duty that requires care and labor to discriminate between myth 
and truth and between fiction and fact : and this the writer purposes to do as best 
he may. premising that many events of which mention will lie made came to his 
knowledge half a century ago, from the actors in those events, who are now all 
passed away. 

In the old Territorial days, under the administration of the first President of 
the United States, attempts were made to subdue the aboriginal race that occupied 
the Northwest Territory, and open it up for the occupancy of those who would 
plant and foster civilization ; and there were many such, who desired to find homes 
for themselves and their children after them, in the valleys of the Muskingum, 
Scioto, and the two Miamis. 

Scarcely had a settlement been projected in the Territory by Putnam and 
Symmes and their associates, founders of Marietta and Cincinnati, when an expe- 
dition was organized and force sent against the Indians of Ohio, under the com- 
mand of Gen. Josiah Harmar. 

This foray, ill disciplined, ill provided for and ill commanded, in a very short 
time was defeated and scattered, with great loss of men and means, and the pros- 
pect of the Territory was darkened. 

To this day, the accounts of Harmar's defeat are a puzzle and a trouble to 
historians, and their statements as to time and place disagree, and all are more or 
less right, and are also more or less wrong. 

The facts, when simply and truthfully related, were, that Harmar's army was 
in a state of mutiny, and had separated into three bodies, each " going on its own 
hook," that were met and disastrously defeated by the Indians on different days 
and places, between the headwaters of the Maumee, Miami and Scioto, in the region 
of what is now Hardin and Hancock Counties. The greater number of these 
forces thus divided — and nominally under Harmar's command, but in fact under no 
command whatever — were slaughtered or captured, and those who escaped fled as 
best they could to Wheeling, Pittsburgh, Limestone or Cincinnati. Of these, there 
were enough left to tell the tale, and it was told so many different ways, that, 
although nearly everybody believed a part, scarcely anybody believed but a part 
of the then current relations of Harmar's campaign and defeat. The disaster 
occurred in the summer of 1789. 

Maj. George Adams, then a soldier in Harmar's army, again in the serv- 
ice as a Captain of scouts under Wayne, and, nearly twenty years later, command- 
ant of the garrison at Greenville, during the negotiations preceding the execution 
of the treaty of 1814, of which notice will be taken, and, later in life, a Judge of 
the Court of Common Pleas of Darke County, was five times shot and severely 
wounded in one of three several defeats of Harmar. He survived, and was car- 
ried on a litter between two horses to Cincinnati, although on the way a grave was 
dug for him three evenings in succession. With his ashes in the Martin Cemetery, 
three miles east of Greenville, are two of the bullets of the five, which he carried 
in his body from 1789 until his decease in 1832. 

The next movement against the Indians was set on foot in 1791. At the head 
of this was placed in command by President Washington, who was a great stickler 
for red tape and things, Gen. St. Clair. Governor of the Northwest Territory, and 
with him was placed, as second in command. Gen. Richard Butler, with whom he 
had not been on speaking terms for ten years, owing to an old feud dating back to 
the Massacre of Wyoming, in the days of the Revolution. 

St. Clair, with an army of half-disciplined and half-provisioned men. marched 
north from Cincinnati, into an unknown wilderness, in October, L791, and before he 
reached the Wabash, which, in the absence of correct geographical knowledge, was 
supposed to be the St. Mary's River, his command was in almost the same condition 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 209 

of Harmar's army, two years before ; one regiment was in open mutiny, and 
was on the retreat, and another was sent back to reduce the refractory to subjec- 
tion. Late in the evening of November 3, 1791, his troops, which had been on a 
forced march, and on half rations, all day, lay down weary and hungry, in an 
improvised camp, on the bank of the river, where the town of Recovery is now 
located. The Indians were in force within a mile beyond the river, under the 
leadership of Little Turtle, the war chief of the Miamis, who, in this engagement, 
were re-enforced by the Wyandots, Pottawatomies and Shawnees, under their chiefs. 

Before daybreak on the morning of November 4, 1791, a day long remem- 
bered by many mourning families, from the Monongahela to the Miami, St. Clair's 
force, numbering about 1,300 men, was attacked, and in less than two hours 600 
men were dead and the residue routed and fleeing as fast as their famished condi- 
tion would permit. Many were slaughtered on the retreat, and it was no unusual 
thing, after the lapse of more than forty years, in clearing up the lands of Gibson 
Township, in which the site of the defeat is situated, to find the bleached bones of 
dead who fell by the wayside. 

The news of St. Clair's defeat spread over the land, and the nation was excited, 
and, as is frequently the case in like excitements, the actual loss, great as it was, was 
greatly exaggerated, and blame for the disaster placed on other shoulders than 
where it rightly belonged. 

No such disaster had befallen the whites in a conflict with the Indians, since 
Logan had defeated Lord Dunmore at the battle of the Point, before the Revolu- 
tion. A court-martial was called and deliberated ; after mairy days' investigation, 
St. Clair was acquitted of blame, and none dared to charge the disaster to those 
who should have been held responsible for it ; but now, after the lapse of almost 
a century, it is beginning to be understood that the disasters of 1789 and 1791 are 
to be laid at the door of Gen. Washington, then President of the United States, 
and Gen. Knox, his Secretarj" of War. 

St. Clair, in his march northward, passed over the plain on which the town of 
Greenville now stands, had not noted its adaptability to military uses, although he 
had fortified a post at Fort Jefferson, five miles south of it, and in a militaiy point 
of view having no characteristics of a locality that could be defended from an 
external enemy. 

The demand of the people of Western Pennsylvania and Northwestern Vir- 
ginia for more lands had its effect on Congress, as well as upon the President, and 
measures were taken to organize another campaign against the Indians, who yet 
held the valleys of the Miami, Scioto and Muskingum. For the command of the 
force sought to be raised to clear out and subjugate all the southern part of Ohio, 
the President selected Gen. Anthony Wayne, a Revolutionary General, j T et in the 
prime of life, as the commander of the force soon to be raised for the purpose of 
clearing the Northwest Territory of its enemies. 

Wayne had before him the knowledge so dearly bought by the preceding 
campaigns of Harmar and St. Clair, and fully appreciated the causes of disaster 
in each of those campaigns, and set himself to remedy the trouble so patent to a 
military man, that chiefly caused the failure of those campaigns. An army was 
soon recruited, numbering between three and four thousand men, carefully offi- 
cered, and then began the business of drill and discipline. 

The summer and fall of 1792, and the winter and spring of 1793, passed 
away, and Wayne's forces were yet under daily exercise, acquiring efficiency for 
the duty that would soon be required of them. Fort Washington, now inside the 
limits of Cincinnati ; Fort Hamilton, the present county seat of Butler County, and 
another fort, occupjdng the present site of Eaton, were built and garrisoned, and 
in the fall of 1793, Wayne, with the residue of his force, proceeded northward and 
occupied a plain on the southwest branch of the Great Miami, where be built and 
strongly fortified a post that was for the next two years to be his headquarters, 
and which he named, in honor of his old friend of the Revolution, Fort Greenville. 



210 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

Wayne's arrival on the ground on which he built Fort Greenville, and which 
now is wholly within the limits of the present town of Greenville, was on the 13th of 
October, 1793, and from that date may be said to commence the history of the town 
of Greenville, and with its history, it may also be said, commenced the develop- 
menl of the Northwesl Territory, as created by the ordinance of the old Congress 
six years before, into the now great States of Ohio. Illinois. Indiana, Michigan and 
Wisconsin, occupying the center, and in a great measure controlling the action. 
civil and political, of the United States of America. 

FORT GREENVILLE. 

When Wayne first occupied Fort Greenville, in the autumn of 1793, anything 
like a civil government in the Northwest Territory could hardly he said to have 
an existence, as the little hamlets of Marietta and Cincinnati were the only places 
between the Ohio and Mississippi where there was any call for a Judge or Justice 
of the Peace, a Sheriff or a Constable. The Territory had, two years before, been 
parceled out by the Governor and Council into the fiye counties of Washington. 
Hamilton, Knox, St. Clair and Wayne, the boundaries whereof at this day no man 
knoweth, and can only infer their location by learning that the Judges of the Ter- 
ritory performed circuit duty and went through the forms of holding courts at 
Marietta, Cincinnati. Vineennes, Kaskaskia and Detroit, the seats of justice of the 
several counties before named. 

The same fall that Wayne occupied Fort Greenville, a detachment of his army 
advanced northward and built and garrisoned small stockade fortresses of suffi- 
cient strength to withstand any force likely to be brought by his Indian foes against 
them at Fort Recovery, on the ground of St. Clair's defeat ; Loramie's, where the 
Indians and French burned out David and Alexander Loramie in 17.")!': at St. 
Mary's, on the river of the same name, which is a tributary of the Maumee. or. as 
it was then called, the Miami of the Lakes, and at some other points. Fort 
Recovery, soon after it was built, was attacked by an Indian force nearly ten times 
the number of its garrison, but safely withstood the attack and severely punished 
its assailants. In the Indian council which preceded the assault on Fort Recoy- 
ery. occurred one of those seemingly little disagreements which engendered dis- 
trust, but had an influence which, as we shall see. had a subsequent effect, and 
tended months afterward to spread distrust in the Indian host, and bear evil fruit. 
Little Turtle strongly urged his allies to let the fort alone, as it was not against 
such places that their warriors could hope for success. His efforts were unavail- 
ing, and the assault was made against his counsel and judgment, and he quietly 
informed his own tribe, the Miamis, that they could " see just as well if they kept 
back out of harm's way. and let those who wen' desirous of butting their heads 
against Gibson's palisades try it on, and see what would come of it.'' The Miamis 
profited by his advice, and although appearing to aid in the effort to win the vic- 
tory oyer Gibson and his garrison, after a whole day's hard fight and when night 
came and an account of killed and wounded was taken, were found to have sustained 
littleor no loss. The Wyandots. Pottawah >mies and Shawnees had suffered severely. 
This'brought about distrust and jealousy of the Turtle and his counsel that pre- 
vented his advice from being heeded, when it probably might have secured as great 
a victory over Wayne as he had obtained over St. Clair nearly three years before. 

Wayne passed the winter of 1793 94 in strengthening his position, securing 
supplies and getting his command in good lighting trim and order, as well as in 
obtaining full and thorough information of all that was going on in the Indian 
camps and councils. His spies, "trigged" out in their paint and grease, were 
everywhere from Greenville to beyond the Maumee. and took note of everything, 
and kept their commander thoroughly posted. Elliott and McKee were doing their 
besl at Detroit to stimulate their allies to perseverance, and had their adherents 
in Wayne's headquarters at Greenville ; and one prominent individual, implicated 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 211 

by intercepted letters, was arrested and ironed and laid in the guardhouse for 
months, and although the evidence was insufficient to establish his complicity and 
treachery by proof, such as a court would require, but few in the army had any 
doubt of his guilt. It is not best, even at this late day, to name the man alluded 
to, as his descendants in the third and fourth generation occupy high social stand- 
ing in Western Ohio. 

In June, 1704, Wayne, having learned that the Indian force was embodied and 
within a few miles of him, took the field with about 3,000 men, leaving still a 
strong garrison in Fort Greenville, and took up his line of march with care, cir- 
cumspection and no undue haste, to the northward, taking the route toward Lora- 
mie and St. Mary's. On the third night after leaving Greenville, his forces were 
encamped in the southeastern part of what is now Patterson Township, and the 
main body of the Indians were not more than two miles distant from him on the 
bank of Black Swamp Creek, in the same township. On that night, at a council 
held in the Indian camp, at which Maj. Adams, of whom mention has been pre- 
viously made in these pages, and who had so far recovered of the wounds received 
five years before, as to be in the service in Wayne's army, was present, disguised 
in full Indian rig and paint, Little Turtle strongly urged that an onslaught be 
made before morning. This advice was withstood by the Crane, head chief of the 
Wyandots, and by the Shawnee and Pottawatomie chiefs, and the head men of 
other tribes who were in the Indian force. The reasons given by those who 
opposed the Turtle's counsel were, that the}' desired Wayne to be farther away 
from his home, as they designated Fort Greenville, and that they could better 
engage him when they were nearer their friends, as the}' designated a British fort 
and garrison on the Maumee. which had been kept up in defiance of the stipulations 
of the treaty of 1783 ; but the true reason of their opposition to the Turtle's advice 
was their distrust of him. excited the previous autumn at Recovery. 

The views of the majority prevailed, and the two armies, seldom more than 
three or four miles apart, continued to move to the north until, on the morning of 
July 2n. 1704, at Rouge Be Bout, beyond the Maumee, in plain view of the 
English tort, and almost in reach of its guns, the Indians made a stand and were 
routed with considerable hiss, and fled for succor to the fort, but were not permit- 
ted to enter, as Col. Campbell, the commander, had a wholesome apprehension of 
what might befall him and his garrison, if he gave any cause, by manifesting an 
interest for the safety of his friends. Subsequently to the battle, some spicy 
correspondence took place between Wayne and Col. Campbell, but all that came of 
it was that Wayne contented himself with burning and destroying everything 
pertaining to the fort and its garrison outside of their stockade. After the defeat 
of the Indians, the commander built and garrisoned a fort named after himself, at 
the confluence of the St. Mary and St. Joseph Rivers, where they unite to form 
the Maumee, and another down the Maumee, at the junction with the Auglaize. 

The Indians, finding themselves sorely pressed by Wayne, who. as Little 
Turtle said, slept with his eyes open, and deriving no aid or comfort from their 
English allies, either on the Maumee or at Detroit, soon began to think that peace, 
on the terms they ascertained could be had. was better than to have their braves 
exterminated by the unerring rifles of Wayne's scouts, who seemed to them to be 
everywhere, began to make overtures, as they had learned an important lesson. 
In the old French war. which had been terminated in 1763, before many of those 
who now formed their force were born, their old men remembered that they were 
always upheld by their French allies, but the English race, now in power in Upper 
Canada, and along the frontier, cared no more for the Indians than they did for 
their dogs, save as it would subserve their own purposes, irrespective of what of 
good or evil might fall to the lot of the red men. 

Arrangements were made in the latter part of the spring of 1705. the chiefs, 
head men and warriors of a number of the tribes assembled at Fort Greenville, 
where, after several weeks' negotiation, the terms of a treaty were agreed upon, 



212 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

and. with all due formalities, signed by the contracting parties on the 3d da}' of 
Auiiust, 17!)."), and in due time was approved and confirmed, and peace restored. 
By this treaty, in consideration of sundry perpetual annuities to the several tribes 
represented at Greenville, some of which remain annually payable to this day, there 
was ceded to the United States almost the entire south half of the State of Ohio, 
and a large gore of Eastern Indiana, and a number of small tracts to be used by 
the United States as sites for occupation for military purposes within what yet 
remained as Indian Territory. 

Wayne's treaty opened up for settlement, by a white population, the valleys 
of the Muskingum, Hockhocking, Scioto and the Little and Great Miami Rivers, 
and the lower tributaries, and the business of surveying the newly acquired terri- 
tory into ranges, townships and sections, preparatory to entry and settlement, went 
on with little" intermission for several years, and after the withdrawal of Wayne's 
army and the evacuation of Greenville, Recovery, Loramie and other frontier posts 
by their garrisons, the surveyors employed by the Government, and their assistants, 
were the only white men who were at any time found within the limits of the terri- 
tory that in after years became the county of Darke, named after one of the brave 
but unfortunate officers of St. Clair's army, who met his death at Recovery in 
November, 1791. 

Fort Greenville was evacuated by its garrison in the spring of 1796, and, later 
in the same year, was burned down to obtain nails and other material to be used 
in the construction of the buildings of the first settlers of Montgomery County, 
in Dayton or its vicinity. 

During the occupation of Fort Greenville by Wayne's army, it was visited by 
M. Volney, a Frenchman of considerable note in the closing years of the last 
century, author of the " Ruins of Empires " and some other publications, the 
perusal of which afforded gratification to men who scouted the Bible as a book of 
fables. This man, who could not believe the ■ narrative of the deluge as 
given by Moses in the book of Genesis, was stuffed by the statement of some of 
Wayne's younger officers, who accompanied him on his trip to Greenville, as they 
passed the falls of Greenville Creek, some twelve miles below the fort, that the 
Ohio River, in times of great floods, backed the water of the Miami River and its 
tributaries until the water in the creek was raised to a level with the top of the 
falls. This yarn he gravely related as a fact in his book of " Notes of Travel in 
America," published after his return to Europe, thus demonstrating the truth of 
the apothegm " that in credulity, the unbeliever can go ahead of men of faith." 

In 1799, 1800, 1801 and 1802, Israel and Stephen Ludlow, Daniel C. Cooper, 
David Nelson and Benjamin Chambers, and in 1805, Fulton, McKhann and McLene, 
with their assistants, engaged in the work of surveying the land for the United 
States, were the only white men who were at any time within Darke County, so 
far as any knowledge has come down to us. No doubt Indians trapped and hunted 
within its borders, but that rests only on conjecture, grounded on its probability. 

Some time subsequent to the treaty of 1795— but the year cannot be ascer- 
tained, except that it was between 1796 and 1804— the Prophet, and his brother, 
the celebrated Tecumseh of the Shawnee tribe, emigrated from the Indian town of 
Upper Piqua, with a few families who adhered to them, and established a small 
Indian village above Greenville on the west side of Mud Creek ; the site of this 
village is now within the farms of William F. Bishop and Joseph Bryson, and con- 
tinued there until about 1811. The writer of these pages learned many years ago 
from the late Col. John Johnson, who, from the time of the elder Adams until 
the Presidency of Gen. Jackson, was agent on behalf of the United States 
for the Indian tribes of the Northwest Territory, that the Prophet and his 
adherents were driven off by his tribe, the Shawnees, on account of his 
and their bad character, that Black Hoof and the other Indians said that the 
Prophet was a bad man and a thief. This statement might well be believed 
without having any Indian's word for it. The writer in his time has seen and 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 213 

known several thousand Indians, but is satisfied that he never beheld half a dozen 
of the " noble red men " who would not 'steal whenever and wherever they could 
have the opportunity, anything and everything they could lay their hands on, 
unless it might be a ship's anchor or a pair of millstones. 

The character of the Prophet and his people was not in the least improved by 
their translation from Piqua to the Mud Creek town; they continued to steal as 
long as they remained there, and had they continued there until now would still 
have pursued the same high calling. A Frenchman, whose name cannot now be 
ascertained, built and occupied as a trading-house, on a small scale, a little log 
cabin on the west side of the creek, opposite the site of the burned fort, about the 
year 1805, but could not stand it very long; in the early part of the summer of 
1806, the Prophet and his Indians had stolen his entire stock, powder, lead, flints, 
tobacco and whisky, and the poor frog-eater was " busted " and left. 

FIRST SETTLEMENTS. 

We come now to the period when what may be called the first settlement of 
the town and township of Greenville, may be said to commence. Late in 1806, or 
early in 1807, Azor Scribner, leaving his wife and probably two young children 
near Middletown, came with a small stock of Indian goods, including tobacco and 
whisky, and opened out in the Frenchman's deserted cabin. He did not bring his 
family from Middletown until 1808, but at what time of the year is not now 
known, his eldest daughter yet living here, and who was born before he came here, 
being then too young to remember the time of year that her mother, her sister and 
herself were brought here by her father. 

It is now well understood that the first white man who, with a wife and chil- 
dren, emigrated to the county and settled in Greenville Township, was Samuel 
Boyd, who came in 1807 and built himself a cabin about two and a half miles 
north by east from the site of Fort Greenville, on the bank of a branch that yet 
goes by the name of Boyd's Creek. Boyd was a native of Maryland, had lived in 
Kentucky and was probably married there before he emigrated to Ohio, and had, 
as far as the writer has been able to learn, made a short stop of one or two years 
near the Miami, in Butler County, before emigrating to the wilderness that two 
years afterward created the county of Darke. "Boyd lost his wife about 1816, and 
she was the first person buried in the old graveyard below the railroad bridge ; the 
early settlers having previously used as a cemetery the lot on which the Catholic 
Church is erected. He died in 1829 or 1830 ; one of his daughters, the wife of 
John Carnahan, had died in 1821 or 1822, and another, the wife of Robert Martin, 
survived until about three years ago, and previous to her decease was for some 
years recognized at the " oldest inhabitant." Soon after Boyd came, Azor Scribner 
removed his family and, abandoning the cabin on the west side of the creek, occu- 
pied one of the buildings of the fort that had escaped the fire inside of the pickets. 
Scribner died in 1822 ; his widow in the early part of 1S25 married a Yankee 
adventurer, who, in less than a year, deserted her, and the last ever heard of him 
he was in a Canada jail on a charge of treason, having been involved in McKenzie's 
rebellion, which occurred some forty years ago. 

The next settler in the county, although not within Greenville Township, to 
which he afterward removed, was Abraham Studabaker, who settled on the south 
side of the creek below the bridge at Gettysburg. He came with his wife and one 
or two children in time to plant corn in the spring of 1808. 

In the summer of 1808, John Devor purchased from the United States the 
half-section of land which had been the site of Fort Greenville, and in conjunction 
with his son-in-law, Robert Gray, laid out, partly within and partly without the old 
fort, what may be called the initial part of the present town of Greenville, to which 
a dozen or more additions have since been made. Their town plat was executed 
and acknowledged on the 14th day of August, 1808, and sent to Miami County, 



214 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

which then included within its limits the whole of what is now Parke County, for 
record. 

On the same day that Devor entered the town half-section, he also entered 
for his neighbor, John Bonner, of Montgomery County, a halt-section some five 
miles down the creek below Greenville, and Maj. .Murray, of Hamilton, entered 
the quarter-section on which Fort Jefferson had been built by St. Clair on his ill- 
starred campaign of 1791. Later in the year, Mr. Studabaker entered the tract 
on which he settled below I rettysburg. The patents for Bonner's and Studabaker's 
land were not issued for many years. 

Alter the lapse of more than seventy years, it is a matter of considerable dif- 
ficulty either to state the order in which emigrants arrived in the new settlement, 
or even anything that would specify all who did come. It is also, at this day, a mat- 
ter of considerable uncertainty, if ascertained at all. to find out when what subse- 
quently became, by legislative enactment, Darke County, was organized as a civil 
township of -Miami County. This much is known, that the new settlement was re-en- 
forced by the arrival, in 1 808, of Thomas McGrinnis and family from what was yet the 
new State of Tennessee, and Barnabas Burns, who was married to the mother of the 
wife of McGrinnis, who was a native of either North or South Carolina, but emi- 
grated to Ohio from Tennessee. Both became land-owners on the west side of 
Mud Creek, between Greenville and the Prophet's town, as the Indian village was 
called, to which allusion has been made in these pages. The same year, or early in 
1809, came Enos Terry, afterward an Associate Judge of the Court of Common 
Pleas, and entered the quarter-section northeast of the town, and laid off upon it 
another town plat, also called Greenville, that, subsequently to the creation of 
Parke County, was established as the county seat, hut so continued for a brief 
period. The town site occupied about twenty or twenty-five acres in the northwest 
corner of the quarter-section. It was then the day of small things ; no man ever 
built upon or dwelt within the limits of the town. Horatio G. Phillips, of Dayton, 
purchased tw r o lots, for which he never received a title, but for which he received 
in lieu a deed in subsequent 3-ears of two lots in Devor and Gray's town, to 
purchase his acquiescence in the measures taken to remove the seat of justice of 
the county to the other town on the southeast side of the creek. In 1809, came 
William and Joseph Wilson, from the Little Miami, to which they had emigrated 
011I3' a few years before, from "Washington County, in Pennsylvania ; both bought 
land settled north of Greenville, and, both being natives of the holy sod of "Ould 
Ireland." the name of " Ireland " was given to, and for many years retained by. that 
part of Greenville Township where they were located. William Wilson was located 
on a quarter-section but half a mile north of the Devor purchase of the site of 
the old fort, and one mile north of his quarter was the quarter-section of his 
brother Joseph. Both men had families of children, some quite young and others 
grown up to manhood. William Wilson died in 1821, and his wife several years 
afterward. Joseph Wilson sold out in 1826, and, with his family, sons and daugh- 
ters then grown up and married, emigrated to the West, somewhere, to "grow up 
with the country." Not very long after Devor and Gray had laid off the town of 
Greenville, probably within a year. Gray disposed of his interest in the newly laid- 
out town, and the residue of the half-section in which it was situated, to his aunt, 
Mi's. Rachel Armstrong, then a widow with four young children — the eldest not 
ten years old — who. with her family, removed to and settled in Greenville, about 
the close of 1809. Devor, the other proprietor, still continued to reside in the 
county of Montgomery. Mrs. Armstrong, with her nephew, William Devor, a son 
of the co-proprietor, who came and resided as a member of her family with her ; 
both died of a disease called the "cold plague.'' in January. 1812. .Mrs. Arm- 
Strong's children were then taken in charge by her relatives in Warren and Ham- 
ilton Counties; one of them. Samuel Armstrong, born in February, 1806, yet 
survives, unmarried and keeping bachelor's hall, at Walnut llilis, Hamilton 
County. 






HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 215 



FORMATION OF DARKE COUNTY. 

The Legislature of Ohio, then in session at Zanesville, by their act of Janu- 
ary 3, 1809, created the county of Darke out of territory previously forming a part 
of the county of Miami, and. within a year afterward, a commission appointed by 
the Legislature established the seat of justice of the newly formed county at 
Terry's, town of Greenville, north of the creek. This selection was procured, as it 
was soon afterward charged, by what fifty years later would have been denomi- 
nated " cheenanigen," practiced on the Commissioners by Terry and old Billy 
"Wilson, the first of whom it was alleged had promised each of the Commissioner's 
a choice lot in the new county seat, and the other had added strong persuasions in 
the way of a liberal use of whisk}' and some ready money, so that even at that 
early day, the corruption of men occupying positions of trust was not deemed to 
be a myth or an impossibility. Whatever the facts may have been, no investiga- 
tion was ever made, nor were any legal proofs ever offered, but the matter was 
subject of public talk and general suspicion. 

And whilst speaking on this subject, it may as well be stated, that, by the 
enactment of the Legislature at the session of 1810-11, a new commission was 
created, to whom was confided the duty of relocating the seat of justice of the 
count}-. This commission, consisting of Messrs. Barbee and Gerard, of Miami 
County, and Lanier, of Preble, after considering the propositions of Terry, David 
Briggs, and Devor and 3Irs. Armstrong, looking to the material benefits to the 
county, as proffered b}' the parties, accepted the proposition of Devor and Mrs. 
Armstrong, and selected as the future county seat the town laid out at Wayne's 
old fort, of Greenville. 

The accepted proposition covenanted to donate to the county one-third of all 
the town lots then laid out, or that they or their heirs might thereafter lay out, on 
the adjoining lands in the west half of Section 35, in which their town plat was 
located. 

Some years after. Mrs. Armstrong having died in the mean time, Devor, for 
himself and on behalf of the heirs of Mrs. Armstrong, pursuant to the order of 
the Court of Common Pleas, executed their contract so far as the lots then laid 
off was concerned, by conveying to the Commissioners of Miami County, in trust 
for the county of Darke, when it should thereafter be organized, thirty-two of the 
ninety-six lots then laid out. but, although additional town lots on the adjacent 
land of the half-section have since been laid out by the heirs of Devor, and also 
by the heirs of Mrs. Armstrong, no further donation or conveyance has ever been 
made, nor have the Commissioners of Darke County ever demanded or required 
any further performance of their covenant. 

After the creation of the county in 1809. a number of families emigrated to 
Greenville and its vicinity ; some remained only for a short period, whilst others 
resided here until their decease, or until, in after years, the glowing accounts of a 
'■ better land," farther toward the setting sun. tempted them to seek their fortunes 
on the banks of the Wabash. St. Joseph. Illinois and Missouri, and in the prairies 
of Iowa. Kansas and Nebraska. The names of some of them are no longer remem- 
bered, and of all that had attained to manhood or womanhood, who came prior to 
the close of 1S12, not one remains : all are gone, and even their descendants are 
as the forest leaves after the frosts and snows of winter have passed — lying in the 
ground, or blown away. 

Among those who came between the spring of 1809 and the fall of 1810, the 
writer, at this distant day. can only name a part, and of that part were Moses 
Scott, from Southwestern Pennsylvania, who. with his son William, were afterward 
successive Sheriffs of Darke County, serving in the first, second and third regular 
terms of that office after the organization of the county : John Studabaker and 
Abraham Miller, brother and brother-in-law to Abraham Studabaker. who hail set- 
tled down the creek some two years before : they were located on lands on the old 



216 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

trace to Fort Jefferson, some two miles south of Greenville ; Scott purchased a 
quarter-section, a half-mile south of theDevor purchase, that has for the last thirty 
years or more been the property of David Studabaker, and also purchased two lots 
adjoining the public square in Greenville, on which he erected a two-story log 
house, in which for the period of from twelve to lift ecu years, he kept what in those 
days was regarded as an A No. 1 tavern, or inn. where the weary traveler could be 
regaled on corn bread, venison, coffee, tea or whisky, as might best suit his appetite 
or mitigate his hunger and thirst. Scott and what were left of his family migrated 
to Fort Wayne, End., in 1S24. In the Indian troubles of 1812, he had his 
powder horn shot away from his side ; a number of years before, he had a narrow 
escape when engaged in the whisky insurrection in Western Pennsylvania, and his 
guests at the tavern in Greenville were always entertained by a recital of how he 
escaped powder and lead in Pennsylvania, as well as a detail of the powder-horn 
adventure in the prairie above Greenville. About the time of Scott's advent in 
Greenville, came Charles Sumption, commonly known as the " Wax-works," with a 
family, consisting of a wife, two sons and four daughters. His son George settled 
on what is now the Bishop Farm, on Mud Creek, which he sold in 1829, and went to 
the St. Joe country in Northwest Indiana. Charles ultimately settled up the creek. 
about six miles above Greenville, in Washington Township. One of the daughters 
married Benoni Overfield, and was long remembered by the traveling public as the 
first-class landlady of the Overfield Tavern in Troy. Another was married to Jesse 
Rush, who also migrated with George Sumption to the St. Joe, in 1820. Another 
daughter married a blackguard named Henry Lowe, who came here from Kentucky 
on the hunt of runaway negroes in 1812. The elder Sumption having buried his 
his first wife and married a second, died near what is now known as Coletown in 
1825. 

Early in 1810, came from Pickaway Plains^ below Circleville, on the Scioto, 
James Bush, Henry Hush. Andrew Bush and Henry Creviston, and settled, the 
two first-named at and adjoining the Prophet's town, on Mud Creek. Andrew Bush 
on the West Branch, where it was crossed by what was known as the " Squaw 
Road" or Delaware Path. Creviston, after a year or two, and after his brother-in- 
law. .Matthew Young, came out from Pickaway County, in conjunction with him 
purchased land northeast of Coletown, where he resided until 1S25. when he went 
a few miles farther up the creek, and settled in Washington Township. On the 
organization of the county, in the winter of 1816-17, James Bush was chosen by 
the Legislature as one of the Associate Judges of the Court of Common Pleas. 
which office he held for fourteen years, being re-elected by the Legislature in 1824 ; 
at the expiration of his second term, Judge Bush with all his family — save one 
daughter who, in 1828, was married to the late John Deardorff — removed to Eel 
River, in Indiana. 

Andrew Bush was murdered by the Indians in 1812. as will be elsewhere 
adverted to in these pages, and Henry Bush died in 1813, leaving a widow who 
was subsequently married to James Bryson, and four children, three sons and one 
daughter, of whom only his second son, Lemuel Rush, is now living, at the advanced 
age of about seventy-five years, about three and a half miles north of Greenville. 
With the Bush brothers, came their brother-in-law, John Hiller. and settled on the 
West Branch, adjoining Andrew Bush. After the outbreak of the Indian troubles, 
in 1812, and the murder of Andrew Hush. Hiller and his family left and went to 
the .Miami, a mile or two above Piqua, where he remained until about 1816, when 
he returned to bis farm on the 'West Branch, where he died in L828, leaving a 
widow, five sons and three daughters, all of whom are now dead, the last. Aaron 
Hiller. Esq., having died some two years ago on his farm adjoining the land on 
which his father settled in L810. 

The emigration in L81 1 was very slight, and of those who came scarcely any 
remained ; but of those who found their way here, one name must not be omitted. 
Abraham Scribner, a brother of the Azor Scribner who has been previously 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 217 

noticed, came to Greenville in the summer or early fall of 1811. He had previ- 
ously been master of one or more vessels engaged in the navigation of the Hudson 
River, from New York to Troy, or in the coasting trade from Passamaquoddy to 
the capes of the Chesapeake, and, sometimes, as far south as Hatteras. 

When he came to the county of Darke, he was about thirty years old. From 
exposure, while commander of a vessel a year or two before, he had nearly lost the 
sense of hearing, and this infirmity, in connection with some other peculiarities, 
made him a man singular and exceptional in his character and deportment. 

Part of the time he spent in Greenville, in the family of Mrs. Armstrong, until 
her death in January, 1812, and part of the time in Montgomery County, in the 
family of John Devor, one of the proprietors of Greenville, whose daughter Rachel 
he married in 1814. AVhat he engaged in to make for himself a living for a year 
or more after he came to this country, none now living knows ; he appeared to be 
always busy, and yet no one could tell what he was doing or whether he was doing 
anything. Being at Dayton in the spring of 1813, he enlisted in Col. Dick Johns- 
ton's mounted regiment, and with it went to Upper Canada, where, in the fall of 
that year, he participated in the battle of the Fallen Timber, where Proctor was 
defeated and Tecumseh was killed. After being discharged from the service, 
about the time he married Miss Devor, and having entered the prairie quarter- 
section above the mouth of Mud Creek, now owned by Knox & Sater, he erected a 
log house upon it, and brought his wife from Montgomery County and went to 
housekeeping. 

In about two years, Scribner sold his quarter-section, on which he had only 
paid his entrance money, $80, to John Compton, of Dayton, for $1,600, and took 
his pay in a stock of goods at retail price, and opened out a store. 

In the summer of 1821, Scribner lost his first wife, and, after an interval of a 
few weeks, married a second wife, Miss Jane Ireland, of the vicinity of New Paris, 
who also died in the summer of 1822. After the death of his second wife, he sold 
out his stock of goods, and, having placed his children among friends, went to the 
Maumee, where he purchased land in Henry Count}-, and fooled away his money in 
half clearing some land and having several thousand rails made, about which, five 
years afterward, Jake De Long wrote to him that " they were lying in the woods, 
and getting no better very fast." In a few months, he returned to Greenville 
and resumed the mercantile business, in which he continued the residue of his 
life. In January, 1 825, he married his third wife. He died in March, 1847, in the 
sixty-sixth year of his age. 

This much time and space has been devoted to Mr. Scribner, because, during 
ten or twelve years of his life, he was " the power " in the county ; he was the 
autocrat and ruler of the Democratic party, and discharged all the functions 
of caucuses, primary elections and nominating conventions ; those he allowed to 
run for office ran and were elected, and those he forbade had to keep shady and 
hold their peace. But at last he forked off from Jackson Democrac}', although he 
would be " right side up" now among Democrats, for he was an uncompromising, 
adherent to the resolutions of 1798 — State rights and Calhounism. His last wife 
survives, after thirty-three jeavs of widowhood, living with one of her sons in 
Western Indiana. The only survivor of the children of his first wife, Mrs. S. J. 
Arnold, lives in Greenville. 

It may be as well here as elsewhere, to relate an occurrence which tended, in 
its consequences, greatly to retard the early settlement, not only of Greenville and 
Darke County, but various other towns and counties in Western Ohio and South- 
eastern Indiana. The mission of Tecumseh to stimulate the western and southern 
tribes of Indians to engage in a general war against the whites was generally 
known from the Lakes to New Orleans, but it was not so well known that 
his efforts had been in the main unsuccessful, and people were alarmed and 
excited. He had as }-et, owing to the good sense of Little Turtle. Black Hoof and 
the Crane, failed to enlist the Miamis. Shawnees or Wvandots in what those 



218 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

chiefs deemed a senseless and wild undertaking, that in the end would bring great 
calamity upon their tribes, when a witless freak of cruelty, cowardice and treachery 
backed his efforts and turned the scale. 

A small stockade had hern erected :it Greenville, and was garrisoned by a few 
men under Capt. Wolverton and Lieut. Fish. David Conner had a small trading- 
house in Greenville, where he dispensed blankets, calico, powder, lead, flints, 
tobaccOj whisky, and other Indian necessaries, to the "noble red men.'' A Miami 
Indian, with his squaw and their son. :i hoy of some thirteen or fourteen years. 
were coming from the northwest to Greenville tor supplies, and in the evening 
encamped beside what was afterward known as Irwin's spring, within less than a 
mile of the town. A white man. who had traveled with them for some miles, came 
into town and made mention of the matter, and it became known in the garrison. 
Wolverton, who was a man of some sense, was absent, and Fish, who had no sense 
at all. was in command. Here was an opportunity to acquire a character 
for bravery at small cost, and it was not to be thrown away, and he laid his plans 
accordingly ; and the old adage that '-the greater the coward the more cruel the 
devil." was again to be verified. 

At break of day the next morning. Fish, with three or four of his command. 
drew near the camp. The woman had risen, and was gathering wood for a fire to 
cook their morning meal, and was shot down. Her husband arose on the alarm, 
and was also instantly killed. The hoy tied, but as he was crossing the point of 
the prairie, was shot at and wounded in the wrist : he escaped, and such was the 
rapidity with which he and his friends spread the news of this dastardly act. and 
such its effect upon the Indian mind, that, before 10 o'clock the next day. Fort 
Meigs, a hundred miles distant, was beleaguered by 2.000 raging savages. The 
tomahawk was raised by nearly all the Indian tribes of the Northwest, and 
from that time until after Harrison's victoiy over Tecumseh and Proctor at 
the Fallen Timber, the settlers on the frontier were only preserved from -1110 
terror by night and the arrows that flieth by day " by the most unremitting watch- 
fulness. 

On the 18th day of June. 1812, Congress declared war against Great Britain, 
and the little fort at Greenville, which had been built and garrisoned on Indian 
account, some mom lis previous, became a permanent establishment, until the close 
of the war and declaration of peace, in 1815. Its garrison was usually composed 
of men gathered from the neighboring counties of Miami. Montgomery, Greene, 
"Warren. Butler and Preble, as well as of some who came to Darke County to spy 
out the land, and stay, if they liked it. Among these men. but few names can now 
be recalled, and they would hardly be remembered, but from events with which 
they were connected, or because when the troubles were over, they remained as 
residents of the county. Among these, can be enumerated John and Samuel Lor- 
ing, James Cloyd, David and Peter Studabaker (brothers of Abraham and John 
Studabaker, already mentioned), Jacob Miller (who for many years was known by 
the cognomen of"Proaps"), Joseph Cass. Asa Spencer, Thomas Briggs, David 
Riffle, Hezekiah am! Lewis Phillips, and .John Ellis. Some of these men were 
married, but for the time being had left their wive i and children " below in the sett le- 
nient." as the common phrase then was. and others, either during the war or at 
its close married in the vicinity. .John boring had entered a quarter-section adjoining 
Devor, as early as 1809, bul had sold to John Stoma-, who was killed by the Indi- 
ans near the firsl crossing of Miller's Pork, on the trace to Lexington, in August. 
1812, on the same day that Elliotl was killed by the same enemies, on the same 
trace, about three or four miles nearer to Greenville, from which place both had 
been sent by the officer in charge of the garrison, with dispatches t<> tfaj. Price. 
requesting re-enforcement to the small garrison, deemed necessary in consequence 
of the murder of Andrew Push and two children of William Wilson, which had 

rred only a day or two before. A considerable part of the Loring. quarter- 
section is now part of the '.own of Greenville. Sam Loring brought his family to 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 219 

Darke County after the war, and located on the quarter-section on which a portion 
of the village of Palestine is laid out. James Cloyd, at the return of peace, mar- 
ried a daughter of Andrew Noffsinger, and remained a resident of German Town- 
ship, until his decease, some four or five years ago, at which time he was Presi- 
dent of the Pioneer Association of Darke County. John Ellis was in St. Clair's 
army at the time of the defeat at Recovery, in 1791 ; was with Wayne from 1793 
to 1796, and participated in the defense of Recovery, at the time of the Indian 
attack, and in the rout of the Indians at Rouge de Bout, in 1794: ; after the second 
treaty of Greenville, in August, 1814, he brought his family and settled at Castine, 
where he resided lor a number of years, and subsequent to 1840, removed to Mer- 
cer County, near Recoveiy, where, after some years' residence, he died, at the age 
of over ninety. Ellis, in his youth, had been a prisoner with the Indians, and 
exhibited, ever after, through his long life, many Indian characteristics. David 
Studabaker was killed in the army, during the war of 1812. Peter Studabaker, 
between 1825 and 1830, removed to the Wabash, below Recovery, and some years 
later, farther down the river in Indiana, where his death occurred some twent}' 
y ears since. The Phillips brothers, about 1816, located on Miller's Fork, near the 
south boundary of Darke County, where both died in their old age. Joseph Gass, 
who was a near relation of the compiler of the journal of Lewis and Clark's expe- 
dition to the mouth of the Columbia River, at the commencement of this century, 
married a daughter of William Wilson, resided in several localities in Greenville 
Township, until about 1 833, when he left and went to Wisconsin ; the last known 
of him, he was at Milwaukee, about forty years ago. Two of his daughters reside 
in Dayton, and are the only members of his family now known to be living. Asa 
Spencer married a daughter of Joseph Wilson, emigrated to the northwest about 
1825, and in a brief period was followed b} r his father-in-law, with all his children, 
sons and daughters. . The last known of Spencer and the Wilsons was some seven 
or eight years ago. A slander suit was then pending, between him and one of his 
brothers-in-law, and John Wilson was here to take the depositions of the old 
inhabitants, to establish the character and standing of Spencer in this community, 
fifty years before, as a hog-thief. David Riffle, after the war, purchased land on 
Stillwater, above where Beamsville now is, and removed there in 1814, and after 
the lapse of a few years, died there about 1820. Thomas Briggs married the 
Widow Wilson, relict of the William Wilson who was distinguished by the name of 
" Little Billy Wilson " ; his uncle, William Wilson, the father of the children mur- 
dered by the Indians, being known as " Old Billy." His wife died between 1845 
and 1850, and he followed her to the grave a year or two later. u Proaps " never 
married ; he lived about, from " pillar to post," among relatives and friends, until 
he had attained more than his threescore and ten years, when he passed away at 
Pete Studabaker's, on the Wabash. These personal reminiscences might be greatly 
extended, and probably interest the reader, but they must be brought to a close. 
The writer of these pages was personally acquainted with most of those of whom 
he has written, and his recitals of the events narrated derived from them or his 
personal knowledge ; is now in the "sear and yellow leaf " of age, and human 
memory fails to retain and be able to transmit, with any certainty, the persons and 
events of which memory alone, without the aid of pen or stone, and in the absence 
of all living, can now bear testimony. 

Nothing has yet been said about what might be called the civil history of the 
town and township of Greenville, or the county of Darke. 

The laying-out of the town of Greenville, as we have seen, occurred anterior 
to the creation of the county of Darke, and both events, so far as now known, 
preceded any organization of town, township or county, as a "body politic.'' At 
what period elections were first held for civil officers, might probably he ascer- 
tained from a search in the office of the Secretary of State, at the Capital, if they 
were not irretrievably lost in the removal of the seat of government from Zanes- 
ville to Chillicothe, when public records and documents disappeared, and in all 



220 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

probability went down the Hood of the Hocking into the Ohio, and thence, by way 
of the Ohio, past New Orleans, to the Gulf of Mexico. 

The most ancient memorial relating to civil or criminal procedure is the 
judgment of Enos Terry, rendered as a Justice of the Peace, against a stray negro 
who was arrested, arraigned and tried before him for stealing a brass watch from 
a soldier of the Greenville garrison, in 1812. On the conviction of the negro, a 
sentence was pronounced by Terry unknown to the books, and not set down or 
nominated in the statutes. The negro was required to submit to one of two pen- 
alties, at his own option. Either to bear the infliction of the Mosaic forty lashes, 
save one, or be stripped stark naked and climb a thorny honey locust before 
Teny's door. Abe Scribner, who was present when the trial came off and 
sentence was pronounced, made a lifelong enemy of Terry, by suggesting to him 
that his two daughters, one of whom afterward married John Mooney, and the 
other Bill Scott, that in case the negro took to thorns, should assist him up the 
locust. 

Subsequently, John Purviance, David Briggs and Terry were Justices of the 
Peace of Greenville Township, which, as yet, was co-extensive with the entire 
county, no other divisions being made until after the organization of the county, 
pursuant to an act of the General Assembly of December 14, 1816. At a later 
period, Samuel McClure, who lived on Whitewater, and Jacob Carlaugh, who 
resided at Stillwater, were commissioned Justices. 

To pursue the civil history of the township of Greenville whilst it embraced 
the entire county and remained as a mere appanage of Miami Count}', and to 
know who were trustees or constables, would but little interest the reader of these 
pages, and for that reason the further reference to that matter is omitted. But it 
may as well be stated here as elsewhere, that from the first setting-up of a civil 
polit}' in Greenville Township, when it was co-extensive with the county, until a 
county organization took place under the act of December, 1816, no dismember- 
ment took place, and until a cutting-up under the authority created and set in 
motion by that act, it remained entire. On perfecting the new county organization, 
its dimensions were considerably reduced, and subsequent changes in its limits 
were made from time to time until 1828, since which time its boundaries have 
been unchanged. 

After the defeat of Tecumseh and Proctor in the fall of 1813, the Indian 
allies of Great Britain were desirous for peace, as well as in want of other things, 
which they could only have by making peace, and overtures to that end from the 
hostile tribes were made to the representatives of the United States Government. 
The chiefs and head men were invited to a conference and council at Greenville, 
early in the spring of 1814; some of the tribes were tardy in responding to the 
invitation, being no doubt, to some considerable extent hindered and delayed 
through English influence, but about the middle or latter end of June some three 
or four thousand Indians, representing a number of the tribes, were encamped 
around Greenville and its vicinity. The United States was represented by Gens. 
Harrison and Cass, historic names in our annals, and the conference commenced. 
The negotiation, accelerated or delayed as outside intluences prevailed, for even at 
that early day whisky and money were factors to be used, considered and disposed 
of, as the exigencies of statecraft required, was protracted lor some weeks, until 
on the 20th of August, 1814, all differences were reconciled and the second treaty 
of Greenville was duly signed. 

Since that day.no Indian war has troubled Ohio or Indiana, although in 
1824, a cowardly and brutal murder of a family of Indians migrating from the 
State of New York to the West, by some white outlaws, in the vicinity of what 
were known as the Delaware towns, in Indiana, well-nigh occasioned an outbreak 
that might have equaled that, to which Fish, by his brutal and cowardly conduct, 
gave rise twelve years before. David Conner, who but a few years before had 
established himself as an Indian trader, on the Mississinewa, near what was known 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 221 

as ' ; Llewellyn's," and who had an influence over the Miamis and Pottawatomies 
superior to their native chiefs, exerted himself to prevent the lifting of the toma- 
hawk, and was successful. The murderers, two in number, whose names are now 
forgotten by the writer, but may be found in the criminal records of Madison 
County, in Indiana, were arrested, indicted, tried, convicted and hanged. Conner, 
by his efficiency in securing justice, and his wise counsels preventing war, so 
won the good will and esteem of the Indians of the Miami tribe, that in solemn 
council he was made a chief of the tribe and with all proper rites and ceremonies 
duly inaugurated and installed into his office. It may not here be amiss to relate 
an incident of Conner's life that occurred some years previous. He had estab- 
lished himself as an Indian trader at Recovery, very soon after the execution of 
the treaty of 1814, and in effecting that treaty his influence with the Indians had 
been exerted, and by his exertions he had made some enemies amongst not only 
white men but Indians. One evening, several of the latter waited upon him at 
his trading-house, and deliberately notified him that the object of their visit was 
to take his life. He by his answer to them apparently acquiesced, but asked a 
few minutes' respite to put things in order so that others might not suffer loss by 
his taking-off. This was granted, and the}' took their seats to enable him to prop- 
erly fix up things. He deliberately spread a deerskin on the floor and emptied a 
keg of powder on it ; and while they wondered what he would do next, he sprang 
to the fire and seized a brand and swore in good strong Miami that he and they 
would all go to hell together. The Indians stood not upon the order of their 
going, but went in what was unusual to an Indian, "very much hurry.'' In speak- 
ing of the matter afterward, one of the Indians who took part in the transaction 
told the writer that " Conner one devil of a man, he care no more for an Indian 
than he did for himself." He was never again molested by them. It may as well 
be stated here that Conner came to Greenville late in 1811 or early in 1812, and 
opened a small store and trading-house ; and with him came David Thompson 
and purchased and settled upon the quarter- section south of Greenville, where 
David Studabaker now resides. Thompson had been a soldier in Wayne's army 
at Greenville, and with him at Rouge de Bout; he remained a resident of the 
count}- until his decease, about 1840, when he had attained the age of more than 
eighty years ; his wife died a few years later, and his oldest daughter, the widow 
of the late Judge Beers, his only surviving child of eight — four sons and four 
daughters — resides about a mile north of the town, and has attained an age of 
about eighty } r ears. 

There was in attendance at Greenville during the time of the negotiations 
preceding the treaty and until it was signed, a large concourse of white men as well 
as Indians. Men were here from Cincinnati, Dayton, Hamilton, Chillicothe, and 
various other places in Ohio ; Maysville, Lexington, Frankfort, and other places in 
Kentucky : from points on the Ohio River, and even from Maryland and Pennsyl- 
vania. Many of these came to look at the country with a view to a settlement in 
it if they were pleased with it, and the Indian question so settled that they could 
emigrate to it and be freed from Indian disturbances ; others to look out lands 
that it would be safe to buy as an investment of their surplus rnone}- ; others to 
see what was to be seen, and make money if they could out of either Indians or 
white men as opportunity should offer, aud many came with no defined object. 
Between the time of the treaty and the opening of the year 1816, many entries of 
land in Darke County were made at the Land Office in Cincinnati. The lands 
wei*e sold by the Government on a credit of one-eighth down and the residue in 
seven annual installments. A number of tracts in the vicinity of Greenville were 
taken up on speculation that did not change hands for many years, and were kept 
unimproved. Among those who thus purchased, and probably never again saw 
the lands they bought, were Gen. James Taylor, of Newport; Gen. James But- 
ler, of Frankfort, Ky. ; George P. Torrence, David K. Este, David Wade and 
William Burke, of Cincinnati ; Nathan Richardson, of Warren County ; Joseph 



222 HISTORY OF PARKE COUNTY. 

Hough, of Chillicothe; Talbot Iddings, Andrew Hood and .John Devor, of Mont- 
gomery County, and some others, whose purchases many of them long remained 
an eyesore, withheld from improvement, in the vicinity of Greenville. Many of 
these tracts, none of which were less than a quarter-section, remained in first 
hands from twenty to forty years, brought iii the end but little more than the pur- 
chase money and interest, to those who had purchased them, and added proof, if 
proof were accessary, that the well-being and progress of society in this nation 
demands that the title of the soil, vested in the National Government or the 
States, should not be transferred save to actual settlers. 

Many other purchases were made on credit, by men who failed to pay out, 
and were compelled in the end to relinquish part to save the residue, or entirely 
forfeit their purchases. The United States was. in the end. under the pressure of 
the debt entailed by the war of 1812 and other causes, compelled to abandon the 
system of selling the national demand upon credit. 

Congress, however, in a year or two after the forfeiture, authorized the issue 
of what was termed land scrip, to those who had lost their purchases, equal 
in amount to what they had paid, which. 1 icing receivable at any Government land 
office in payment for the lands of the United States, became for some years a part 
in some measure of the business currency of the country, as the scrip could pass 
from hand to hand until it was canceled at the land office. 

The emigration to the town, township and county, from the time of the 
"stampede" on the breaking-out of the Indian troubles, and until after the treat- 
ies 1 ict ween the United States and both the Indians and England, was scarcely 
noticeable. Although many people came here, they did not come to sta}-, and 
were here for transient purposes only, and the population of the town, township 
and county, after the departure of the crowd who were here at the treaty, and 
after the withdrawal of the garrison at Greenville and from the other small stock- 
ades erected for protection in the evil days at Fort Nesbitt, Fort Black and Fort 
Briar, was little, if any, greater than in the spring of 1812. 

It may not lie amiss here to recapitulate, as well as can now be done, who 
were as residents within the limits of the township of Greenville after the treaty 
was signed in 1814, and by the term limits of the township confine the enumera- 
tion to the bounds of what is now Greenville Township, and not. as then, the 
whole county of Darke. In the town were Moses Scott, Azor Scribner, David 
Connor and John Loring, and the wife of the murdered John Stoner and his 
orphaned children. 'With these, as boarders or employes off and on. were Abra- 
ham Scribner, James Cloyd, Philder G. Lanham, Silas Atchison, and probably 
some others, whose residence cannot be definitely stated. North of the town, in 
Ireland, dwelt Enos Terry. Joe Wilson, Old Billy Wilson, Little Billy Wilson, 
Asa Spencer, and in their families as dependents and hangers-on, John Mooney, 
Joe GasSj and probably others not now remembered. Down the creek, below the 
town, and within a mile of it. was David Briggs, with whom resided his brother 
Thomas. Up Greenville Creek, Aaron and Matthias Dean had commenced the 
erection of the mill in many years afterward designated Dean's Mill, but, on the 
murder of Bush, the work ceased, and they left for the Miami, near Middletown, 
and did not return and complete it until after the war. Up Mud Creek, on the 
west side, were Thomas McGinnis, Barney Burns, Henry and James Rush. The 
widow of Andrew Bush, with her two children, the oldest of whom was born 
November 28, 1809, lived on the West Branch where it was crossed by the 
" Squaw Koad." David Miles was on the knoll where Mr. Griffin now resides, 
about half a mile southwest of the mouth of .Mud Creek. On the east side of 
Mud Creek were Abraham .Miller and John Studabaker. and just above the last, 
hut outside the present township boundary, Zadok Reagan had located in the edge 
of the prairie, at what was known in after years ;is the "Burnt Cabin." On Bridge 
Creek were David Thompson mid George Freshour. Charles Sumption, the 
••waxworks,'' lived in divers places, sometimes in Greenville, others on Bridge 





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BROWN, TP. 



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HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 225 

Creek and on Mud Creek. He moved so often that his locality at any given date, 
after the lapse of nearly seventy years, cannot be stated with certainty. In his 
family at times were found Overfield and Low, who became his sons-in-law, and it 
may as well be stated here as elsewhere, that the marriage of one of Sumption's 
family — -either his son Charles to a daughter of Mrs. Barney Burns, or one of his 
girls, Jemima or Sarah, who previous to the treaty became the wives of Overfield 
and Low — was, in all probability, the first rite of that character solemnized in the 
county. There may have been others than those named resident in the township 
at that early day, but the writer, who in his early years was personally acquainted 
with nearly all of them, cannot now speak with certainty, nor depend upon the 
accuracy of his memory of their statements to him, of the dates of their removal 
to the localit} T from which now all are gone. 

Between the signing of the treaty of 1814 and the organization of the county 
in the spring of 1817, under the law of the preceding winter, the emigration to the 
township, as well as to the residue of the county, taking into view the sorry pros- 
pect of making a living in it, had increased the population more than threefold. 
In these two and a half years, George, Peter, John, Moses and Aaron Rush, broth- 
ers of the three who came in 1810, Henry Hardy and Archibald Bryson, who had 
married their sisters, came to the count}' ; James Bryson, who married the widow 
of Henry Rush, came, and John Hiller returned from Miami County, to which he 
had fled three years before on Indian account. Some of these parties settled out- 
side of Greenville Township, and others remained but for a brief period. On the 
West Branch and Greenville Creek were settled John McFarland, Daniel Potter, 
David Williamson, Joseph Huffman and Isaac Dunn. With Williamson came his 
brothers, James and John, who remained but for a brief period ; one went to But- 
ler County, and the other returned to his father's house in Greene County to die of 
consumption. On the south of Greenville, between town and Abraham Miller's, 
Henry House, an old soldier of Wayne's army, with a family of sons and daugh- 
ters, was located. In the southeast, was located on Bridge Creek Nathan Popejoy ; 
between him and David Thompson was settled William Arnold, and south of 
Thompson, now came Abraham Studabaker from his first location below Gettys- 
burg. Down the creek were located William, George, Jacob, Andrew and Joel 
Westfall, on the north side ; and William Hays, St., and William Hays, Jr., on 
the south side. Ebenezer Byram first settled up Greenville Creek above Dean's 
mill, which, on their return, was completed in a } T ear or about that after the war, 
but soon removed out of the township down the creek to New Harrison, as his 
place is now termed, but which had no existence until years after his death. To 
Ireland came David Douglass, James Stephenson, or Stinson, as the name was 
usually pronounced, and Robert Barnett. Over the creek, on the Recovery trace, 
was located David Irwin, and southwest of him, on the creek, David Ullery. East 
of Terry's place was located Alexander Smith, the first temporary Sheriff of the 
county, Justice of the Peace of Greenville Township for several years, and once, 
for a few days, owing to the non-receipt of election returns from some locality 
between Greenville and Maumee Bay, had a seat in the State Legislature, from 
which he was ejected on a contest with the far-famed Capt. Riley, who, a few years 
previous, had been a prisoner riding a camel from Timbuctoo to Mogadore across 
the desert of Sahara, in Africa, Smith was afterward a candidate for the Lower 
House of the State Legislature, but was defeated by Gen. James Mills. Riley also 
again was before the people of the district, which then included nine or ten coun- 
ties of Northwest Ohio, for a seat in the House of Representatives, but failed. 
Subsequently, becoming more ambitious, he ran for Congress, but was badly beaten 
by William McLean, a brother of the late Judge McLean, of the United States 
Supreme Court. Archibald Bryson settled on the east side of the West Branch, 
above and south of the Squaw road, and east of him, toward Mud Creek, were 
located John Whitacre, John Embree. who was better known by the nickname of 
"Swift," and David Marsh, the first peddler of " wall-sweep" clocks in the county. 



226 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

The lots in the town of Greenville were yet the joint property, so far as the 
legal title was concerned, of John Devor and the heirs of the deceased Mrs. Arm- 
strong; prior to her death, contracts for several of them had been made with part- 
ies who had paid for and were now living on them, but as ye1 had no paper title. 
Devor, soon after the treaty, moved up to Greenville from Montgomery County ; 
he had now purchased two additional sections, twelve hundred and eighty acres or 
more of land, part near to. and other portions more remote from. Greenville, and 
for the advancement of the town it was necessary not only to perfect to the pur- 
chasers the title of the lots already bargained, but to dispose of the residue, as 
well as secure to the county the title of the one-third given as an inducement to 
secure the location of the county seat. Legal proceedings to accomplish the 
desired ends were instituted in the Court of Common Pleas of Miami County, to 
which Darke, not yet organized, was attached. Under these proceedings the selec- 
tion of the lots for Darke County was made, decrees for title of those contracted 
away taken, and the proper conveyances executed and an appraisal of the residue 
of the lots, as well as adjacent lands of the half-section, was made, and a 
sale by the Sheriff of Miami County ordered. A public sale by the Sheriff was 
had at Greenville on the 11th day of June, 1816. when more than fifty lots were 
sold to purchasers on the usual terms of partition sales, part cash and part in 
deferred installments. One tract of the adjoining land was sold, but the residue, 
some two hundred acres, was bid in by Devor to prevent what he considered a 
sacrifice, and some years afterward became the subject of another suit in partition 
in the court of Darke County. 

It may be as well here to take note of who in the period between the treaty 
and the county organization, had come to Greenville, and what was going on. 

Devor, as already stated, had moved up, and with him came four sons and 
three daughters ; one daughter, married to Scribner had preceded his removal, and 
two others, one the widow of Robert Gray, were soon after married, the widow, 
Jane Gray, to Linus Bascom, and the other, Elizabeth, to David Irwin ; his remain- 
ing daughter, Mary Devor, died unmarried in 1820 ; John Devor died in July, 
1828, and his aged widow some five or six years afterward ; all his children save 
one, Thomas Devor, a resident of Jay County, Ind.. are dead years since. 
Bascom had come here after the treaty, and with him Solomon Hamer, who. as 
partners, had a little store or trading ranch. The partnership was dissolved in ill- 
blood in a short time, each party charging the other with unfairness. Hamer left, 
and the last known of him Jack Douglass heard him preach in New Orleans * he 
recognized Jack in the crowd of hearers, and as soon as the benediction was pro- 
nounced, made his way to him, and taking him aside begged him to keep shady, 
as he, Hamer, was doing a d — d fine business. In addition to the little stores of 
Connor, Scribner and Bascom & Hamer, Horatio G. Phillips, of Dayton, sent Eastin 
Morris to Greenville with a small stock of goods, about the close of 1815. Morris 
was not a success as a merchant, but afterward, in 1818, became Clerk of the 
Court, which position he held for ten years. On Scribner's emigration to the 
Maumee in 1822, the positions of County Recorder and Postmaster resigned by 
him fell to the hands of Morris. These several positions he held until about the 
close of the year 1828, when he resigned them all and went to Gallatin in Sumner 
County, Tenn., and engaged in the practice of law, and about 1840 removed 
to Burlington. Iowa, where he died in 1865 or 1866. After the treaty, Andrew 
Hood bought the quarter-section adjoining the town on the west, which included 
some fifteen acres east of Mud Creek and Greenville Creek, built a two-story log- 
house about half-way between Mud Creek bridge and the old ford, and started his 
sons Robert and William in the mercantile business in a small way. Some years 
later they emigrated to Fort Wayne. 

Bascom, after his marriage, built a two-story log house at the northwest side 
of the public square and commenced keeping a tavern, dividing the business and 
drawing some of the custom from Moses Scott and Azor Scribner. A man by the 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 227 

name, real or assumed, of Daniel Routsong, came here, married Susie Creviston and 
sank some vats just outside the pickets of the fort, about twenty rods above Mud 
Creek bridge. In a few weeks, it leaked out that he had a wife and children in 
Maryland. As soon as he was apprised that the fact was known, being certain if 
he escaped the penitentiary Henry Creviston would shoot him, he fled the country. 
Near the same time, John and James Williamson started a similar enterprise over 
the creek, about a hundred yards west of Porter's tannery. Neither tanyard ever 
amqfinted to " shucks." It cannot now be asserted that a side of leather was ever 
made at either, and not five persons in the county remember that they ever existed. 
Not far from this period came William Sipe from Greene County, and put up a 
kiln near the east corner of the town plat and started a pottery ; he also followed 
shoemaking a little, and hunting a great deal ; in the latter employment he was 
not a success, for Dick Lyons put a spell on his gun that prevented him from kill- 
ing anything he shot at for several years, until Dick himself was "flabbergasted" 
by shooting a calf instead of a deer, when fire-hunting at night on the creek below 
the town. During the period between the treaty and the organization of the 
county, a number of unmarried men came to Greenville to grow up with the 
country, of whom as yet no mention has been made ; and some of them in after 
years became factors in making up the current history of the county. Among 
these were John and James Craig, John Armstrong, Henry D. and Robert N. Will- 
iams, David Buchanan, James Perry and some others. On the day succeeding 
the sale of the town lots by the Sheriff, came John Beers, and near the same time, 
John Talbot and Dr. Stephen Perrine, the first regularly educated physician who 
located in the place, followed shortly after by Dr. John Briggs, who for many 
years was a safe and successful practitioner. Beside these were two quacks, one 
a so-called Doctor Hopkins who went in on the "root and yarb" principles, who 
after swindling a number of credulous people, some of whom he had doctored 
from bad to worse, and others had lent him monejr, in a short time, with his bone- 
set, mullein and dog-fennel, departed hence and was not again heard of ; the other, 
a Jacob Myers, an itinerant vender of a specific which he carried about in a gallon 
jug, and issued to the ignorant as a preventive or remedy for the " fever 'n ager." 
A few years later, he narrowly escaped the gallows in Mercer County, for killing a 
patient with a decoction of buckeyes and white-walnut bark, administered as a 
cure for the chills. 

In regard to the conveniences and necessities of the community it may as 
well be stated here that Terry, in 1810, erected a little corn-cracker of a mill at 
the bend of the creek above the " Dutch Bridge." During the war, the soldiers in 
the garrison destroyed the mill dam as a cause of disease, under the pretext of 
military necessity, and it was never rebuilt. After the war, Deans completed their 
mill, begun three or more years before, and John Devor erected a saw-mill half a 
mile south of it on the West Branch, at what is now the site of Fox & Bechtold's 
woolen-mill. Other improvements, save the clearing of land and erection of log 
houses, and stables, and cribs, and the occasional bridging of a mud-hole on the 
old traces of St. Clair and Wayne and the Indian paths by corduroys, there were 
none. The only modes of travel were on foot or on horseback, as nothing on 
wheels could get over the the roads nine months of the year. 

The organization of the county, under the act of December 14, 1816, may in some 
particulars be said to have a place in the annals of the town and township of Green- 
ville, and of some of those particulars only will mention here be made. The same 
General Assembly that passed that act elected Joseph H. Crane President Judge 
of the First Judicial Circuit, a position for which he was eminently fitted, and 
worthily adorned until his election to Congress in October, 1828 ; and also elected 
John Purviance, Enos Terry and James Rush Associate Judges of the Court of 
Common Pleas of Darke Count}'. The appointment of Clerk of that Court, and of 
the County Recorder, devolved upon the Court. It was intended that Beers should 
be chosen to the first of these positions, but he wanted a few weeks' residence 



228 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

of the prescribed time t,<> render him eligible, and Linus Bascom was chosen 
as Clerk pro tern., until a subsequent term, and before that subsequent term inter- 
vened Beers had "lost his grip" and Eastin Morris was duly chosen to that office 
for the term of seven years. The Associate Judges had met in special term to 
appoint a County Recorder. There were two candidates, James Montgomery and 
Abraham Scribner. .Montgomery was a fair penman, and Scribner's chirography 
was, in after years, aptly compared, by David .Morris, to a furrow drawn by a 
shovel plow throng] i ;i newly cleared field of beech land. The Judges Averts at a 
stand, and appointed a committee of two to report to an adjourned session on the 
qualifications of the candidates. Neither member of the committee could have 
claimed "benefit of clergy," if his neck had been in jeopardy, for neither could 
read nor write a word. Scribner made so much sport of the appointment, that at 
the adjourned session, the Court, to stop his mouth, gave him the appointment, 
which he held until his resignation in 1822, and, during his whole term, not a 
single word was ever written by him in the books of his office, the entire clerical 
labor was performed by Dr. Briggs and Eastin Morris. The Board of County 
Commissioners selected Beers as their Clerk, which position he held until the 
Legislature created the office of County Auditor in 1820 or 1821. It may as well 
be stated here that in 1829, upon the death of David Morris, Beers obtained the 
office of Clerk, which he held until 1850, when he was chosen President Judge of 
the First Circuit, which he held until he was superseded under the new dispensa- 
tion brought in by the constitution of 1851. He also held for a number of years 
the position of Prosecuting Attorney and Justice of the Peace. He was a sound 
and able lawyer, regarded as an oracle in legal matters by all his acquaintance, yet 
he never appeared to advantage as an advocate before a jury, nor in an argument 
to a court. His decease occurred about 1865. 

Soon after the organization of the county, the Commissioners took measures 
for the erection of a jail, and one of a very humble character was erected on the 
north part of the public square, not more than thirty feet from the north corner 
of the city hall. It was constructed with two apartments each about fifteen feet 
square, the outside walls made of two thicknesses of sound oak timber, hewed 
one foot square, set on a double platform on the ground, of the same material, and 
overlaid b} r another of the same character upon which the roof was raised ; the 
apartments were separated by a partition similar to the walls. To one apartment 
was a door, and one window about two feet square ; in the partition w r as another 
door leading to the other apartment, which had no other opening, either door or 
window. When it had inmates in cold weather, the outer room was warmed by a 
kettle of charcoal, the fumes of which escaped through the window and crevices 
between the logs of the walls and ceiling. 

One of the timbers forming the floor was once cut in two, being severed by 
an auger furnished to a prisoner through the window by a friend outside, the piece 
thus cut off was pushed from under the wall, and the party confined escaped. The 
piece of timber was replaced and fastened, but some years later was by a prisoner 
loosened and removed, but in endeavoring to escape, he got wedged fast in the 
opening, and could neither get out nor get back. The Sheriff found him in the 
morning, and with some effort released him from what was close confinement. 
This structure was burned down by an incendiary on the morning of Sunday. May 
2, 1827. It was erected by Matthias Dean at a cost of about $200 in county orders 
that would then bring only about GO per cent of their face in money. In 1827-28, 
a new structure for a jail and jailer's residence of brick was elected on the corner 
occupied by the new building of Matchett, Wilson & Hart. This was a less secure 
building than the old log jail. Very shortly after it was completed, a noted thief 
named Jonathan Bayles, who had been committed for horse-stealing, got out of it 
so mysteriously, that the jailer. William Rush, was indicted and tried for aiding 
his escape ; the jury before whom he was on trial, after the case w r as left to them. 
deliberated for sixty hours without meat or drink (it was not then allowed to feed 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 229 

a jury at the expense of the county), and being unable to agree, were with the 
assent of the defendant discharged, and before another term came on, the state- 
ment of Bayles, who had been arrested and committed at Fort Wayne for other 
offenses, explained the manner of his escape, and so completely satisfied every one 
that Rush had no hand in it, that the Prosecuting Attorney entered a nolle. It 
may as well be stated here, that this second jail was demolished about 1840, on 
the erection of another on the southeastern part of the same lot, that is now super- 
seded by the fourth jail of Darke County. About a year after letting the contract 
for the first jail, John and James Craig erected the first court house of the county, 
a frame structure of two stories, about 22x28 feet, the upper story which was 
reached by a stairway from the court room which occupied all of the lower story, 
was divided into a clerk's office and jury room. If two juries were in deliberation 
at once, as was sometimes the case, the second was sent to some private house. 
This building was erected on the south part of the public square, diagonally across 
Broadway and Main street from the old log jail. In it, courts were held until the 
summer of 1834, when it was removed, and with alterations and additions, was 
converted first into a dwelling-house, and lastly to a whisky saloon on Third 
street, southwest of and next to Odd Fellows' Half The second court house built 
by James Craig, who has been named as one of the builders of the first, was 
located in the center of the public square. Craig took the contract at so low a 
figure, that he lost from $1,500 to $2,000 in his undertaking. On the erection of 
the present court house, the second one was demolished to make room for the city 
hall, a building that neither for convenience, nor as an ornament, is an}' improve- 
ment upon the old structure. It may also in this connection be noted that no 
place of business was provided for saij county officer, save the Clerk, until the 
erection of the second court house, and in that for only a part of them. The 
Auditor, Recorder, Treasurer, Tax Collector and Sheriff had each to furnish his 
own quarters, at his own expense. The Commissioners first quartered themselves 
on their Clerk, afterward, when the office of Auditor was provided for, on him. It 
may further be stated here, that from 1822 to 1826, the position of Collector of the 
Taxes was sold at public auction to the highest bidder. This statement requires 
an explanation. County orders were at a discount in these years of from 37^- to 
62£ per cent ; the treasmy being generally without funds, they could alone be 
passed at their face to the Collector in payment of the county taxes levied on 
chattel property ; for the land tax denominated the State tax. cash or coined money, 
or what was its equivalent, notes of the bank of the United States, was required ; 
yet in the annual settlement, a proportion of the land tax was set off to the county, 
and this proportion the Collector could discharge by turning over to the County 
Treasurer the orders at their face value which he had bought at 35 to 65 cents on 
the dollar. This chance of making a little money enabled the Collector to give a 
bonus for the office. For several } r ears, count}" orders were a special currency of 
inferior value, as about the same time, the Bank of the Commonwealth in the State 
of Kentucky. If you wanted to buy a horse or a cow. ten bushels of wheat or 
forty acres of land, the price was named as so much in cash, or a different value in 
county orders. 

In 1823, this state of things opened the door for a transaction that gave rise 
to much excitement, ill blood, and evil speaking, that for several years laid on the 
shelf a hitherto popular man, then in place as a public officer, although in after 
y ears he was acquitted by the people of blame in the matter, save negligence of 
duty, the fraud mixed up with it being laid to other account, 

On the annual settlement with the County Treasurer, the county orders 
redeemed by him were delivered to the Commissioners and Auditor, and he was 
credited therefor, and the law then required that they should be burned in the 
presence of those officials. No schedule of their number, amount or payee was 
made or kept, but only the aggregate to be inserted in the credit to the Treasurer : 
at the settlement of the year mentioned, when the bundle of orders were turned 



230 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

over there was no fire handy to carry out the behest of the law, and friction 
matches had not yet been seen or known. The bundle was left in the Auditor's 
care, who was to fulfil the omitted duty when he had a fire or lighted candle in his 
office, and nothing more was thought of it. Some months afterward, several of 
these orders, distinctly remembered by Treasure!'. Collector and Commissioners to 
be of those previously redeemed, were found in circulation. How the} - again got 
out was never definitely proved or known, nor was it ever ascertained what 
amount had been thus fraudulently re-issued. No accurate investigation ever took 
place, for the system of keeping books then in vogue in Darke County afforded no 
means of making an accurate investigation. Some of the orders were tracked very 
near, but not quite to the Auditor. That officer was man}' years later placed in a 
position of trust, in which his securities paid heavily for his default ; his name is 
omitted, and the matter, only remembered after the lapse of nearly threescore 
years by less than a dozen persons now living, is only adverted to here, because 
in the ensuing session of the General Assembly, it gave rise to an enactment, ever 
since in force, that on the redemption of a county order, the Treasurer should 
either plainly write or print across the face of it the word '•redeemed,'" with the 
date of its redemption, and subscribe to the statement his name officially. It may 
as well be further stated here, that one of those sureties by reason of public sym- 
pathy for his loss, was some years after chosen to the same position of trust to 
which his business attainments was not equal, and he had to entrust his duties to 
subordinates whose rascality in turn made him a public defaulter, and he was sued 
on his bond. It is not an agreeable duty to the writer to narrate some of these 
occurrences, but truth requires that history record facts, even if the}" are unpleasant. 

In the succeeding pages of the division of this work allotted to the writer, he 
must confine himself to the duty before him — the progress of the town and town- 
ship of Greenville, and in that he must confine himself to narrower limits, and in 
those limits come to a system and classification. 

At the head of what are called the liberal and learned professions, leaving out 
the clerical, of which but little need be said, stands the law and legal. When 
courts that ranked above Justices of the Peace were first held in the county. 
Beers was a law student under the tuition of Gen. William M. Smith, of Dayton, 
and was admitted to the bar by the Supreme Court within two years after 
the organization of the county, and, with the exception of Increase Graves, who 
was only here for a few months in 1820 or 1821. and then went to the North, was 
the only member of the legal fraternity resident in the count}' until he was 
appointed Clerk, in the year 1829. Of him, mention has been previously made. 
save that he once was a candidate for Congress against John B. WeUer, and was 
defeated. During the twelve years from 1817 to 1829, attorneys from Eaton, 
Dayton, Troy, and, on some few occasions, from Hamilton, Lebanon, Springfield 
and Urbana. traveled the circuit with Judge Crane, and had more or less business 
in the courts at Greenville. Late in 1820 or early in 1S30. Hiram Bell, who had 
studied under John Woods, of Hamilton. Located in Greenville, and soon, by his 
industry, secured a fair practice. In 1*'.Y.'>. he was elected County Auditor: some 
years later, he was elected to the Lower Branch of the Legislature, in which he 
served two terms, being once re-elected. At a yet later date, he was elected a 
Representative in Congress. In is:;."). William M. Wilson, also from Hamilton, 
came to Greenville, and secured a fair proportion of business in his profession. 
He was elected to the office of Prosecuting Attorney, and. subsequently, to the 
office of County Auditor, which he held for several years, until he vacated it for a 
seat in the ( Hiio Senate. 

Bell, who in the contest for Senator was defeated by Wilson, and in a brief 
period defeated Wilson in the Whig nomination for Congress, died late in Decem- 
ber. 1855, and his widow, at a late period, was married to Wilson, who had in the 
mean time lost, his wife, a daughter of Maj. Dorse}-, to whom he was married in 
September, 1837. He attained, by executive appointment, the position of Judge 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 231 

of the Common Pleas of this subdivision of the Court of Common Pleas, 
which office he filled with ability and dignity for the period of about two years. 
Subsequently, in the summer of 1865, his second wife died, and in a week he fol- 
lowed her to the grave. Bell left no descendants ; Wilson, by his first wife, had 
a family of one son and several daughters, who } - et survive him. In 1S37. near its 
close, or in 1838, not far from its beginning, came Cyrus F. Dempsey, from South- 
ern Ohio, near Portsmouth, who had but recently been admitted to the bar. and 
hung out his shingle. He, unlike Beers, Bell and Wilson, who were then " simon- 
pure Whigs," was a professed Democrat. He obtained the position of Prosecuting 
Attorney, and had a reasonably fair share of legal practice ; but he was ambitious 
of attaining a higher position, and sought to attain it by means that his Demo- 
cratic brethren considered " not on the square." In a solemn conclave of 
priests and elders of that tribe, he was, with all due ceremony and the rites of 
" bell, book and candle," excommunicated from communion with the faithful, and 
cast out. In a short time after, he left for Fort Wayne, or some place near it, 
where he soon after died. 

This brings us down to the close of 1840, and here we might stay our hand ; 
but "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth" may as well 
be spoken, and that requires a statement that, in the later years, chiefly since the 
incoming of the new constitution, there has come up over the land a swarm of 
lawyers, like the frogs out of the river of Egypt in the day of Moses, that pene- 
trate into the kitchens, closets and bedchambers, and, with a few honorable 
exceptions, are found at marriages in search of divorce cases, and at funerals, 
hunting partition suits, button-holing clients at market, church and cemetery, 
" instant in season and out of season," kicking for a job, forcing the conviction 
upon all who bestow thought upon the matter, of the necessity in this country of 
institutions like the Brotherhoods of Gray's Inn and Lincoln's Inn, and the Inner 
Temple and the Middle Temple. 

In the medical profession, mention has already been made of Drs. Perrine 
and Briggs. In 1S2S, came Dr. Andrew O'Ferrell. from Kentucky, who died in the 
winter of 1829-30, and later came Dr. James H. Buell, from Eaton, who remained 
but for a short period. In the winter of 1830-31. Dr. J. M. P. Baskerville. who 
for some years was engaged in his profession at Greenville : later he went to Ver- 
sailles. He was a native of Virginia ; came here from the vicinity of London, 
Madison Co., Ohio, to which locality, after several years, he returned, and at 
which place a few years since he died. About 1834-35, Dr. I. N. Gard came here 
from Jacksonburg* in Butler County, and engaged in practice, in which he yet. 
at the age of threescore years and ten, is engaged. Dr. Gard has been, in former 
years, honored with a seat in the Ohio Senate, and in later years a member of the 
Board of Trustees of the Southern Ohio Lunatic Asylum, and of other boards of 
State charities, in all of which positions he has been a faithful and intelligent pub- 
lic servant. He is now the senior in the medical profession in the county. 
About a year, more or less, after the advent of Dr. Gard, came Dr. Alfred Ayers, 
also from Butler County. For a time he was a partner of Dr. Gard. In 1838. he 
married a daughter of the late Judge Beers, who bore to him several children, sons 
and daughters. Some years ago, on the decease of his father, he returned to the 
paternal homestead in Butler County, where, after the decease of his wife and 
eldest daughter, he also, about two years ago, was laid in the narrow house, at the 
age of about sixty-eight years. In the interval between 1S20 and 1840. the town 
and neighborhood had. at various times, divers and sundry -physical doctors " of 
the stripe of Hopkins and Myers ; but they were ephemeral, like "Jonah's gourd — 
came up, were bitten by a worm at night, and perished in the heat of the next day. 
Their names and doings it is unnecessary to record. 

The writer would here in this connection mention that in the summer and fall 
of each of the years 1821 and 1822. the town, as well as the adjacent country, was 
visited with severe and fatal sickness, of malarial origin, and almost epidemic in. 



232 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

its character. .Many died of both sexes and of all Iges, but the mortality was 
greatest among those of middle age, both men and women. Again, in the sum- 
mer and fall of 1829 and 1830, the town, township and county was scourged with 
a disease, denominated, in common phrase, flux. The mortality was ureal, chiefly 
among children, although persons <»I' all ages became victims. In each of these 
visitations, the medical force of the county being inadequate to the requirements 
taxing it. physicians were sent for and responded to the calls from Richmond, New 
Paris, Eaton, Lewisburg, .Milton. Troy and Piqua, in the adjacent counties of 
Wayne, hid., and Preble and Miami, Ohio. In 1833, when so many localities in 
the United States were desolated by the cholera, but two deaths from that disease 
occurred within Darke County, neither of which was in Greenville. 

It may be deemed that the next matter that should engage the attention of 
the narrator should be the educational department of the community of which he 
is relating the history. John Beers, John Talbot and Henry D. Williams were 
each of them " schoolmasters" in Greenville and its vicinity during a few years 
subsequent to their emigration to Greenville ; whether a school of any sort was 
taught, prior to their arrival, in the town or township, is now, after the lapse of 
more than sixty years, a matter unascertainable. Talbot, an offshoot of the old 
Earls of Shrewsbury, ennobled in the fifteenth century in the person of the 
antagonist of the Maid of Orleans, sometimes taught a country school, and some- 
times fulfilled the duties of the office of Constable of Greenville Township. He 
was fond of his bottle, which he kept hid, out in hollow stumps and brush-heaps, 
near his schoolhouse, in the vicinity of the settlement, near the Prophet's town 
on Mud Creek, where it was located : he fell into disfavor and left the country about 
1821. Beers each winter was usually located south of town, in the neighborhood 
of Thompson. Studabaker, Arnold and Freshour, and Williams was usually below, 
where the Hayes, W 7 estfalls. Popejoy and the Carnahan family were his patrons. 
Log cabins, in which in place of glass greased paper admitted the light, and a 
chimne}- occupied the end in which log-heaps were burned to keep up the requi- 
site warmth, were the requisite edifices in which they each -taught the young idea 
how to shoot." 

There was a log edifice erected on Lot 32, in Greenville, on which was located 
the first burial ground, that at times served as a schoolhouse, at others, after the 
organization of the county, as a room for the grand jury, and once for the sitting 
of the court. It is probable that Beers. Talbot and Williams each taught, or pre- 
tended to teach, a school in it at intervals between 1818 and 1824; it was only 
once occupied afterward for this purpose. In 1827, under Guilford's law to inaug- 
urate public schools in Ohio, the Trustees divided Greenville Township into school 
districts, and Greenville District, to get the thing fairly under headway, chose 
three men School Directors, no two of whom, by reason of feuds and ill-feeling, 
would speak to each other. The parties alluded to. who may as well be named, 
John Beers, David Briggs and Linus Bascom, let the year pass away with- 
out further action than being sworn into office. In the succeeding year, a new 
Hoard was elected and qualified, and proceeded at once to action, and had the 
old house on Lot 32, to which neither town or district had any title, pulled down, 
and removed the logs to a half of Lot No. .'!. deeded by Hill Wiley in discharge 
of tines for assault and battery, to the school district. 

To aid in the re-erection and litting-up. a subscription in aid of public funds 
was taken up, and some forty dollars in work or money subscribed. < >n the even- 
ing after the old house had been pulled down, and the logs hauled to the newly 
selected site, an altercation took place between Abraham Scribner and Isaac 
Shideler, as to the price and value of the floor in the new schoolhouse, in the heat 
of which. Shideler. in whose hands the subscription paper had been left, stuck it 
in the stove, and that was the end of the enterprise; in after years the logs were 
cut into firewood by Samuel Pierce and others of the vicinity, who needed fuel 
and were short of funds to buy it. Years afterward, the district erected in place 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 233 

of one decent schoolhouse, two " make-shifts," on Lots 3 and 13, that for years 
were a nuisance, e} T e-sore and heart-scald to those who had children to be sent 
to school. But, after an interval of many years, they were superseded by the 
good sense of the Board of Education of the town, under whom the existing 
school buildings were erected some years since. 

The history of the town of Greenville as a municipal organization here 
demands a brief notice, and only brief notice will here be given. At the ses- 
sion of the State Legislature of 1832-33, the first act to incorporate the town of 
Greenville was passed. Some matters in that act deserve a passing notice. The 
elective franchise was restricted to those who had been for six months not only 
voters of the county and State, but residents of the town, and eligibility to the 
offices of Mayor and Trustees, forming the legislative council of the town, lim- 
ited to freeholders. It would probably be well if these provisions had been con- 
tinued, but under the codes passed under the new constitution of the State, and 
which abrogated all the old charters of the cities, towns and boroughs of the 
State, pure and unadulterated Democracy intervened to such an extent that the 
public burdens were imposed and public funds expended by those who were 
wholly disinterested, bearing no share in the one, nor having any material interest 
in the other. To make a long stoiy short, it may as well be stated, that, for more 
than twenty years, the municipal government of the town, from year to 3~ear, has 
been created and controlled, in the main, b} r men who, with few exceptions, pay 
no taxes, and care nothing how much others have to pay. It is now a matter of 
so little interest as to who held office as Mayor, Council, Marshal, Clerk and Treas- 
urer of the Town from 1833 to 1840, that the recapitulation of their names would 
have little to interest the reader of these pages, and hence the matter is here 
dismissed. 

In regard to the progress of the township of Greenville outside of the 
clearing of the land and reducing it to cultivation, which steadily went on, it 
may be here related that after the erection and destruction of Terry's mill 
and the completion of Dean's, the next enterprise was the erection in 1824, by 
Samuel Kelly, of a wool-carding establishment near the site, but above where 
Terry's mill was destined in 1813, and within about a year afterward, a mill for 
grinding grain was added by the same proprietor, who, about 1828, sold out to 
John Swisher, who continued both concerns for some years, until the termination 
of a lawsuit against him by Dr. Perrine, for nuisance, for backing water over the 
swamps above the mouth of Mud Creek. The outcome of this lawsuit resulted in 
the virtual destruction of the mill in 1835-36. 

In about 1826-27, David Briggs erected a grist-mill and saw-mill on the 
ei'eek, a mile and a half below the town, which, with little profit to the various 
owners who have possessed the property within the past forty years, has been in 
operation until this spring — 1880 — when its destruction has been determined upon 
under the pretext of draining the swamp above the mouth of Mud Creek. Will- 
iam, who, with his brothers, Samuel and Christophher, and his brothers-in-law, 
Hugh Lourimore and John Culbertson, emigrated to the county in 1816 and 1817 
ami settled east and southeast of Greenville, at the distance of from two to five 
miles, built a saw-mill on the dividing branch, near its confluence with Greenville 
Creek, about the year 1822. This concern rotted down, and was rebuilt several 
times ; has been in operation, off and on. on the average, about three months of 
the year since its first erection. About fifteen years later, John W. Harper built 
another saw-mill on the same branch, about half a mile above Martin's, which 
was operated for a number of years, but is now among the things that were. 

About the same time that Briggs was engaged in the erection of his mill, 
J a red Barnes put up a grist and saw mill near the west line of the township, on 
Greenville Creek. The mills have been remodeled and rebuilt various times, and 
have been owned by various parties, and are yet in existence, sometimes in run- 
ning order, but nearly as much of the time lying idle for repairs. The traps 



234 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

which have been enumerated constituted the milling facilities of the township to 
the close of 1840, and during all the years before that, and much of the time 
since, the chief dependence of the people of the town and township for the pre- 
pared material whereof to make their bread, was on mills not merely beyond the 
limits of the township, but- beyond the boundaries of the county. 

Notice has already been taken of the tanyard abortions of Routsong & Will- 
iamson. About 1819 or 1820, Amos 1'. Baldwin and John McGregor started a 
tannery on a small scale, on the lot on Water street below the railroad, now 
occupied by Jack Taylor. Baldwin died about 1821, and the concern, in a 
year or two, changed hands, and kept on changing until on the death of George 
Sanderson, the last owner, who operated it in is.")."), when it went out of existence 
altogether; it was never, so far as known, a source of airy profit to any of its 
owners. 

In 182G, William Martin, already named, established a tannery about a quar- 
ter of a mile up the branch, above his saw-mill. From this concern, for thirty or 
forty years, his son Robert, and others who ran it, turned out a commodity which 
they said was leather, but by other people was called horn ; a side of it might be 
bored or cut when moist, but in the dry state defied awls and edge-tools. In 
1831 or 1882, Jacob Herkimer located a tannery between Water street and the 
Creek, about half-way from the Broadway bridge to the mouth of Mud Creek ; he 
died in a year or two afterward, when it was taken charge of by his step-son, D. 
R. Davis, in behalf of his mother and the minor children of Herkimer, after 
which it changed owners several times, and is now the property of Thomas B. 
Waring, a recent purchaser. A year or two afterward, William W. Jordan pur- 
chased a tract of land over the creek and began what is now the Porter Tannery ; 
it also changed owners once or oftener before it came into the hands of the pres- 
ent occupants — the Messrs. Porter— and it, as well as the Herkimer } T ard, have 
been carried on continuously through all the intervening years. 

Of the other industries of the town of Greenville prior to 1840, it is unneces- 
sary to speak. There were carpenters and blacksmiths, shoemakers and tailors 
who did the work required by their customers, who usually furnished the materials 
to be wrought upon ; at that day there was neither foundry, machine-shop nor plan- 
ing-mill either in the town or in the county. But in this connection, one other 
matter of note must be stated. In 1832, Samuel Scott and Edward Donelann 
commenced the publication of a weekly newspaper, that, having borne various 
titles and passed through the hands of many proprietors, is } r et, after the lapse of 
forty-eight years, published as the Greenville Journal. 

The duty yet remains to speak of the changes and progress in other avoca- 
tions and employments to the end of 1840, and, as the first item, relate the suc- 
cessions as well as beginnings of those upon whom devolved the duty of afford' 
iug food and shelter to the wayfarers, including man and beast, for a consider- 
ation. 

.Moses Scott, as has already been stated, emigrated to Fort Wayne in 1824. 
On leaving, his stand was rented to Judge Terry, who remained in it until about 
the close of 1827. and was succeeded, first, by .John Armstrong, who in a short 
time gave way to Jack Douglass. James Craig, in 1829, purchased the property, 
occupied the old stand until his brick building adjoining the public square, and 
the nucleus of the present Wayne House, was completed, into which he removed, 
and continued the business until 1S33. when he rented the stand to Edward 
Shatter, whose death occurred in the summer of 1835, after which, his widow 
continued the business for some months, when she gave way to Charles llutchin. 
from Jaeksonburg. in Butler County, llutchin. in L837, built the Broadway 
House, now the Exchange Bank and Vantelburgh's grocery, into which he removed, 
and the house across the street was not again occupied as a tavern until after 1 S 40. 
Bascom ceased to keep a tavern in 1829, on the decease of his wife, and his prem- 
ises were not again ever occupied for that purpose. In 1828. a house (now the 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 235 

residence of John Hufnagle, recently built by Dr. Perrine, was occupied by Samuel 
Robison as a public house, but in a few months he surrendered it to the Doctor, 
who had taken to himself a wife and needed it as a residence ; and here it may as 
well be noted that, some four or five years afterward, Mrs. Perrine died, and Per- 
rine, after some time (how long the narrator fails to remember), ceased to be a 
householder, and, for the remaining years of his life, was found sometimes here, 
sometimes at Dayton and sometimes in New Jersey, where he had numerous rela- 
tives. At last, some two years ago, he died in the lunatic asylum near Dayton, to 
which, on account of mental aberration, he had for a few 3 r ears been consigned, 
beyond the age of more than fourscore years. The widow of Azor Scribner, a year 
or two after the desertion of her second husband, ceased to occup}' the old Scrib- 
ner stand on Water street, and, for about a year (1828-29), in it was kept, by 
Isaac Shidler, a tavern after the maimer that the woman kept tavern in Indiana, 
to wit, " like h — 1." The establishment ceased "for keeps" in the autumn of 1829. 
In 1828, Joshua Howell, who had in that }'ear been elected Sheriff and had, some 
years previously, been for one term County Commissioner, removed from Fort 
Jefferson and opened what was called a tavern in a small frame house on Third 
street, that stood where is now the dwelling of George Studabaker. In 1830, he 
erected a frame house on the corner of Broadway and Fourth street, which was 
dignified with the title of " Travelers' Rest." Howell, who, in the interim after his 
shrievalty expired, wanted to run for Congress, and did run a sorry race for a seat 
in the State Legislature, in 1831 sold the " Travelers' Rest " to Nicholas Mark, 
who, after some years' occupancy, leased it to David Angel, who was its occupant 
in 1840 and for some time afterward. The further history of the "Rest" will not 
here be related, further than to sa}' that it was pulled down, some four years ago, 
to permit the erection of "Allen's Hall" and the "Greenville Bank." In 1830, 
Francis L. Hamilton enlarged, by the erection of a second story and additions, a 
frame building on Main street and the public square, opposite the newly erected 
tavern of Craig, and in it continuously, until after 1840, kept a public house, held 
in good esteem by all his boarders and the traveling public. In a few years after 
1810, Hamilton took charge of a hotel in Richmond, Ind., from which, in a couple 
of years, he returned to his farm, some three miles north of Greenville, and from 
there, at a later period, to the town, where he died about two years ago, at the 
age of more than eighty years. The old tavern stand was removed, within the 
decade of 1840-50, to give place to the Waring Block. The changes in this 
department of business, since the close of 1840, will be noted elsewhere. 

The progress of business in the mercantile line, prior to the close of 1840, 
must be noticed, and the changes of the parties engaged in it, as well as the loca- 
tions where the business was transacted, taken into account. Beside the unre- 
membered Frenchman and Azor Scribner, mention has already been made of 
David Connor, Abraham Scribner and the Hoods. 

Connor, after the treaty, and near the time that Scribner and the Hoods 
engaged in business, as has elsewhere been stated, removed to Recover}' ; at a 
later period, he was on the Mississinewa, below Llewellyn's mill, where he was 
located at the time of the murder of the Indians, in 1824, that raised him to the 
chieftainship. At a later period, he went down the river below the Broad Riffle, 
within the limits of what is now Grant County, Ind., where his death occurred 
about 1818. His wife never left Greenville, but continued to reside there until her 
decease, in March, 1851. Scribner, as has been stated, on the death of his second 
wife, went to the Manmee, having sold out his stock to Heniy House, but, after a 
few months' absence, returned earl}' in 1823, repurchased from House, and con- 
tinued in business until his death, in 1817. 

The Hoods were succeeded by Alexander Delorac, and he in a few months 
gave way to Charles Neave, who remained but a short time, when he returned to 
Cincinnati, in 1S22. and for thirty years or more was a member of the firm of T. 
& C. Neave, extensively engaged in the iron and hardware business in that city. 



23G HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

AiM.iit the time that Neave Left, Nicholas Greenham, of Piqua, established 
what might be called a branch of his Piqua house at Greenville, which was with- 
drawn in April. L825. 

In the fall of 1820, Loring R. Brownell, also from Piqua, came with a stock, 
and continued until late in 1833 or early in 1834. He sold his stock to James 
M. Dorsey and Henry Arnold. Tn three years, or near that, afterward. Dorsey 
withdrew, and Arnold alone carried on the business of the house until after 1840, 
and now. forty years later, is still in business as a member of the firm of II. & II. 
X. Arnold, tn the latter part of 1827, John McNeil engaged in business in a 
small way. and in about a year sold out to F. L. Hamilton, who, in a year or 
eighteen months, sold to \V. B. Beall, in 1880. who. in the spring of 1831, was 
joined by Francis Waring, who several years later became sole proprietor, and 
continued in business until 1876. His death occurred in 1878. Beall died about 
1855 or 1856. About the same time that Beall commenced business, Allen La 
Mott and Josiah D. Farrar, as the firm of La Mott & Farrar, commenced and 
continued until after 1840. In 1834 or 1835, Milton Bailey bought a stock of 
goods, and in a brief period gave place to John Baird. who in short meter '-blew 
out of the bolt ropes " and went to Texas or Arkansas, leaving creditors to " wail- 
ing and gnashing of teeth." 

About the same time that Bailey started in business, William Martin, who 
has before been named as proprietor of a saw-mill and tanyard, employing a rela- 
tive as clerk and salesman, laid in a stock at Cincinnati, and opened out in Green- 
ville. In a year or little more, Martin ascertained that he was " in bad shape ;" to 
keep things from getting worse, dismissed the clerk ; to meet pressing demands, 
borrowed $1,000, which amount, with what should have been the profits, he found 
had been sunk, and sent what remained in care of his son, William Martin, Jr., to 
Recovery, al >< >ut the close of 1835 or early in 1830. In the end he weathered the storm, 
but in after years, after the establishment was closed out, he frequently stated to 
friends that it would have been far more than $1,000 in his pocket if he had never 
" tried on " being a merchant. 

In 1834, John C. Potter came from Butler County, and engaged in the mer- 
cantile business, which he continued until the death of his wife, daughter and 
himself from cholera, in August, 1819. A year later came his brother Hiram 
Potter and Samuel Davis, from Jacksonburg, in Butler County, who for a time 
carried on the mercantile business, as the firm of Potter & Davis. The firm dis- 
solved in 1838 or 1839 ; Davis went to Piqua, and Potter continued business as 
successor of the firm until his death in June. 1845. 

The trading house of Connor, afterward occupied by Greenham, was on the 
east corner of Water and Sycamore streets. The Hoods, Delorac and Neave on 
the northwest side of Water street, between Elm and Vine. The establishment of 
Scribner was first in a log house, out of town as then laid out, near where is now 
located the gas works, and subsequently on the south corner of Main and Elm, 
and in 1830, he again removed down Main street between Sycamoreand the public 
square. .McNeil. Hamilton & Beall were in the same location, which stood on the 
site of the Waring Block, and two or three years later Beall & Waring were at the 
Kipp corner, in a building which, at a later day, when tt.was the " Buckeye House." 
was burned down. Brownell first located between Sycamore and Elm on Main 
street, when' 1 >r. Lynch now resides ; at a later day at the east corner of the public 
square, on Broadway, to which La Mott & Farrar. who first were in the old 
stand of McNeil, Hamilton Oc Beall. removed, in 1833, and when he was succeeded 
by Dorsey & Arnold. They transferred the concern to the west corner of Broad- 
way and Third. Bayley & Barrd were on the wesl side of Main, between the 
public square and Sycamore. John C. Potter first opened at the same place, and 
then, after erecting the Katzenberger building, which served as storeroom and 
dwelling, occupied it until bis decease, in 1849. Potter iSc Davis were «t first in 
Bascom's corner, afterward in what is yet known as the Hiram Potter House, 
between the public square and Walnut street. 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 237 

At the close of 1840, all the mercantile business of the town was transacted 
within the four blocks adjoining the public square. 

It must here also be stated that previous to that time, in a country town like 
Greenville, the mercantile business was not divided up into the various branches 
of dry goods, groceries, iron and hardware, groceries, queensware and drugs, medi- 
cines, paints and dye stuffs. Every dealer had nearly a little of everything, and 
but very little of anything. The whole stock of merchandise in every department, 
brought to the town in a year, would not have been equal to the spring purchase 
at this day, in the department of dry goods alone, of Moore & Winner, H. & H. 
N. Arnold, or Wilson & Hart. Prior to that year, no separate and distinct con- 
cern known as an iron and hardware store, drug store, clothing store (no Jew had 
yet appeared in the town), boot and shoe store, or grocery, had existed in the 
place. But the whole truth may as well be known. There had been traps, called 
groceries, kept by "Dad " Warren. Ethan Powers and Josiah Shaw, where a potato 
or a button were sold for a fivepenny-bit, and the customer given as a gratuity a 
drink of " bald-faced whisky." Under the old license laws the grand jury deemed 
it their business to intermeddle with these institutions, and they were soon 
" dried up." 

During all the years over which this narration reaches, the progress of the 
town and township of Greenville, as well as the county of Darke, although some- 
times slow, has been onward. 

The census of 1820 showed the population of Darke County to be 3,717, and 
in that enumeration was included the inhabitants of what was then Mercer County, 
the territory of which then embraced part of the counties of Shellby and Auglaize. 
The inhabitants of what now remains as Darke Count}- could not have exceeded 
2,000. At the close of 1824, the town of Greenville had within it thirteen families, 
all told, the total number, old and young, being less than 100 souls. The census 
to be taken the present year, 1880, will reveal the fact that the town now contains 
about or quite four thousand inhabitants. 

Several things in the early years withheld in town and county progress and 
improvement. The valleys of Bridge Creek, Mud Creek and the West Branch 
were then impenetrable swamps, covered by willows and inhabited by wolves. 

In 1820, the sale of Government lands on a credit ceased, and early in 1825, 
all thus previously sold had to be paid out or forfeit to the United States. Sev- 
eral thousand acres were forfeited, and the certificates of several thousand more, 
as the laws then permitted, were relinquished to be applied in discharge of what 
remained due on the remaining portion. The mortality of the 3-ears 1821 and 
1822, and of 1829 and 1830, contributed to prevent emigration. The furor for 
speculation in wild lands in 1836 and 1837 broke out, and even the banks of the 
Mississippi Indian Territory, as well as that which the Government owned, were 
staked out into city and town lots continuously from Keokuk to St. Paul. The 
bank crash of the latter year came when "red dog" and "mad dog," "wild cat" 
and every kind of paper money went down into simple rags, and the projected 
cities and towns from the Ohio to the Mississippi, with few exceptions, remain on 
paper only to this day. Many of the lands purchased as a speculation in Darke 
County remained unimproved and unsold for tkhly years, and some of them to 
this day. Nevertheless, in spite of all these drawbacks, Darke Count}* (the soil of 
which, fifty years ago, the more a man owned of it the worse he was off), has 
moved on, until now it ranks, if not the first, yet among the first in the State of 
Ohio. 

As a sequel to what has been related of the early history of Greenville, town 
and township, it may not be improper to say something of some of the actors in 
that history who have now gone hence. It has been stated that among the arriv- 
als after the treaty were Archibald and James Bryson, natives of Bedford County, 
Penn., who became settlers in Greenville Township. Archibald Bryson, on the 
organization of the countv, was chosen a County Commissioner, and re-elected to 



238 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

a second term of thai office, and served at intervals in other public duties. For a 
period of twelve years, from 1816 to 1828, his influence and opinions as to men 
and measures served more than that of any other man to direct and control public 
action, and it may be said that this influence was exercised honestly and judi- 
ciously. He hated demagogues, and "greased no man with the oil of fool." The 
ascendency which he had maintained passed over to mid was exercised by Scrib- 
ner for a succeeding period of about ten years. Since that time, no other indi- 
vidual has been able, without the co-operation of rings and cliques — and. in the 
days of Bryson and Scribner, rings and cliques had not been imported — to guide 
and govern Darke County. Now and then, some man took it into his head to "go 
it alone." but such only made a mistake, and were "left out in the cold." Archi- 
bald Bryson, about 1840, emigrated to "Western Indiana, and died near Pittsburg, 
in Carroll County, about 1865. James Bryson, who had served several years as 
Justice of the Peace. Avas for some years County Commissioner, and for seven 
years was Associate Judge of Darke Common Pleas, continued to reside in the 
county until his decease, not far from the time of his brother's death. 

A. Studabaker, who has been named as one of the earliest settlers in the 
county, was a resident of Greenville Township thirty-seven 3 r ears, 1815-52, until 
his death, and was for many years a County Commissioner. He was destitute of 
education, but was a man of sound judgment, good executive ability, and strictly 
honest. Talbot, in 1822 or 1823, went to Indiana, put himself on good behavior 
and short rations, and was some years later elected to the shrievalt}' of one of 
the river counties down the Ohio, after which nothing further is known of his his- 
tory to the writer. David Irwin was County Collector of taxes in the days when 
the office was sold at auction. In after years, he was County Treasurer, in which 
office he died, about 1846, and was succeeded by his son James in the same posi- 
tion, in which he also died, about 1851. 

David Briggs, a very worthy man, came to this county as early as 1810 ; was 
elected a Justice of the Peace as early as 1816, or previous ; was County Treas- 
urer in 1819 or 1820. In 1828, by Scribner's direction, was elected County 
Commissioner, and, three years later, b}^ his commandment, was defeated for the 
same office. Mention has been made of John Craig. He was the third County 
Auditor, and. while holding the office, died in 1825. James Craig, his brother, a 
3"ear later, married the only daughter of Robert G-ray, one of the proprietors of 
the town when first laid out, and raised a family of daughters, three of whom yet 
survive. After the discovery of the California gold fields, he went there, seeking 
to mend his fortunes, and three years later returned, and soon after died. His 
widow died a few years later. There was another James Craig, stepson of Judge 
Terry, and brother of Alexander, David and Seymour Craig. He was elected 
Sheriff of the county in 1830, and died a few months later, in 1831. Joshua 
Howell has been spoken of as a Commissioner and Sheriff'. Three others, John, 
Thomas and Jerry, were here between 1827 and 1S35. All were ambitious, and 
had reasonable luck. Joshua had been Justice, Commissioner and Sheriff'; John 
was Sheriff after Craig's death four years; Thomas was six years a Justice; and, 
in the fall of 1835, at the end of John's term. Jerry was anxious to be his succes- 
sor. Old Billy Chapman, in his Yankee accent, declared thai " Darke County had 
been Howelled enough." Other people thought so. and Jerry was left. The 
whole race left the county soon after, and the truth may as well here be spoken, 
that not one of them possessed capacity to fit them for any public employment, 
and the further truth, borne out by the record of more than forty years, may as 
well be stated, that the proclivity to elect asses to office in Darke County ceased 
not when the llowells were gone. 

The writer must here bring this chapter to a dose. In his younger days, he 
was intimately acquainted with a number of individuals who had been in the 
armies of Mannar. St. Clair and Wayne. lie was also intimately acquainted with 
nearly all the early 9ettlers of Darke County, in which he has himself resided for 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 239 

more than fifty-five years. The matters which he has related that occurred before 
he came upon the scene he obtained man}' years ago from the statements of those 
who had personal knowledge of the facts they related, and on whose truth he 
could rely ; and the remaining statements of events since he came to the county 
were nearly all within his own personal knowledge. Of all of whom he has 
spoken, not half-a-score remain, and of those above mere childhood who dwelt in 
Greenville when he came to the place, not one is left — all are gone ! 

A few incidents of early years have been omitted, and of some of them men- 
tion should be made. 

In 1828, a stray printer on his rambles came into the county, named Benja- 
min S. Bullfinch. At that early day "teetotalism" had not made any serious 
inroads. Bullfinch, when under the influence of " Baldface," entered somebody's 
house and promiscuously appropriated a watch of the value of more than $10, as 
it was alleged and proved. He was arrested, indicted and tried, and as drunken- 
ness was not then a justification of theft, was convicted and sentenced to the 
penitentiary for a year. This was the first conviction for an offense punishable by 
a sentence to the penitentiary in the county. 

On the morning of January 21, 18-10, there was found on the premises of the 
Broadway House, a dead infant that had come into the world at some time of the 
preceding night. The mother was soon ascertained to be a young woman in 
the employ of the landlord. Charles Hutchins was then the Coroner, and in 
obedience to his warrant a jury was called, who by their finding made the 
charge of infanticide against the mother, and she, as soon as her condition per- 
mitted, was removed to the county jail. After several months she was brought 
to trial. She was defended by Judge Crane, who discharged that duty by order 
of the court, without fee or reward. At that day, lawyers discharged the duty of 
defending the indigent accused, when thereto assigned by the court, upon and for 
the honor of their profession ; and the practice of shysters haunting county jails in 
search of jobs at the cost of the county had not yet been inaugurated. On the 
trial, the woman was acquitted. That death had been occasioned by violence was 
established by the post-mortem investigation, but whether that violence was the 
result of purpose or accident was never known. The mother had been entirely 
alone in her hours of agony. No defense of insanity was set up ; that pica, as an 
offcome for murder, was then scarcely known in criminal procedure. Now the 
conduct and character of the manslayer and his ancestry, to the third and fourth 
generation, are sought out to establish hereditary insanity, and as scarce any one 
who in his pedigree but must make mention of fools as well as madmen, the 
defense of mental alienation is generally made out. 

In 1794, a criminal in Wayne's garrison was by a military court tried, con- 
victed and sentenced, and pursuant thereto was hanged. Since that day, the 
sentence to death as the penalty of a broken law has been but once pronounced 
by a court of justice in Darke County, and that sentence is not at this present 
writing executed. Whether it ever will be, is in the uncertainty of the future. 

The uproar on the streets reminds the writer that this is "show day ;" there 
is to be exhibited a menagerie of animals and a circus. The first show in Green- 
ville was of a similar character, though on a smaller scale, in June, 1829. But 
then as now, the institution was accompanied by a band of counterfeiters and 
thieves. On the next morning, Jim Craig had amongst his assets $22 in counter- 
feit money, coin and bank notes. Howell had $17. and other townsmen had lesser 
amounts. Two men had their pocket-books stolen, three others their pockets cut and 
purses taken, and there were outside thefts in the county amounting in the aggre- 
gate to $2(10 or $300. But then as now, men and their families who had neither 
meat nor meal, salt nor whisky in their dwellings, came to town and spent their 
last dime to "see the show." 

Of the rise and progress of religious organizations in the town and township, 
the writer has not yet made mention, and, like many other matters of early years, 



240 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

there is obscurity and doubt. As early as 1817 or 1818, Elder Nathan Worley, 
from Montgomery County, a man who could not read one word in the Bible, but 
by his people regarded as an apostle, belonging to the body who called themselves 
'•"Christians," and commonly called "New Lights," who utterly abhorred any other 
appellation or name of denomination or sect ; and David Purviance, who had 
been a party in the revolt from the Presbyterian body at Cane Ridge, in Ken- 
tucky, about 1799 or 1800, and who, about 1809 or 1810, had removed with a 
number of like faith to the vicinity of New Paris, Preble County, the one illiter- 
ate as the fishermen of Galilee, the other like Paul or Timothy, "learned in the 
Scriptures from his youth," at intervals, few and far between, held religious 
services in the town' or vicinity. About 1818, Greenville became a point in 
a circuit of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and John P. Durbin, a D. D. of after 
years, and a man whose praise is yet in all the churches, although he has gone 
hence to his reward, was the first itinerant circuit-rider. About the same time or 
near it, the town and township became a missionary field of the Presbyterian 
Church, and was visited first by Nicholas Pittenger, and subsequently by John 
Ross of that denomination, who held services in the town and neighborhood. 
From 1819 or 1820, services of the Baptist Church were held at long intervals, by 
Childers and Wintermole, ministers of that denomination, who yet, after the lapse 
of sixty years, have a quasi-organization, although no regular stated service or 
house of worship in the town or township. 

About the year 1833, a Methodist Church was erected on the site of the 
present edifice ; it was a frame building, and of dimensions capable of seating an 
audience of one hundred to one hundred and fifty. The building was removed in 
after years across the street to make way for the present house. Near the same 
period, the Baptists took possession of the ground where the old log schoolhouse 
had been demolished, and erected a small frame structure to serve them as a place 
of worship. In 183G or 1837, the existing Episcopal Church was erected on the 
o-round where it yet stands ; its position has been changed and the house enlarged. 
Either the same year or the year previous, the Christian Church erected a brick 
building on Third street, between Broadway and Walnut street, which was taken 
down about thirty years since on an exchange of lots, the church obtaining the 
site of the present edifice. These four buildings were the only structures _ for 
ecclesiastical uses in town or township in 1840. Services of other denominations 
were held either in some of these buildings after their erection or in the court 
house. It should, however, be stated here, that at the Catholic cemetery, two 
miles northeast of the town, a log house yet standing was erected, and in it at dis- 
tant intervals religious services were held, when a priest came to look after the 
lambs of that flock who had strayed into the wilderness. This old building was 
probably erected in 1839 or 1840. 





c//.*,d 




ARCANUM 



Z_ 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 



by prof. w. h. Mcintosh. 



Those who bore the burden and heat of the early day, 

Who suffered loss and privation uncomplaining — where are they ? 

They wrought with strong endurance, through discouragement and ill; 

Has the great All-Reaper spared them? Do they dwell among us still? 

Ah, no, they rest from their labors, and little to-day appears 

To remind us of the hardships endured by the pioneers. 

Their noble lives have drifted beyond the shores of time, 

But, the blessed works that, follow are enduring and sublime. 

Yet the past is soon forgotten, as an idle story told, 

The New is a strong young giant that slays and devours the Old. 

Who walks the streets of our cities where the tides of commerce How, 

And thinks of the sloughs and brushwood there fifty years ago ? 

Who, seeing the classic facades of our mansions grand and fair, 

Remembers the buckeye cabins and the half-faced camps once there? 

In the palace cars that bear us over the iron track, 

Leaving the wind to follow, who pauses and looks back 

To the time when the sole conveyance for human freight and goods, 

Was a stanch old four-horse wagon, creeping along through the woods? 

Who sits iu our splendid churches, with their fretted and frescoed walls, 

Where the light, through painted windows, like a broken rain Dow falls, 

And thinks of the band of settlers who paid to God their vows 

On the wild grass sod of the forest under the maple boughs. 

Ah, the past is soon forgotten when its pulsing heart grows cold — 

The New is a strong young giant that slays and devours the Old. 

— S. T. Bolton. 

INTRODUCTION. 

THE history of Darke County is a record of military strife and civil progress. 
It presents, in striking contrast, the terrible cruelties of savage warfare with the 
happy and harmonious developments of peace. It builds the forts which sheltered 
armies and, later, founds cities upon their sites. It shows to us a wild waste of 
forest and swamp, broken by stretches of prairie, and irrigated by bridgeless 
streams, transformed to fields productive, pastures pleasant, homes comfortable 
and cities growing, populous and flourishing. It presents to view the dwellers of 
the wood, the Shawnee, Miami and other tribes at home. The energy of France, 
the power of England and the dominant persistence of Americans found here full 
play. It conducts from beyond the Alleghanies and beyond the ocean to find the 
fatherland of the race now dwelling in its townships. 

The savage is seen to vanish beyond the Mississippi, the pioneer becomes the 
settler and commencement is made of a civilization whose manifest destiny is the 
highest happiness and power of a free people. Owners of the lands they till, 
makers of the laws they obey, themselves the projectors and builders of house and 
church, turnpike and drain, and all the improvements apparent to the eye of the 
interested observer. Persevering industry is seen to have rescued a region of 
swamp wherein miasma bred and floated, poisoning the atmosphere and endanger- 
ing life, to become the most fertile of farms and healthful of lands. 



244 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

Ohio is a noble State, and Darke County, emerging from obscurity, has 
advanced to prominence as one of her most productive counties. The history of 
Darke includes the origin of its founders, their progress in improvingits lands and 
the results of their unwearied industry. 

Could material reward our research, and unwritten truths be rescued from 
oblivion, much of what would fill these chapters would prove a valuable addition 
to our knowledge. There is the inception of courts, the crude attempts at agricult- 
ure, schooling, manufacture and mechanism, the projectors of the turnpike and 
the men who originated and carved through the railroads. There is the progress 
of education, the mutations of the [tress, the growth of religion and the strife of 
opinion — noble themes, worthy of labored study. The historian is desirous yet 
reluctant to attempt the task. Consulting the press, he finds its columns mainly 
replete with pleasing tales and political tirades. The pioneers have listened to 
a hie addresses, but these have not been placed on file. A Wharry, an Arnold, a 
Hiller and a Harper have gathered fragments and done a priceless service, but the 
records of Darke are meager and deficient, and their combination as lessons for 
present entertainment and future reference and instruction is a difficult and impor- 
tant task. 

Traveling her railroads, traveling her turnpikes, and walking the streets of 
towns and cities, the county shows free traces of its recent growth, and the 
thoughtful are anxious to learn the story. To know the acts of our ancestors, to 
asertain the rank of the county, to rehearse examples of heroism, and to exhibit 
the results of untiring and well-applied industry, are considered well worthy of 
patient investigation. The brief outline of State history centering within the 
bounds of Darke, the perilous settlements before the war, the roll of pioneers, the 
rapid changes wrought by labor, are themes to dwell upon. Aided by recollec- 
tions of aged pioneers, annals and manuscripts, attempt is made to delineate the 
customs of the early day, to note the characters of primitive settlement and the 
influence on their health and habits of a residence in a region remote from travel 
and dense with the growth of centuries. There was seen here what is now going 
on in the Far West. The woods abounded in game, the lands were offered at low 
rates, and villages and towns would somewhere be laid out, and we shall see that 
these circumstances attract the roving trapper, the reckless speculator and the 
permanent settler. 

Few are left to-day, in Darke, of those who rendered her citizens such incal- 
culable service in making the county habitable. They have perished, but their 
work remains the basis of present and future prosperity. Pioneer life is made 
prominent because, from its impress, the future was determined. His legacy to 
posterity was an example of rare courage and ceaseless energ}'. A generation, 
springing from blended nations, has stamped its character upon a worthy succes- 
sor. Peoples have clung to mountain side, or island home, because of life associa- 
tions, but citizens of Darke are proud of the historic interest attached to her 
cities, the number and perfection of her pikes, and the attractions of a beautiful 
and diversified scenery. 

Undulating plains, platted with farms and dotted by habitations, stretch away 
on either hand. .Many streams unite their waters, and irrigating the lands, drain 
the soil of surplus moisture ; groves of timber alternate with cleared fields, while 
town and city reveal their site by court-house tower and spire of church. 

Seventy-four years ago. the first white man established within the limits of 
Darke County, by his rude cabin, an outpost of permanent occupation in the Indian 
country. Traders had been here and trappers had followed the traces years before, ' 
but the trails of armies had been overgrown with vegetation, and the Indians, 
cowed and sullen, were still at home in their rude camps along meandering 
streams. 

Three fourths of a century have transformed a savage paradise to an abode 
of the highest civilization. In vain disease and danger, privation and poverty. 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 245 

were leagued against the pioneers ; clearings increased in number and enlarged in 
area ; tradesmen and professional men gathered in the towns. Along Wayne's 
road they trooped and turned aside upon their entered lands. Later came the 
railroads, enhancing values and accelerating transportation. The perfect mechan- 
ism of the age is here in use, on farm, in town and city, and agriculture stands 
prominent in volume and character of its products. 

Nor were education and religion ignored- — those sterling agencies which ele- 
vate and ennoble while they direct and stimulate exertion. These testimonials of 
the past are pledges of like recognition of eminent services in the present, and give 
direction to the future. It is with interest we seek to trace the history of Darke, 
and from the most disheartening commencement discern the growth of present 
proud pre-eminence among her sister counties in elements of stable and enduring 
prosperity. 

LINE OF ORGANIZATION — CONCURRENT EVENTS. 

As families with pardonable pride trace their descent from a long line of hon- 
ored ancestry, so may Darke seek out her origin from the counties first formed in 
the Northwestern Territory. Hamilton was the second county established in the 
Territory, and was organized by proclamation of Gov. St. Clair, on January 20, 
1790, with the following boundary: Beginning on the Ohio River at the conflu- 
ence of the Little Miami, and down said Ohio to the mouth of the Big Miami, and 
up said Miami to the standing stone forks or branch of said river, and thence with 
a line to be drawn due east to the Little Miami, and down said Little Miami River 
to the place of beginning. The condition of the pioneers of this county was 
deserving of commendation. For them to advance out into the wilderness seemed 
certain death, and to remain was to run the risk of starvation. Pioneers the best 
circumstanced found subsistence hard to get, and the poorer class were almost 
destitute. Game, fish, and what could be raised on small patches of ground in the 
settlements were the dependence for food. Having endured these privations for a 
time, some, the more resolute, determined to move out and occupy lands. There 
were several families which united to go, and for common safety block-houses were 
erected near their cabins. While at work by day a lookout was on the watch, and 
at sunset all retired within the pickets. So they labored on till improvements 
had been increased to a size sufficient to provide subsistence for their families. 
These stations became points of refuge for safety and food, and also drew upon 
them the attention of their foes. Perpetual vigilance, hardship and peril were the 
lot of the pioneer, and the block-house became the approved recourse of all settlers 
far up the rivers of Ohio. So scarce and dear was food at this time, that the lit- 
tle flour that could be afforded by families was saved away to be used only in case 
of sickness, or for the entertainment of friends, and game was sought as a neces- 
sity. Ross County was formed on August 20, 1798, by proclamation, as Hamilton 
had been, and likewise had very extensive limits. After Wayne's treaty, Col. 
Nathaniel Massie and others formed a company to make a settlement in the county. 
In August, 1796, Chillicothe was laid out by Col. Massie, and a lot given to each 
settler. Many of Wayne's soldiers and camp-followers settled here, and the society 
was much akin to what has been asserted of our Western towns of Deadwood and 
Leadville. Chillicothe was the point from which the valley settlements spread and 
advanced ; it was a place of considerable business, and in 1800 became the seat 
of government of the Territory. Later, the honor of being capital fell to Zanes- 
ville, and finally to Columbus. Montgomery Count}' was created from Hamilton 
and Ross on May 1, 1803, and the seat of justice was appointed to be at the vil- 
lage of Dayton, and, on January 16, four years later, Miami was formed from 
Montgomery, and Staunton, now a wretched hamlet near Troy, was made the count}' 
seat, and, finally, on January 3, 1809, Darke County was formed from Miami by 
act of the Legislature. It derived its name from the gallant Col. Darke, of whom 
honorable mention has been made in the successive campaigns of Harmar, St. 



246 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

Clair and Wayne. The eastern, western and southern boundaries coincide with 
the original, but when formed, the county extended northward to the Indian bound- 
ary line fixed by Wayne's treaty, and therefore included a portion of the territory 

now belonging to Mercer County. As originally bounded, Fort Recovery stood on 
the northern line of the county. The original survey was made by Ludlow and 
his party early in the century, and the division into sections was the later work of 
Judge John Wharry, of G-reenville. The field-notes of the original survey give 
dolorous accounts of the condition of the county, which seems to have been dis- 
mal with swamps and marshes and far from attractive to the most resolute pioneer. 
Less than a dozen men comprised the population of Miami County from 1797 to 
17 , .i'.', and in 1800 a few families moved in. Then immigrants began to come in 
from all parts of the country. From the coon to the buckskin embraced the cir- 
culating medium. Merehandise was first obtained from Cincinnati, then Dayton, 
and finally a man named Peter Felix established an Indian trafficking post at Staun- 
ton. Ten years had now gone by since Wayne had retired from Greenville, and 
Darke County still formed part of the Indian Territory beyond the frontiers. Its 
hinds were traversed as yet only by the savage, the adventurous hunter, the wily 
trapper and by the Ludlows, Cooper, Nelson and Chambers, surveyors in Govern- 
ment employ, accompanied by their field hands. From June, 1799, to January. 
1802, these venturing forerunners of occupation ran their lines in the face of the 
greatest natural obstacles with almost marvelous fidelity, and, returning, left their 
work to be made useful when the rising tide of settlement should flow in upon 
their forbidding, yet fertile tracts. Onward the settlements were sweeping as they 
have continued to sweep, till beating upon the far Pacific, there has come a return, and 
now in Kansas, Nebraska and other States there is still proceeding, under the 
potent intiuences of inventive genius, a continuation of that occupation which 
expands power, increases wealth and supplies homes for thousands. 

At the close of the Greenville treat}', the county to the westward was a wil- 
derness ; but, in addition to the Indian traces leading from the Miami to the Mau- 
mee. and threading their devious way to other savage villages, there were the 
broad trails cut by pioneers, trodden by horsemen and footmen, and marking the 
route of armies and the forays of detachments. The soldier was also the citizen 
and the settler, and his quick, appreciative glance took in the possibilities of the 
countries he had traveled. For him the woods of Darke had no charm. The con- 
ditions elsewhere were here wanting. Contrast the statement made concerning 
the .Miami settlement to the east with the actual condition of the lands of this 
county. There the country was attractive all about the settlement. Nature pre- 
sented her most lovely appearance ; the rich soil, mellow as an ash-heap, excelled 
in the exuberance of its vegetation. Cattle were lost from excessive feeding, and 
care was required to preserve them from this danger. Over the bottom grew the 
sweet annis, the wild nettle, the rye and the pea vine, in rich abundance, where the 
cattle were subsisted without labor, and these, with nutritious roots, were eaten 1 ly 
swine with the greatest avidity. In Darke lands there were found the woods, the 
endless variety of vine and shrub, impassable swamps, lack of roadway, and the 
great difficulty of making passable roads. Nor were the forests the only or most 
formidable harrier to early settlement. We have seen the woods to be filled with 
Indians. Their principal town was at Piqua. distant but eighteen miles ; their 
camps were along the creeks. In the neighborhood of larger settlements they were 
treated roughly, and are entitled to little consideration, and it was known from 
hitter experience that lone families were in constant danger of -the sudden wrath 
of the savage. We have spoken of Tecumseh's brother, the Prophet. As the lat- 
ter appealed to credulity and superstition, so did the former to a slumbering sense 
of the wrongs to be redressed, and by far more was the warrior to lie dreaded for 
the native eloquence and subtle scheming with which he gradually fanned the 
sparks of discontent into the flames of open warfare. It is said that he built a 
cabin at the point near Greenville, and by others it is denied ; it matters not, 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 247 

but the Shawnee brothers gathered about them dark retainers, who had no kindly 
impulses to the persons who might presume to pioneer the settlement of the 
country. Some portions of the county abounded in game, and among those timid 
and harmless animals were found those fierce and dangerous, as might be judged 
from the names of creek and locality. Still this might be regarded more as an 
annoyance than as a dread, and, later, premiums for scalps of wolf and panther 
supplied the settler with means of paying tax or buying necessaries. There 
existed a still more potent influence debarring occupation, and this was ill reports 
of health and climate. The men of that day were little afraid of labor ; they 
knew the Indian must give way, but they were peculiarly influenced by whatever 
partook of the mysterious, and Rumor's many voices soon changed the natural to 
the marvelous, and Darke Count}' was shunned as the haunt of a plague, desig- 
nated "milk sickness." Some implicitly believe in its prevalence to this day, 
while others assert that it is a myth, undeserving of credence. Endeavors to find 
a case have always proved futile. It is heard of ''just over in the next township.'' 
but, going thither, report placed it further on in the next township, or perhaps in 
the one just left, and the phantom always places the breadth of a township between 
its locality and the curious investigator. But whether a myth or a reality., the 
report spread along the Miami and beyond ; the settlers believed it, and, what was 
worse, regarded it with dread. Even the Indians asserted that certain districts 
were infected with an air freighted with the odors of disease, and gravely told the 
whites, " Not live much here— too much belly sick ;" and. whatever the cause, 
there was sickness where they gave this word of warning. It will, thus be seen 
that the territory which afterward became Darke County had won an unenviable 
reputation, and land titles were held at low r rates, with few bidders. These things 
undoubtedly delayed settlement and caused a tardy growth, while they gave in 
compensation a class of men possessed of pluck and energy, well qualified to 
leave their impress on the soil. 

In the settlement of Darke County, which for eight } r ears was a dependency 
of Miami, two classes of land occupants were recognized — the transient and the 
permanent. The historian called to do justice to the worthy class finds but few of 
their descendants resident citizens of the comity, and it is not till 1816 and later, that 
families came to stay and make their fortune blend with that of their future home. 

Coming up the army roads, striking across the country, eligible locations 
caught the eye. and established the hunter at a creek-side home, while an unusual 
hard time in sickness and losses impelled the intended resident to move away. 
Thus there were conversions from one class to another, and all shared in a certain 
degree of restlessness while in search of a home, but a strongly marked distinc- 
tion between the two divisions existed. There was seen to be here, as elsewhere, 
a border class of trapper and hunter affiliating with the savages, only endured by 
genuine settlers and hanging upon the outmost fringe of advancing occupation. 
It matters little who they were, these openers or beginners, who held aloof from 
neighbors, occupied miserable huts, raised small patches of corn, and left when 
the clearings became too numerous. Many poor men came into the county, put 
up small log cabins, cleared somewhat of ground, then, disheartened by privation, 
sickness and inability to make payments, gave way to others, who built with bet- 
ter success upon their broken fortunes. An old Darke County settler, located not 
far from Greenville, thus speaks of the actual pioneers as a class : "The place for 
the squatter is not quite among the Indians, for that is too savage, nor yet among 
good farmers, who are too jealous and selfish, but in the woods, partly for clearing 
it up and partly for hunting." The histories of townships, dealing with the first 
settlers, often speak of the unknown squatter, whose abandoned claims gave brief 
home to the settler, and whose ill-cleared vegetable patch, growing up to weeds 
and bush, made the spot seem yet more wild than the woods surrounding. 

Travelers and land hunters characterize the squatter class as " rude and 
uncouth."' and express relief when leaving some worse than usual " bed and board." 



248 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

Misunderstandings were decided not unfrequcntly by personal encounters, many 
grievances taken before those early Justices reveal the .sad lessons of poverty 
and intemperance, in marked contrast with later days ; such was the character of 
the squatter class of Darke County. We turn with pleasure to consider the class 
whose labor is the basis of the present enlightened society, and find expression in 
the language of the gifted Everett. '• What have we seen," said he, " in every 
newly settled region ? The hardy and enterprising youth finds society in the 
older settlements comparatively filled up. His portion of the old family farm is 
too narrow to satisfy his wants or desires ; and he goes forth with the paternal 
blessing, and often with little else, to take up his share of the rich heritage which 
the God of Nature has spread for him in this Western World. He leaves the land 
of his lathers, the scenes of his early days, with tender regret glistening in his 
eye. though hope mantles on his cheek. He does not, as he departs, shake off the 
dust of the venerated soil from his feet ; but, on the bank of some distant river, 
he forms a settlement to perpetuate the remembrance of the home of his child- 
hood. He piously bestows the name of the spot where he was born, on the place 
to which he has wandered ; and while he is laboring with the difficulties, strug- 
gling with the privations, languishing, perhaps, under the diseases incident to the 
new settlement and the freshly opened soil, he remembers the neighborhood whence 
he sprung — the roof that sheltered his infancy — the spring that gushed from the 
rock by his father's door, where he was wont to bathe his heated forehead after 
the toil of his youthful sports, the village schoolhouse, the rural church, the grave 
of his father and of his mother. In a few } T ears, a new community has been 
formed, the forest has disappeared beneath the sturdy aim of the emigrant, his 
children have grown up, the hardy offspring of the new clime, and the rising settle- 
ment is already linked in all its partialities and associations with that from which 
its fathers and founders have wandered. Such, for the most part, is the manner in 
which the new States have been built up ; and in this way a foundation is laid by 
Nature herself for peace, cordiality and brotherly feeling between the ancient 
and recent settlement of the country.' 7 

In recounting the incentives to Western emigration, the ruling motive was the 
hope of improving the condition. The land was cheap, undoubtedly fertile, and 
the prospects of a rise in values certain. There were those who expected to find 
a " paradise in the West," and journeyed thither only to suffer from disease, want 
and discouragements. Some went back, telling of suffering, and dissuaded those 
lightly influenced ; others, with inherent manhood, resolved, since they were here, 
to make the best of it. and gradually won their way to affluence and comfort. 
Some time in the fall of 1806, or the spring of 1807, the first white man who came 
to the county to remain, established an Indian trading-house upon the northeast 
corner of Section 34, Greenville Township, which for a time embraced the greater 
part of the county. His stock was small, and of the kind most desired by the 
Indians. He did a thriving business, and exchanged for his goods, which were sold 
at exorbitant prices, various kinds of furs and somewhat of the cursed coin which 
British greed of lands had induced their emissaries to distribute among the faith- 
less savages. 

It is said that the order in trading was as follows, but whether, in this partic- 
ular instance, wherein Azor Scribner was trader, the plan was customary, is 
unknown. If not. it should have been, and it has sonic points worthy of attention 
from civilized customs at stores of this late day. The Indians, bringing with 
them their roll of furs, walked into the cabin and found seats, while each was pre- 
sented with a small piece of tobacco. Pipes were lighted, and the residue was 
placed in pouches. After some time passed in smoking and talking among them- 
selves, one arose, went to the counter, and. taking up a yardstick, pointed out the 
article wanted and asked the price. Payment being made in skins, there was to 
each kind a recognized value. The muskrat was held a< a quarter, the raccoon 
at a third, a doc at a half and a buckskin at a dollar. Payment was made following 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 249 

each purchase, until all exchanges were effected. As each retired, another 
came forward in his turn till all had traded. No one desired to anticipate his 
turn, decorum was observed, and no attempt was made to " beat down," for, if not 
satisfied, another article was pointed out and named. 

It is reported that Scribner not only sold the Indians tobacco, but rum, and 
they generally reserved some of their furs with which to procure liquor for a final 
frolic. The statement is made, and is probably true, that this pioneer trader sup- 
plied his savage customers with rifles, powder, lead, knives and hatchets, on the 
principle that if he did not others would, and he might as well have the profits. 
We cannot blame him for steep prices, when we consider the means of travel. His 
goods were hauled from Fort Washington, now Cincinnati, along Wayne's road bjr 
way of Fort Jefferson, by a yoke of oxen attached to a rough kind of sled, denom- 
inated a "mud-boat," and a trip usually occupied a period of from three to six 
weeks. As there was no competition, Scribner held the monopoly for several 
3 T ears, until the arrival of David Conner, in 1811 or 1812, when his coadjutor 
aspired for a portion of the trade, which at this later period partook more largely 
of civilized exchange. 

We have said that Azor Scribner was the pioneer of Darke County, but, 
some six years after the treaty of Greenville, a Frenchman of unknown name 
established himself for a brief period upon the site of Minatown, and trafficked 
with the natives in exchange for his calicoes and other goods. Scribner's house 
was located about twenty rods from the present site of Porter's tanyard, but 
the date when he moved his family from Middletown, on the Miami, to Greenville 
is unknown, although thought to have been some time in 1808. This family 
consisted of his wife, Nancy Scribner, and two daughters, Sarah and Elizabeth, 
all of whom lived in the shanty which served at once as home and store. Sarah 
— or " Aunt Sail}' " — McKhann is prominent among the aged of to-day as the 
oldest living settler in Darke County. 

PIONEERS THEIR RECORD, INCIDENTS OF THE TIMES, 1808 TO 1816. 

We have to deal, in this chapter, with Darke's history and its surroundings, 
for the brief period of eight years. When we call upon the living and question 
them concerning events of this interval, from the formation to the organization of 
the county, we find them at a loss what to say. We turn to the bound volumes of 
the press, garnered in the court-house, and find few allusions to this period, so 
momentous as the initial of settlement, the commencement of still-continued 
lorogress, and we ponder the meager particulars of these eventful years. 

Within the limits of a generation, marvelous changes have swept this region. 
Black Hoof, Logan and Tecumseh vanished before the swelling tide of western- 
bound humanity, and the Shawnee was driven beyond the Mississippi. Sons and 
grandsons are cultivating the fields of the pioneers, whose last-surviving members 
totter upon the verge of dissolution. Fine farms, growing cities and enlightened 
society are the results of pioneer enterprise, yet the shadows of oblivion are gath- 
ering. The memories of a Rush, an Arnold and of a Wharry, will soon have lost 
their distinctness, and their knowledge will have gone beyond recovery. 

What will be known a few years hence of Samuel Boyd. Aaron Hiller and 
Lemuel Bush ? Of Abraham Studabaker, Briggs, Terry, Creviston, Carnahan 
and Devor ? What of Scott, Mclntyre, Thompson, Williams, Hayes, the ill-fated 
Bush, and a score of those whose labors broke the solitude and changed the feat- 
ures of the wilderness ? It is no puerile task to wrest from obscurity remem- 
brances of early events, and those connected with them. The student of vital 
statistics stand amazed at the mortality of our older citizens during these last few 
years. Familiar faces are sought upon our streets and at their homes, in vain. 
The harvester has gathered the pioneers ; a few yet remain as the gleanings, even 
as some fruit clings to the branches when the time of the vintage is past. These 



250 HISTORY OF DAKKE COUNTY. 

are the veteran survivors of battles with nature's obstacles ; the aged witnesses of 
strange mutations. History knows of no worthier theme than that of those pio- 
neers in a primeval forest, by whose toil the forests fell ; at whose will the heavy, 
dark woods gave way to fields of grain, log cabins and initial industries. Where 
malignant fevers and pestilential miasma crouched and hovered among the swamps, 
one sees the well-tilled fields, the useful drain, the lasting pike. Pioneers of .Miami, 
men fearless of heart and experienced in the settlements, saw with concern the 
rude outfits of the early settlers of Darke, as they pushed slowly on and disap- 
peared in the heavy forests and ague-haunted swamps of that region. 

People did not move by steam and car in those days, no, nor for many years 
later ; as late as 1839, the family of J. S. Patterson plodded their slow march for 
four hundred miles, their goods upon a road wagon, drawn b}^ three horses. All 
along the way, the inquiry was made of them : " Where are you from and where 
are you going ? " They had traveled a long way in Ohio before any one was 
found who knew that there was a Darke County in the State. The}' insisted that 
it must be Stark County or Clarke County that was meant. But, after they had 
left these counties in the rear, and had only two or three days' travel to make, 
there were found some unusually well-informed people, who knew where Darke County 
was, and they knew it mainly by its bad reputation. They said : "Don't go 
there for God's sake ; you'll all die with the milk sickness," and if travel and 
report were so adverse, at this comparatively recent period, what must it have 
been when, during the winter of 1807-08, Samuel C. Boyd moved in and set- 
tled on Section 14, Greenville Township ? Upon a small stream heading about two 
miles north of Greenville, and tributary to the Stillwater, near Beamsville, Boyd 
concluded to remain. He is notable as the first white man who, accompanied by 
a family, made a home within the limits of the county. The farm first known to 
occupation as the residence of this pioneer is that later owned by William Cun- 
ningham, and in 1879, by George Manix. The creek perpetuates his name as 
Boyd's Creek, and brief remembrances tell the following: He went to work and 
built a house, near where the railroad crosses the Gettysburg pike. How he got 
the timber in place and who came to his assistance is conjectural. Perhaps Scrib- 
ner and a party of his Indian customers lent a helping hand, friends may have 
come with him and then returned, or, as is most probable, his wife may have ren- 
dered what aid she could, and he had the energy and ability to erect it himself. 

Subsequent to this, Boyd entered a tract of land on Boyd's Bun, between the 
farms afterward owned by James Buchanan on the south and Barnett's on the 
north, lie was at work on this place clearing off a site for a house, when some 
one came along and reported the murder of Bush b} T Indians. At the solicitation 
of Abraham Studabaker, who, in 1808, had located on the east side of Greenville 
Creek, and had built a block-house there, through distrust of the Indians, Mr. 
Boyd was induced to remove to this refuge, with his family, where they remained 
but a short time. The ceaseless dread of violence hung like a threatening cloud 
over their minds, and they returned to Warren County, where they remained until 
the close of the war, when they once more returned to occupy and improve their 
land on the run. Prior to their removal, on one occasion, while Mr. Boyd was 
absent from home at night, the fierce barking of a dog led the family to think that 
Indians were prowling around, and Mrs. Boyd, in quiet, cautioning the children 
against noise, left the house with them and secreted herself and children in a pile 
of brush, and there passed the hours till morning. Mrs. Martin, then known as 
Dorcas Boyd, says that she remembers playing with the Wilson girls, who, as we 
shall learn more in detail, were killed by the Indians, and relates that a brother of 
the girls, pursued by savages, treed, thrust his hat. placed on the muzzle of his 
gun, cautiously to one side of the tree, as though peering out. drew the fire of his 
pursuers, and while they Stopped to reload, made good his escape. 

During the war of 1812, several incidents occurred in and about Greenville, 
which at that early day seemed naturally to be fitted for a county seat. The 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 251 

greater number of Indians who remained friendly, who claimed and received pro- 
tection from the United States, were located at Piqua, and placed in charge of 
Col. Johnston. There were the Skawnees, Delawares, Munseys, Mohicans, and 
portions of the Wyandots, Ottawas and Senecas. There were at one time assem- 
bled here full six thousand ; and far from being a source of danger, they were the 
best possible protection to the frontier while they were friendly. Johnston was 
beloved of them, their known friend and a man of approved courage. Several 
attempts were made to kill him in hopes of securing the strong body of savages 
for British assistance. Friendly chiefs warned him of danger. His family, save 
his wife, who stayed by him, and all his papers and effects of value, were removed 
for security, while he remained at his post. Various efforts, all foiled, were made 
to effect his death. Madison, then President, disdained to employ Indians in war- 
fare, from a high sense of honor and noble principle, in striking contrast with his 
cruel and mercenary antagonist, and thereby suffered those reverses which befell 
our arms in the North. White flags with mottoes were supplied to parties of the 
Indians wishing to pass scouts and outposts in 'safety. The hatred to Indians in 
general, regardless of their feelings to the whites, was such that but for prudent 
action these Indians would have been driven to retaliate unprovoked injuries. 

.At one time, a part}^ of whites discharged a murderous volley into the midst 
of a body of Indians, approaching them with the utmost confidence, bearing a flag 
in full view. Two Indians fell dead, a third was wounded, and the rest were taken 
captive, robbed of everything they possessed and taken to Greenville, where a 
post had been established, and to which these cowardly assassins belonged. Con- 
science has ever made cowards of men. and the garrison at Greenville, alarmed at 
the possible consequences of their cruel action, brought their prisoners to Upper 
Piqua, and delivered them to Col. Johnston. That officer decided to conduct them 
back to Greenville, and there to restore them to their property and to their people. 
The officer commanding the post at Piqua was asked for a guard to the. Indians, 
but neither himself nor any of his men dared to go. Johnston then decided to 
make the journe}' himself, to prevent evil effects among the Indians. Mounting 
his horse, he bade his wife farewell, and made the journey to Greenville in safety. 
The articles taken from the Indians were returned to them, a speech of concilia- 
tion and disavowal made, and then the Colonel rode home alone. 

PERSONAL REMINISCENCES. 

The Rush brothers, James, Henry and Andrew, with their brother-in-law, 
Hiller, and Henry Creviston came to Darke in 1810, from the Pickaway Plains, 
and settled near Greenville, where they remained till the spring of 1812, when the 
following occurrences took place : 

All were steadily at work, preparing the ground for a crop of corn, and each 
day saw some improvement upon that preceding. Indians were camped all through 
the woods and passed the greater part of their time in hunting. It will be remem- 
bered that this was the spring succeeding the battle of Tippecanoe, where, as is 
well known, the Indians attempting to surprise the camp of Gen. Harrison were 
signally defeated. There was one Indian of those ranging the woods near the 
creek, who was lame as if wounded, and who gave himself the name of Simon 
Girty, but whether hostile or not, little attention was paid to him or the others. 
The people were attending busily to their necessary labors. Some employed the 
spring days of 1812 in clearing their land, some were busy tapping the sugar 
maples, boiling the sap and making syrup and sugar, and so were engaged about 
the 1st of April, when indefinite reports were circulated of Indian hostility and 
consequent danger to the settlers. A trader up at Fort Recovery was reported to 
have been killed by his partner, while some said he met his death from the 
Indians. The incident created no alarm, ami matters proceeded as usual till 
one day the Rush brothers, making a journey on horseback to Fort Recovery, 



252 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

passed on their way a number of camps whose occupants, manifesting a friendly 
feeling, lulled apprehension, and the settlers, easily quieted, went about their daily 
labors. 

About the 28th of April, Andrew Rush started for a little mill which had been 
built on Greenville Creek, a few rods above where the Beamsville road to Green- 
ville makes a crossing. He got his grist and set out to return home. On his way 
he stopped to make ;i call on Daniel Potter, who. with Isaac Vail, was occupying 
each his own end of a double log house, which stood between the present residence 
of Moses Potter and the creek. 

These two settlers from some cause had become fearful of trouble, and had 
gone down the Miami for assistance to take back their families to their former 
homes. Mrs. Potter asked Rush if he were not afraid of the Indians, and he put 
his hand through his hair and replied, jokingly, " No ; I had my wife cut my hair 
this morning, so short that they could not get my scalp off." Sometime about 4 
P. M.j he left for home, and had proceeded not half a mile when he was shot from 
his horse, tomahawked and his scalp taken. 

Uneasiness was felt because of his not returning home, but all the next day 
forenoon rain fell steadily, and it was thought he might have stayed with a settler, 
but in the afternoon Hiller's oldest son and Bush's brother-in-law took ahorse and 
set out to look for him. The boys followed the track made by Rush to Greenville 
Creek, just above Spiece Mill, and there found the body laying on the sack of meal, 
mutilated as described. They went hurriedly on to Potter's, and the settler who 
had returned mounted the horse and set out to spread an alarm. The bo} r s crossed 
to the cabin of Thomas McGinnis, on Mud Creek, but he had heard the news and 
had departed. At the next house the inmates had also gone, and, running forward 
to the third cabin, they found it, too, silent, deserted and the door partly open. 
Hiller took a look within to see how matters were, and saw that the house had 
been left in haste and little, if anything, had been removed. 

They then hastened to the cabin of Henry Rush, and it was abandoned. The 
truth was evident, that a panic had seized upon all, and they had fled for their 
lives. 

Darkness surrounded the boys as they made their way through the woods to 
the cabin of James Rush, where the settlers had assembled their families, and 
were preparing to meet an expected attack. Just before the arrival of the boys, 
James Rush had set out on horseback to reconnoiter how things were. 

Arriving at the house of Peter Rush, he there found the hunter, Henry Crevis- 
tou, who had passed the day in the woods, and now the three men, accompanied 
by the wife of Peter, went to the home of Andrew, where John S. Hiller, son of 
Aaron, was passing the night. The sad news was soon known to all, and the party 
set out for Mr. Hiller's. It was well that the Indians did not attack the family, as 
they were helpless. Mrs. Hiller had not walked a step for years, and there were 
five children here too small to travel alone. The reader cannot imagine the terror 
of the time — the gloomy uncertainty. About 9 P. M.. the sky cleared of clouds, 
the moon rose and James Push mounted his horse, took up Peter's wife behind 
him and went home for help to remove the women and children. 

None of the men could be spared, as they expected to be attacked before 
daylight, but the two boys, above named, returned with two more horses and a 
gun. All started for the fort, as it was afterward called, at about 2 A. M., and gol 
in safe at daylight. The men were busy all this day putting the cabin in a state 
for defense, while the body of the murdered man still lay where it had fallen, and 
the panic was at its height. 

A man named Sumption, about sixty years of age. set off alone, gun in hand, to 
Troy, Miami County, and reached there by daylight. Another man went to Lex- 
ington, Preble County, the same night. The next evening, a company of men 
reached old Fori Greenville, and late at night another company came up and went 
into camp on the east side of Mud Creek. In the morning, the Preble County 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 253 

men moved out on the road to the body of Rush and gave it burial. They then 
pushed for the new block-house where seven families had gathered for safety. 

Part of the relief remained at Rush Port some time, and arrangements having 
been made, the women and children were escorted back to the older settlements 
for security. The Rush families returned to Pickaway County, and Hiller moved 
his family to Piqua. Miami County, about the middle of May. 

At this time, there was but one family at what was then called old Fort Green- 
ville, and this that of Mrs. Armstrong. Across the creek stood the cabin of Scrib- 
ner and at the fort could be seen portions of the pickets set by Wayne's men, and 
a gibbet built by his orders was yet standing. 

The experience of Abraham Studabaker, as detailed in township histoiy, was 
hard enough, but he did not retire from his land. He moved in 1795, from Penn- 
sylvania to Scioto County, Ohio, thence he went to Warren, and. in 1808, came 
to Darke and built his first cabin on Congress land, near the present site of Gettys- 
burg. He thought it prudent to erect a block-house on his premises and adopted 
toward his many Indian visitors a policy of kindness. No hungry Indian tramp 
went unfed from his door. Though somewhat of a tax on his resources, j^et it 
enabled him safely to remain upon and improve his land. 

Previous to the battle of Tippecanoe, a cowardly attack was made upon a 
Miami Indian, coming to Greenville with his family for supplies. The particulars 
are fully given by J. Wharry in a previous chapter. Such was the effect of this 
attack upon the Indian mind, that before 10 o'clock next morning Fort Meigs, a 
hundred miles distant, was surrounded by 2,000 enraged savages. Brooding upon 
defeat, driven from their ancient homes, and incited by the English, the cause of 
one tribe was espoused by almost the entire number of the Northwest Indian 
tribes, and from that time until the victory of Harrison, and the defeat of Tecum- 
seh and Gen. Proctor, at the Fallen Timber, in Upper Canada, the settlers on the 
frontier were only preserved from " the terror by night, and the dread by da}'." 
through the exercise of the most unremitting watchfulness. In addition to the 
Indian troubles, the war of 1812 increased the jeopardy to life in the scattered 
homes of the pioneers. It should have been enough for families to brave the lone- 
liness and hardships of the wilderness without the constant apprehension of 
murderous surprise, torture, or the tomahawk and knife. 

While, as we have said, a large body of Indians had assembled at Piqua, there 
were in the woods many who needed little urging to again dig up the hatchet. 
The wholesome dread of Wayne had lessened with time, and the solicitations and 
bribes of the English were not altogether ineffectual. The account given of mur- 
ders on either side show the smoldering fires which were likely at a moment to be 
fanned into a blaze, and explain the singular panics which drove back the picket 
lines of settlement upon the heavier bodies. A new race had come to maturity, 
and their warm blood excited the Indians to open hostility. We know that Tecum- 
seh remained for a time after being ordered to leave, and finally moving from his 
camp on Mud Creek, he led his warriors bravely, but in vain, as an ally of the 
British, in hopes to drive the whites from the fertile valleys of the Ohio and the 
Mississippi. This alliance was on one account a fortunate one for the pioneers of 
Darke County, as it removed the seat of war to distant points. No battle or other 
important event occurred in this county during the war, although small parties of 
hostiles were continually prowling about, keeping up the alarm and now and then 
securing a scalp. 

We have spoken of Rush and Studabaker' s block-houses, and there were gar- 
risons at Jefferson and Greenville, beside a fortified house on the banks of Still- 
water, in Richland Township, on Section 34, near the cemetery. One other tragic 
event recalls the earlier day. the murder of the Wilson girls, in July, 1812. Two 
children, daughters of William Wilson, residing near Minatown. were out one day 
gathering wild berries between their home and the creek, when they were set upon 
and killed. It appeared as if their heads had been dashed against a tree, and their 



254 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

scalps had been taken. They were buried near where their bodies had been found, 
and from this period the attention of the reader is called away to measures of 
peace, law and permanent improvement. 

Several dwellings and four block-houses were erected in Greenville, prior to 
the war of 1812. The houses were all on Water. Walnut and Ash streets, and the 
block-houses were located as follows : One on Lot No. 59, Main street ; a second 
on the same street ; a third on Water Street, beyond the limits of the town, near 
the old cemetery, and the fourth on what is now Sycamore street, in Gray's Addi- 
tion, and beyond the early limits of the town. 

In the year 1814, Abraham Scribner brought to the place a small stock of 
dry goods and groceries, and opened a store in the first-named block-house, where 
he enjoyed quite an extensive patronage. Upon this small lot he erected a dwell- 
ing, which still exists, and is used as a residence by Mr. Schubert. Charles Sump- 
tion was also a dealer in merchandise in the village at this time, as were probably 
Samuel Harmer and Linus Bascom, who were engaged in the dry-goods business 
in 1816. 

At this early period of existence, Greenville was honored as the place of 
assembly for the agents of the Government, and delegations from various Indian 
tribes, to consummate a second treaty. This took place on the 22d of July, 1814, 
and Avas conducted, on the part of the United States, by Gen. William H. Har- 
rison, who was afterward President, and Gen. Lewis Cass, then Governor of 
Michigan Territory, together with the friendly and faithful Wyandots, Delawares, 
Shawnees and Senecas, who were most prominently represented by Capt. Pipe, 
Tarhe, Little Turtle and Black Hoof and some others. The United States Com- 
missioners made their headquarters at the house of Abraham Scribner, at the 
northwest corner of Elm and Water streets. At this treaty, the Government agents 
and the tribes named gave peace to the Miamis, Weas, and Eel Biver Indians, 
and to certain of the Pottawatomies, Ottawas, and Kickapoos. All, whether allies 
or aliens at this treaty, bound themselves to take part with the Americans in case 
of a continuance of the war with Great Britain. Happily, England and the 
Bepublic soon concluded a peace, and the treaty was followed, in 1816, by others 
with the various Western and Northern tribes, thereby giving to the frontiers quiet 
and security once again. The speaking at the second Greenville treat}' took place 
in a little grove on the opposite side of the street from Scribner's, on the lot now 
occupied by the residence of Michael Miller, Esq. According to the testimony of 
an eye-witness, it was, with a single exception, the largest, most notable meeting 
ever held in Greenville. The Indians came dressed in all the toilet of their 
respective tribes — plumes, scalp-lock and paint ; all the attendants of barbaric- 
splendor were admirably set off by the more serviceable, if not picturesque, uni- 
forms of the United States soldiers from Cincinnati and Fort Wayne. It was long 
spoken of by the early settlers, who attended from a distance of many miles, .as 
an occasion of rare occurrence, worth}' of commemoration in the annals of the 
county. 

As will be noted later, the consciousness of security at last broke down one 
formidable barrier to settlement ; the refugee settlers returned to their old homes 
to repair the ravages of time and to renew their labors, while from the older 
counties; from Kentucky, Pennsylvania. Maryland, the Carolinas, families of emi- 
grants by watei", wagon, on horseback and on foot, plodded their way northward 
from the Ohio, or westward, and quietly settled in and about the older clearings, 
gladly receiving the proffered assistance of the pioneers. Greenville received its 
share of population in due proportion. Dry goods were sold by Easton Morris 
and the Hoods, Robert and William, as also these necessary supplies were for pur- 
chase at the establishments of Linus Bascom and Abraham Scribner. The neces- 
sity of places of entertainment for man and beast was supplied by the opening of 
taverns by A /or Scribner and Moses Scott, whose bar for the refreshment of the 
thirst}' was an indispensable adjunct of the early day hostelry. Among citizens 



HISTORY OF DA.RKE COUNTY. 255 

there were old Mr. Devor, Dr. Perrine, unmarried and commencing a practice 
destined to become extensive and laborious, and John Beers, whose official services 
were about to be required on occasion of the organization of Greenville as the 
county seat. 

THE COUNTY SEAT. 

Darke Count}-, as stated, was created by act of the General Assembly January 
3, 1809 ; but, on account of delay in settlement from causes shown, organization 
was postponed until December l4. 1816, when the actual and promised population 
warranted an independent government and enabled this section to act for itself. 

As has frequently been the case and still continues to be the practice in the 
new counties of the States just settling up, there were not wanting enterprising 
and speculative men keenly alive to the pecuniary profits sure to result from owner- 
ship of land set apart for a county seat. A strife arose in Darke Count}', and 
there was sharp competition for the site of the county seat on the part of various 
landholders desirous of securing some profit from an advance in values. Enos 
Terry laid off a town plat on Herdman's farm, over the creek, and by some means 
had the plat established as the county seat. This act proved almost entirely 
unsatisfactory, and a pressure was brought to secure its repeal. This was accom- 
plished, and Commissioners were chosen to make the required location. David 
Briggs was anxious to have it established near the present junction of the Gett} T s- 
burg and Milton pikes, but a quietus was put upon the proposition by the facetious 
suggestion of John Studabaker that it would require at least forty Constables to 
keep the frogs quiet while the Judge was delivering his charge to the grand jury. 
The location was finally made, as it now stands, at Greenville, by the Board of 
County Commissioners, in consideration of the acceptance of a proposition made 
by Mrs. Armstrong to donate the county the one-third of the ninet}--six lots con- 
stituting the original town plat for such public uses as might be deemed desirable 
in the future, whether as sites for public buildings or as land for sale outright, 
upon which to realize funds for county purposes ; deed of sale was made to the 
Commissioners of Miami County, and placed on record upon the register at Troy ; 
those officials then gave a deed of the property to the county of Darke. 

The first meeting of the Board of County Commissioners was held in June, 
1816. The Board consisted of Archibald Bryson, Abraham Studabaker and Silas 
Atchison. John Beers was appointed Clerk for one year and John Devor was 
made Tax Collector. His bond was fixed at $3,000. David Connor, heretofore 
referred to, was the sole signer of this, the first Treasurer's bond, and his name 
was considered sufficient. The first act of the new officers was to fix the rate of 
license for tavern-keepers and storekeepers, which was placed at $8 for the former 
and $10 for the latter. A tax of 30 cents a head was levied on horses and 10 
cents a head on cattle. The onby roads at this time were the paths made by the 
Indians, the roads pursued by the armies, and such as were cut by the settlers in 
moving upon their claims. At this, the first session of the Commissioners, it was 
" ordered that a road be viewed and surveyed, leading from Greenville across the 
bridge at Enos Terry's, and thence by the nearest and best route in a direc- 
tion toward Fort Loramie, until it strikes the county line." David Briggs, David 
Thompson and Moses Scott were appointed viewers, and John Beers, surveyor. 
They were ordered to begin their work on the 26th of June, 1817. 

On the 3d day of July, the Commissioners ordered Lots 36, 62, 20, 56, 39 and 
53, in the town of Greenville to be sold for the purpose of raising funds to build 
a jail on the public square. These lots were accordingly offered for sale on the 
second Monday of the following August. The price realized was $47.75 ; one- 
half was paid in cash, the other was given one year's time. 

For some reason, perhaps from there being little call for a place for confine- 
ment of criminals, the contract for the construction of a jail was not let until 
1818, when the work was undertaken by Matthias Dean for $300 ; one-half down 
as an advance, and the remainder when the work was completed and accepted. 



256 HISTORY OF DAHKE COUNTY. 

It is always of interest to peruse the first records of any association or cor- 
poration, as by them we are enabled to learn the ability and character of the men 
chosen to lead in civil affairs and by comparison with the acts of later years, from 
an estimate of the growth of improvement, increased wealth, and, in some instances, 
disproportionate cost. These retrospective pages are generally favorable to the 
pioneers since they seem to have acted with decision, economy and prudence. To 
this end. we copy verbatim the record of the first session of the Coui't of Common 
Pleas for this County : 

"Darke County organized, March 1, 1817. Court of Common Pleas of 
Darke County, aforesaid. .March 13, 1817. Before session, to appoint a Clerk pro 
tern, and Recorder. Enos Terry, John Purviance and James Rush, Esquires, 
Associate Judges, as appears by their commissions. John Beers was appointed 
Clerk pro tern., to give bond '7th of 'April next. The appointment of Recorder 
was postponed till 7th of April next. Court adjourned until April 7, to meet at 
the home of Moses Scott, at Greenville. Signed, Enos Terry." These few lines, 
brief as they are, present the minutes, in full, of the first special 'term, and are a 
marked contract, in simplicity, with the verbiage of later special terms. 

The next session was held, pursuant to adjournment, as shown by the following 
complete transcript of the proceedings : 

• Common Pleas met agreeable to adjournment. The same judges as on the 
13th of March last. John Beers resigned his appointment of Clerk pro tem., and 
Linus Bascom was appointed Clerk pro tem., in his room. Abraham Scribner 
appointed Recorder. Court adjourned without day. Signed, Enos Terry." The 
first regular term of the Court of Common Pleas was in June, 1817. Joseph H. Crane, 
of Dayton, was the first Presiding Judge, with the associates above named. They all 
produced commissions, signed by Thomas Worthington, Governor of Ohio, and at 
once entered upon the performance of their duties. The records show no grand 
jury in attendance at this first term, for the good reason, as the minutes show, that 
there was " no Sheriff, Coroner or other officer qualified to serve and return proc- 
ess," and that there had been "no venire facias for a grand jury served and 
returned." These facts having been officially made known to the court, it was 
•• ordered that a venire facias issue, directed to Moses Scott," who was especially 
authorized and empowered to serve and return, commanding him to summon 
fifteen good and lawful men of the county, to appear forthwith, at our court house 
in Greenville, to serve as grand jurors; upon which writ the said Moses Scott 
returned that he had summoned John Loring, John Andrews, James Cloyd. Daniel 
Potter, Robert Douglas, Abraham Miller, Filder G. Lenham, Daniel Holley. Joseph 
Townsend, James Williamson, John Ryerson, David Briggs, Levi Elston, Martin 
Ruple and Peter Rush, who, being chosen and sworn and charged, retired to their 
room." Few are left who had a personal acquaintance with these men; and they, 
the first Darke County grand jurymen ever impaneled, have long since passed 
away. The latest survivor was James Cloyd, who was a resident of German 
Township, and died, at a ripe old age, a few years before the civil war. 

We again quote from the minutes : "The court appointed Henry Bacon to 
act as prosecutor, on behalf of the State of Ohio, for the county of Darke, until 
the further order of the court thereon. The grand jury found several indictments 
at this term. Among others, there was one against Robert Hood, for •• selling 
whisky to the Indians." Another indictment was found against William R. Jones, 
for assault and battery, it being alleged and proved that he had flogged an eaves- 
dropper for peeping through the cracks of the Log cabin at the grand jury, while 
they were holding their session. The Constable was convicted and fined $8 and 
costs. This may have been right, but the fellow deserved what he got, and the 
Constable was not wanting in the discharge of his duty. His ignorance of legal 
technicalities and his zeal outran his discretion, and his punishment by fine and 
dismissal was severe. 

The various defendants toseveral indictments found were duly arraigned, and, 
as a matter of course, entered a plea of " not guilty." Matters were now brought 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 257 

to a dead halt, as a reference to the record showed " no persons returned to serve 
as petit jurors." Acting Sheriff Scott was, therefore, at once ordered to "summon 
twelve good and lawful men of said county to serve as petit jurors," upon which 
writ the said Moses Scott returned that he had summoned Charles Sumption, John 
McFarlin, James Williamson, John Break, Charles Read, Jacob Miller, William 
Montgomery, Robert Mclntyre, James Perry, Aaron Dean. Alexander Smith and 
Zachariah Hull." Of these, the first petit jury ever impaneled in Darke County, 
none are known to be living. The latest survivor, so far as ascertained, was John 
McFarlin, of the township of Jackson. At the close of this term, the following 
entry was placed on record : " The court allows Henry Bacon, Prosecutor for Darke 
County, $10, for services at this term." 

On the second Monday of August, 1817, Moses Scott presented his commis- 
sion from the Governor, as Sheriff, and gave a bond of $4,000. On the same day, 
William Montgomery presented his commission as Coroner, and gave a bond for 
$2,000. There were two courts a year. Each term lasted but one or two days. 
It took a ride over nearly the entire county to summons men enough to make up 
the two juries. The grand jury rarely sat more than one day. Services were paid 
for in county orders, which were current in exchanges, at 50 cents cash on the 
dollar, as there was no money in the treasury. The allowance to each grand juror 
was 75 cents per day ; the petit juror was paid but half a dollar, but received this 
on each trial, and this was paid by the winning party. 

The first court had been held in the bar-room of Azor Scribner, and as was 
just and fair, the second was appointed for the 14th of November, 1817, in the bar- 
room of Scott's Tavern. The first case called was an action for debt, in which 
Anthony Ricard appeared as defendant. The Clerk's fees were $2.50 ; those of 
the Sheriff were $1.17, and of the Attorney, $5 — making a total of $8.67. At this 
time, William, son of Moses Scott, had been elected Sheriff. The tavern, in those 
days, was the place for assembl} 7 to exchange items of news, join in a sociable 
glass and partake perhaps of the plain but abundant fare offered. 

The event of a court was a novelty, and a number of the settlers gathered 
about and curiously observed the proceedings. A panel of grand jurors, among 
whom was John S. Hiller, was sworn in, as a matter of course, and received the 
charge from Judge Crane, then on the circuit. Gen. James Mills was foreman, 
and the party was conducted to Azor Scribner's bar-room, and duly furnished 
by the hospitable inn-keeper with a bottle of good whisky and a pitcher 
of water. Soon a man was admitted who testified that he had been assaulted, 
wounded, beat and otherwise ill-treated. On his retirement, another entered, who 
witnessed that his predecessor before the jury had committed a like offense upon 
him. The case was by no means a clear one. The foreman was about to take the 
sense of the jury, when he announced that " it had been rulable in Butler County, 
where he came from, to require the j'oungest juryman to vote first." This chanced 
to be Hiller, who naturally entered an objection, saving that as this was his first 
experience on a jury, he did not wish to be forward in giving an opinion. The 
bottle was then brought into requisition, and after disposing of the liquor to gen- 
eral satisfaction, the case was formally decided. At the close of the da}-, the jury 
was discharged and court adjourned sine die. 

COUNTY BUILDINGS. 

A laudable pride is manifested in the matter of public building, and this has 
kept pace with the growth of resources. In the beginning, the aim was low taxes, 
strict economy in public expenditure and a desire to pay the county debt. The 
new county had entered upon its career houseless, roadless and bridgeless, yet the 
average tax did not exceed $3. 

We have noted the construction of a jail. The Commissioners, at the time of 
letting the contract, in 1818, were A. Studabaker. A. Bryson and Jacob Miller. 



258 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

Eastern .Monis was Clerk and James Devor was Auditor. Miller had succeeded 
Atchinson. The Commissioners cast lots for duration of term. Miller drew one 
year, Bryson two years and Studabaker three. The annual exhibit for the 
year 1820. of receipts and expenditures of the county, were as follows : Received 
from Moses Scott, Tax Collector, $440.054- ; on notes and costs of roads, $185,644- ; 
and of A. Scribner, tavern license, $10; fines, $16.50; license, $32 ; permits. 
$10.69 ; total, $59.19. Total, $700.89. Expenditures, by orders redeemed, 
$708.82. 

The letting of the first court house was an affair of minor moment. The 
contract was taken by John Craig, whose work was accepted on June 4, 1824. 
This humble frame building, surrounded rear and front with additions, stands on 
Third street, next the Odd Fellows' Building, and now of fifty-six years' duration; 
has served the purposes of a dwelling a period of forty years. 

On Sunday morning. May 2, 1827, the log jail that stood on the public square, 
just back of where the city hall now stands, from some cause, had caught fire and 
burned down. 

On the 29th of June following, a contract was let for the construction of a 
jail building to John Armstrong, for $525. It was originally intended to erect 
this structure on the east corner of the public square, but at a special session of the 
Board of County Commissioners, held September 13, 1827, a petition was presented, 
asking for the location of the jail on Lot 25. This was granted, and on June 3, 
1828, this the second jail was received from the contractor, under a compromise, 
at $520. In 1830, the public revenues were augmented by the levy of a tax on 
doctors and law}-ers — the former having been assessed at $3, and the latter a half- 
dollar less. It would be a gratification to learn on what grounds this tax was 
assessed, whether as a tax on incomes from the amount of business and good fees 
collected, or as a method of repression. If for the latter reason, it proved a signal 
failure ; not but that among this class have been and are found the most gifted and 
valued citizens in Darke County, but from the number who have chosen these 
mind-perplexing professions. 

The increased business of the county called for a better public building, and, 
to this end the Commissioners met on January 7, 1833, to make selection of a 
court-house site. The location was made upon the center of the public square. 
Bids were advertised for, and on February 18 following the contract for erecting 
the building was let to James Craig for $2,490. The plan of the proposed struct- 
ure was prepared by Allan LaMotte. who received in compensation $10. 

The services of the Commissioners, during the five sessions held for the pur- 
pose of selecting the site, receiving bids, awarding contract and attending to minor 
matters, were donated to the county — a circumstance memorable for its rarity. 
The conti-actor was allowed and extra compensation of $27.20 for supplying pine 
shingles instead of oak, and $7.43 for sand, thus making the entire cost of the 
building $2. 524. 03. It stood forty 3 r ears, and was of the t}-pe common to the 
times — two stories in height, roof four-square, and surmounted by a cupola. 

Eleven years following the erection of this court house, on the 17th of April, 
1844, the contract was let for a new jail to James C. Reed, for $3,800. but a failure 
was made in the matter of a sufficient bond; the next best bid was taken, and 
the contract was finally awarded to Allan La Motte and Israel Reed, for $3,975. 
This jail was built on the southeast half of Lot 25, and was received from the 
contractor June 3, 1845. The extras allowed amounted to $21. The building is 
now in use as a place of business, having a front erected flush with the side- 
walk and hiding it from public view, and, unless destroyed by lire, promises many 
years good service. Arrangements looking to tin 1 establishment of a county infirm- 
ary for the care of infirm, sick and disabled poor were made by the purchase, on 
March IS. 1854, by the County Commissioners, of a county farm containing 248 
aeres — the price paid being $6,000. Plans and specifications for the necessary build- 
ings were prepared ami presented by Pearson Smith, who received $25 for the 




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gjtrfyn, *$C oy^uuf^ 



MONROE TP. 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 261 

same. These plans were subsequently amended by Messrs. William Wells and 
Moses Hart. The contract for building the infirmary was let on May 17, 1854, to 
Orin S. Culbertson & Co., for $7,198, with an additional sum of $88 for exca- 
vating for foundations. Work was completed and the building was received from 
contractors on January 31, 1856. Variation from the terms of the contract 
involved additional expense of #1,260.67, thus making the entire cost of the work 
$8,458.67. 

The Darke County Poor Farm was deeded by John Spray to the County 
Commissioners at the time above stated. It is located two and a half miles south 
of Greenville, upon both sides of the Greenville & Eaton Pike, upon the southeast 
quarter, and about twenty-nine acres of the southeast corner of the southwest 
quarter, and eight acres on the northeast corner of the southwest quarter of Sec- 
tion 11, Township 12, Greenville Township, and about forty-one acres — part of 
the north half of the northwest quarter of Section 14, Township 11. The orig- 
inal building was a three-story brick structure, 40x84 feet, and 28 feet in height. 
In 1875-76, an addition was made equal to the original building, thereby doub- 
ling its capacity. There are now sevent3~-two rooms, including the cell depart- 
ment. A laundry has also been added, 20x30, two stories, and an engine-house 
18x30 feet, separate from the main building. The basement is mostly used for 
culinary and other domestic purposes. The second story is comfortably furnished, 
and does not present that repellant, forbidding aspect supposed by many persons 
to be inseparable from the county house. The buildings are advantageously 
located on high ground, and command a fine view of the surrounding country. 

The officers are a Superintendent and three Infirmary Directors. The follow- 
ing is the roster of Superintendents : Jacob Shivery, who served three years ; 
David Thompson, six years ; William Thompson, five years ; Crawford Eddiugton, 
seven years, and J. N. Braden, who is now serving on his third year. The Super- 
intendents are annually elected. The first Directors were C. Harshey, John S. 
Hiller and Joel Thomas. The present Directors are William Shaffer, J. A. Kelch 
and Samuel Emerick. 

The first inmate was received March 1, 1856. That year, the average number 
received was but eighteen. On March 1, 1880, the number of inmates was 106. 
There are accommodations for 130. The infirmary building proper has cost 
$11,500. The present value of buildings, farm and improvements is estimated at 
$30,000. The number of acres under cultivation is 190. The value of what was 
raised on the farm in 1879 was $2,400. The expense of keeping up the institu- 
tion was for the same period $7,950. The balance in excess of income was 
therefore $5,550. The average expense for the last eight years above income has 
been nearly $7,000, as we are informed by the present Superintendent. Material 
improvements are being made upon the farm. Tile to the extent of 400 rods has 
been put down within the last two years. Fruit trees have been set out. and 
other advantageous progress made. The orchard product last year was 450 
bushels of apples — an amount fully equal to the requirements of the infirmary. 
There were raised on the farm, 1,295 bushels of wheat, 578 of oats, 5 of clover 
seed, 3,300 of corn, 1,050 of potatoes, and 5,500 heads of cabbage. Sixty-eight 
hogs were killed, making 18,000 pounds of pork, and 9 beeves, making 4.251 > 
pounds of beef. There are 42 head of cattle on the farm, 5 horses, and 140 head 
of hogs. 

In proportion to the population of the county, negroes form much the largest 
per cent of the infirmary inmates. Next in number are the Irish, but it is a curi- 
ous fact that the per cent of Irish women is very small. To quote the exact 
language of the Superintendent, " Nine out of ten of all the inmates who have 
come have been brought here through intemperance ; some of them through acci- 
dents received while drunk." There are fourteen idiotic persons in the institution, 
four of whom do not know enough to feed themselves, and must be waited upon 
like small children. The health of the inmates has been uniformly good. A 

D 



2G2 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

single deal 1) 1ms occurred among the old occupants within a year. There have 
been four deaths in all. but three of these were brought thither sick. 

The infirmary physicians arc the Drs. Matchett. The entire mim Iter of pau- 
pers in the institution on August 31, 1S79, was 114 ; the number admitted during 
the year was 193; the number of poor otherwise supported by the county was 
150. According to the report of the Auditor, the total cost of keeping the infirm- 
ary poor was $8,314.49, and the entire expense of maintaining those otherwhere 
was $1,9 10.05, thus making an expense of poor for the year of 1879 a grand total 
of $10,254.54, or an average cost per day of each pauper to the county of 2<> cents. 

It is pleasant to contemplate the humane consideration now manifested for 
these unfortunates as compared with their condition during the earlier years of 
county government. Prior to the establishment of the infirmary in 1854, there 
was no place where their helplessness could find kindness and care; under the 
prevalent custom of " farming out" the paupers to the lowest bidder, the unfor- 
tunate was made to suffer in many ways, and it did not conduce to wholesome 
fare, warm clothing and sufficient rest, with exemption from labor, and medical 
care when sick, to have been sold under competition to persons whose object was 
less the amelioration of their condition than the hope and intention to profit from 
the investment. The history in detail of this infirmary and others similar is 
encouraging proof of the development of charitable and noble impulses, which 
render the unostentatious benevolence and philanthropy of peace more to be 
admired and honored than the most glorious deeds of war. 

The present jail and Sheriff's residence has been standing about ten years. 
The contract for building was let in September, 1869, to Jonathan Kenney, of 
Dayton, Ohio, for $39,750. Miles Greenwood, of Cincinnati, did the iron work, 
and Alexander Kerr, of Greenville, the carpenter and joiner work. The two build- 
ings are connected by a hall, and their extent is ninety-seven feet in length by 
forty-four in width. The buildings are of two stories, with neat freestone finish. 
The residence is an elegant structure, and the jail is admirably arranged to secure 
the comfort and safe-keeping of prisoners. This property is situated upon Broad- 
wa}^. The court house is an ornament to the city, and an honor to the county. 
The edifice was completed in 1874 at a cost of $170,000, and the dedication was 
formally made on August 3 of that }*ear. The material used in building is stone. 
The Corinthian style of architecture prevails, but with such additions and modifi- 
cations as to render difficult any attempt at strict classification. In reply to 
inquiry, an architect classed it as " Corinthian with American treatment." 

Whatever it may be termed, it presents to the eye an ornate and imposing 
appearance. Ascending the stone platform, you push aside a door and enter a 
corridor extending down the center and length of the building. Furnaces supply 
uniform and agreeable temperature; offices are located for public convenience. 
Large iron safes stand to the left as you pass from the front entiy. The first 
rooms to the right in order are the offices of the Board of Commissioners, the 
Auditor and of the Treasurer. These are spacious, convenient, and fitted up with 
necessaiy furniture and apparatus. The treasury vault with inclosed safe would 
seem to place the public moneys in actual security. On the left from the front, 
are the offices of the Recorder and Probate Judge, and the Probate Court room. 
Ascend from either side by winding stairways, and there are found on the second 
floor the offices of the Sheritf and the Clerk, together with the court room and its 
attendant consultation and jury rooms, (hi the third floor are located the Sur- 
veyor's and Prosecuting Attorney's offices, and other needful rooms. The struct- 
ure is surmounted by a line tower, in which is contained a (.'lock that is as nearly 
perfect in construction as modern science and artistic skill can produce. Whether 
borne upon the ear in the hours of night, or calling the industrious populace to 
resume or cease from toil, by day, the musical, measured strokes which knell the 
passing hours, teach a constant lesson of punctuality, diligence and transient 
existence. 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 263 

We close our chapter with a brief statement relative to the trial and convic- 
tion of Monroe Roberson for the murder of Wile}' Coulter, since it has attracted 
general attention, and is remarkable in the annals of the courts of Darke County. 
Crime has had its votaries here as elsewhere, but in no undue proportion. Mur- 
ders have been committed, and there have been trials, convictions and escapades, 
but this becomes historical from the fact that it is the first instance where the 
dread conclusion has been a sentence of death on the gallows. 

The difficult}' between the two men that led to the murder occurred at Nip- 
town, a point nine and a half miles from Greenville. Following some hard lan- 
guage, Coulter, while attempting to make his escape, was pursued and fired upon 
by Roberson. Three several and deliberate shots were discharged, and Coulter 
fell to the ground mortally wounded, and soon died. His assailant was taken to 
Greenville, tried at the February term, 1880, and sentenced to be hung on July 18 
of the same year. The doomed man was a native of Tennessee, fort}* -five years of 
age, had served in the army, was a hard drinker and had lived about twelve years 
in the county. His victim was his wife's brother, who had lived from childhood 
in the family, and was at the time of his death, about twenty-three years old. The 
jurors impaneled for this trial were Stephen Eubank, G. W. Fox, C. T. Pickett, 
Samuel Cole, George Suman, Milton Coble, Samuel Noggle, R. F. Gilbert, James 
Renson, Cornelius Fry, William Rleare and James Johnson. 

The attorneys for the defense were Messrs. Anderson, Allen, Calclerwood and 
Charles Calkins ; for the State, Prosecuting Attorney H. Calkins, and Messrs. 
Knox and Sater. The case was tried before Judge Meeker, whose charge to the 
jury is a plain, direct statement of the laws on murder. The prisoner was adjudged 
guilt}*, and sentence pronounced upon him. The community, while desirous that 
crime be punished, differ in regard to the mode, and no inconsiderable portion of the 
better class are averse to hanging. 

DARKE COUNTY FROM 1816 TO 1824 — PROGRESS OF SETTLEMENT. 

Turning again from the seat of government to the farms which give villages 
and cities their vitality and importance, we follow the early progress of agriculture 
from the organization of the county up to and inclusive of 1824. We may speak 
somewhat of the arduous labors of the early settlers, describe their log cabins, 
recall their old-fashioned furniture, their homespun attire, their rough, kind man- 
ners and their open-handed generosity. The comfortable hewed-log home has 
been demolished to make way for the frame or the more durable brick. The fence 
of rails will soon disappear, and already the work of log-rolling is a memoiy, and 
the making of rails exceptional. Village, town and city have been built to supply the 
demands of trade and commerce, and the people of the present time, worthy off- 
spring of noble sires, have carried forward the works of civilization. 

Glance again at the points of settlement, the vantage-ground already won. 
Relow Ithaca, in the southeast, lived Lucas and Robbins. At intervals along Mil- 
ler's Fork, near Castine, were Ellis. Freeman, Park and Robert Phillips and J. F. 
Miller. On the east bank of the Whitewater stood the cabins of Rrawley, Pur- 
viance, the McCluers, Rroderick and Jacob Miller, Zadoc Smith and the Wades. 
Near Fort Black, by the lake, were the Rushes, Henry Hardy, Tibbs, Falkner and 
possibly the Kunkles. On the Middle Fork were the Tillsons, Harlans, Emerson, 
Helpenstein and Gert. Approaching the town, we find Spencer, the Edwards 
families, Wilsons and others. Further to the north we come to Cloyd, Pearson, 
Cassaday and Kettring. About Palestine, dwelt Samuel Loring. In the northern 
part of German Township lived Ludwig Clapp, reputed credulous and supersti- 
tious, William Asher, of the same mind, Moores and Rush and John McNeil, 
Rarick, Snell and Miller, on Crout Creek and its vicinity. East of the West Rranch 
dwelt Martin Ruple, Arch. Rryson and John W. Whittaker, while lower down were 
the small clearings made by John Hiller and Daniel Potter. Mud Creek passed 



2t!4 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

by the cabin homes of Petri- Weaver, Andrew Nbppmger, his son .Joseph. James 
and Henry Rush, Sumption. McGinnis, Burns and Wertz. East of the prairie, 
Zadoc and Reagan had Located, and traveling the stream brought in sight the 
homes of Abraham Studabaker and Abraham .Miller. .James Hay dwelt at Jeffer- 
son, and below were Ryerson and Winegardner. On Greenville Creek, above town, 
stood three cabins occupied by Tilery. Dean and David Williamson, and below on 
the creek were those of Squire Bi'iggs, Westfall. Maj. Adams, Bryan, Cunning- 
ham and Studabaker. On the south hank of the creek, at intervals, the enumer- 
ator finds Popejoy, Esq., Haves, James Gregory and Canadian. Christopher 
Martin, Alexander Fleming, James Both David Ripple and his sons and son-in- 
law Hathaway on Stillwater, near Beamsville. Conloek was at Webster, and 
McDonald, Mote and Ludwig Christie below. Ward Atchison was on the verge of 
the Black Swamp, and Lewis Baker on Indian Creek. From Bridge Creek on 
to the dividing branch, were scattered Arnold Townsend, the Thompsons and 
Clay. These men had settled here under many difficult circumstances, but 
they had effected a lodgment and formed a center by which others could be guided 
and assisted. Persistent in labor, patient under afflictions of disease were these 
plain men with unaffected manner and kindly greetings. As the country began 
to be settled, families were moving on to different locations in the central part ot 
the county. There was a large portion of the county that seemed so much of a 
swamp as to make a final occupation problematical. Along Grreenville Creek, as 
above named, one found at varying distances the log cabins of a few families, and 
there were others on the West Branch. There were cabins on the branch known 
as Crout Creek, and yet others upon Mud Creek. These scattered clearings were 
the oldest in the county, and northward there were few, if any. And from there, 
so far as means would permit, the new-comers received their supplies and assist- 
ance. Courteously and kindly, the tired emigrants were welcomed to the hospi- 
talities of their cabins. Wherever at night the light of a fire shining among the 
trees indicated a settler's home, there was a certainty that the latch-string was hang- 
ing out and hearty cheer in readiness to relieve them. A common peril and a like 
experience bound all together by ties of interest, friendship and relation. The dis- 
position to extend a helping hand, while it was a necessity to the settler, was rarely 
given grudgingly or with thoughts of after payment. Equality and mutual assist- 
ance was an unwritten pioneer law. and for many years much of the time of older 
setlers was cheerfully given to raisings, rollings and all kinds of work requiring 
e< >-< >peration. Judge Wharry attended raisings where men had come from a distance, 
on farthest lines apart, of twenty-five miles, and here were formed acquaintances 
which soon ripened into feelings warm, generous and enduring. 

Exceptional instances, as that of Jacolj Cox, present us with men of means 
seeking an lieritage in lands, but the people were generally poor. They had noth- 
ing to lose but much to gain. Mr. Cox. as we have named, is worthy of further 
notice in this connection. He came to Bailee from Bedstone and bought 2.200 
acres in the east part of German and Washington Townships, and thereon located 
himself and sons Martin, John, .Jacob. Henry and Abraham, together with his 
daughters Barbara, .Mary and Eve, who later became known as Mrs. Stingley, 
Mrs. Waggoner and Mrs. Martin. 

Fresh from service in the ranks, and animated by hope of a common glorious 
future for his country and himself, the rifle which had aided Wayne upon the Mau- 
mee and Harrison at the Thames, became useful to provide the family with meat 
and to guard the growing or ripened grain from depredation. There was no longer 
dread of the forest ; men struck out by themselves and independently chose and 
unproved such spots as met their fancy. The extent of each man's claim or title 
had no bearing on degree of estimation. It mattered not that one could buy but 
forty acres, while another could acquire a section. The difference la} r , not in the 
men. but in the outlay. Where each had planted a few acres in corn and other 
crops, nature showed no partiality in stimulating growth or perfecting the grain, 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 265 

and where nature was impartial, human customs were in strict and willing accord. 
The entire settlements were bound together. Witness the prompt rally from Lex- 
ington and Piqua on hearing of Rush's death and the frontier peril. The}' met at 
vai'ious gatherings. Together they worked their best ; together they enjoyed their 
hours of relaxation. Religious worship found general and all-day attendance, and 
there were several services before each wended his way along the forest path 
homeward. 

The pioneers of Darke were not peculiar in their love for neighborhood visit- 
ing. The same partially obsolete but happy custom was in that early day to be 
observed in all the new communities, and surviving pioneers have brought this 
habit with them in their attenuated and shattered ranks. It looks as though the 
practice would perish with them. Care for the sick was universal. It was held to 
be the duty of all. The writer recalls, iu this connection, the kind, tender tone in 
which Lemuel Rush inquired of his fellow-friend and pioneer associate, George 
Arnold, concerning his health, and the fraternal feeling manifested between these 
two is but a single illustration of general regard. 

A single incident, recited by an old settler, images the earnest regard shown 
in the early days by neighbors for each other : 

One day. a settler was badly injured when at a considerable distance from his 
home. It was necessary that a team should be taken to convey him home. 
Although a full day's drive, there was no reluctance in offering help. Two persons 
tendered their services, and there ensued a friendly contest for the privilege. The 
older urged a long acquaintance and neighborship, and these claims were acknowl- 
edged by the other. 

In 1818, there was the commencement of a settlement on the east fork of 
Whitewater, and on Twin Creek, near Ithaca, and several families had settled near 
Fort Black, now known as New Madison. During this year, Mina town and Fort 
Jefferson were laid out. and. in the year following, Versailles was platted, making 
in all five villages, the germs of future business towns, and the only ones for full a 
dozen years — practical proof, in so large a county, of sparse and tarcby occupation. 

During the j'ear when Fort -Jefferson was platted, a tavern stand was occupied 
there, and. while the conveniences were far from equal to the Turpen or Wagner 
Houses of to-day, yet there was an abundance of plain, palatable food and little 
ceremony. During 1818, A. Studabaker left his former entry, near Gettysburg, 
and removed to the farm more recently the property of his son George. William 
Arnold and others were residing on Bridge Creek. The settlements now became 
known by various names to distinguish them ; such was " Yankee Town," one 
called Ireland, located north of Greenville, and a third is mentioned here as sug- 
gestive of the section, known as the Black Swamp Settlement. These nuclei of 
the clearings in Darke, each formed a distinct neighborhood, and had their leading 
men, respected for honesty, good faith, and frugality in public as well as private 
affairs. 

In 1820, Darke County was still covered by a dense and but little broken 
forest. The northern townships were extended areas of swamp, rich in elements 
of production, useless until the clearing and drainage could make cultivation 
practicable. Cabins were built upon the higher grounds, and clearings made down 
the inclinations. Here grew the oak, whitewood, beech, maple, basswood. ash, 
hickory and other kinds of timber in boundless profusion, anil the finest trees were 
regarded rather as an incubus to tillage than as valuable adjuncts of a farm. Those 
woods are mainly leveled now, and their grove screens of trees but vail the open 
fields beyond. Still the trees, while in one sense a bar to cropping land, were useful 
as containing the material for home and winter fires. When a settler had selected 
the site of his intended habitation, he felled the timber up< >n it and cut the logs suita- 
ble in proper lengths. The material for the cabin being prepared, he traverses the 
woods far and near and announces his intended raising. The settlers leave their 
work and gather in at the appointed hour. In some localities, teams were used, 



266 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

but here in Darke, cattle were scarce and the horses were spared as much as possi- 
ble for other work. Logs were carried to the sides and ends of the building. 
Now four corner-men are chosen, on whom devolves the duty of notching and 
placing the logs. The rest of those assembled roll up the logs as wanted until the 
desired height is reached and the work of co-operation ceases. The settler now 
selects a large-sized straight-grained tree and. felling it, cuts off four-feet lengths. 
These are split with a large Frow, and as wide as the timber will allow. These are 
used without planing or shaving for clapboards for the roof, which is formed by 
making the end logs shorter each row until a single log forms the comb of the 
roof ; on these logs the clapboards were placed, the ranges of them lapping some 
tli stance over those next below them, and kept in their places by logs placed at 
proper distances upon them. Puncheons for the floor were made by splitting 
logs of a foot and a half in diameter, and hewing the face of them with a broad-ax, 
when this tool could be obtained. The length of the puncheons was half that of 
the floor. The door was made by sawing or cutting the logs in on one side, so as 
to make an opening about three feet wide. The opening was secured by upright 
pieces of timber, about three inches thick, through which holes were bored into 
the ends of the logs for the purpose of pinning them fast. A similar, but wider, 
opening was made at the end for the chimney. This was built of logs and made 
large to admit of a back and jambs of stone. At the square, two end logs were 
made to project a foot or more beyond the wall, to receive what were called the 
butting poles, against which the ends of the first row of clapboards was supported. 
A clapboard door and a table were then made. Sometimes a quilt was made to do 
duty for the former for a time, and the latter was constructed of a split slab, 
placed upon four round legs set in auger holes. Stools having three legs were 
made in the same way. Some pins inserted in holes bored in the logs at the back 
of the room, served as support for some clapboards, designed as shelves for the 
dishes. A single fork, placed with its lower end in a hole in the floor, and the 
upper end fastened to a joint, served as a bedstead, by placing a pole in the fork 
with one end through a crack between the logs of the wall. This front pole was 
crossed by a shorter one within the fork, with its outer end through another crack. 
From the' front pole, through a crack between the logs of the end of the house, 
the boards forming the bottom of the bed were put in place. Sometimes this was 
varied by pinning other poles to the fork, a little distance above these, for the 
purpose of supporting the front and foot of the bed, while the walls were the sup- 
port of its back and head. A few pegs around the walls for the garments of the 
women and hunting-shirts of the men, and two small forks or buck's horns fixed 
to a joint for the rifle and shot-pouch, completed the carpenter work. 

Chips are now taken and driven in between the logs and the open spaces of 
the chimne}', and a bed of clay mortar having been prepared, the cracks were 
daubed, and the work is done. In houses thus built, and unplastered within and 
entirely devoid of adornment, our ancestors lived with a comfort unknown to the 
opulent occupant of many a palatial residence of to-day. Coal stoves or wood 
stoves were unknown, but in the wide fireplace were found hooks and trammel, 
and andirons. Near by were the bake-pan and the kettle ; and as homes varied 
there were to be seen in many a log house the plain deal table, the flag-bottom 
chair, and the easy, straight, high-backed rocker. Carpets there were none. The 
beds contained no mattress, springs, or even bed-cord, the couch was often spread 
upon the floor, and sleeping apartments were separated by hanging blankets. Not. 
infrequently, the emigrant neighbor, and occasionally Indian visitor, lay upon 
blankets or robes before the huge open fireplace; with stockinged or moccasined 
feet before the constant, fire. Wooden vessels, either turned or coopered, were 
commonly used for the table. A tin cup was an article of luxury almost as rare 
as an iron fork. Gourds were used at the water bucket, and there were not 
always knives enough to go around the family. The immigrant brought with 
him. packed upon the horse, or later on the wagon, some articles of better sort. 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 267 

Upon the kitchen drawers were set forth a shiny row of pewter plates, buck- 
handled knives, iron or pewter spoons, or there were seen a row of blue-edged 
earthen ware, with corresponding cups and saucers, with teapot —articles then to 
grace the table at the quilting, social afternoon visit, or preacher's call ; but 
advancing civilization has sent the plates and spoons to the melting pot, while 
knives and forks have taken less substance but more shapely form. Perchance 
a corner of the room was occupied by a tall Dutch clock, such as ticks with 
measured stroke the minutes by in the kitchen of John Spayd, of Greenville, 
to-day. 

In another corner, the ruder furniture had given place to an old-fashioned 
high-post and corded bedstead, covered with quilts — a wonder of patchwork ingen- 
uity and laborious sewing. Then the ubiquitous spinning-wheel, and not unfre- 
quently a loom. A settler of Darke in 1820, thus describes the dwellings of that 
date : " They were of round logs about ten inches through ; the}* were properly 
notched at the corners, and well chinked and plastered up with clay mortar, and 
provided in some instances with front and back door ; basswood logs, split in two, 
flat side up, made a very substantial floor ; the fireplace reached nearly across one 
end ; a stone wall from the foundation was carried up about six feet, two sticks of 
the proper crook rested one on either end of the wall, and against a beam overhead, 
forming the jams, and upon these rested the chimney, made of sticks and clay 
mortar, very wide at the bottom, tapering to the top, and serving the purpose of 
both chimney and smoke-house ; the hearth was of flat stones of various sizes, and 
occupied a considerable portion of the room. To build a winter fire, there first 
was bi-ought in a large piece of log which was placed next the chimney-back, and 
known as the back-log ; next came a somewhat smaller log, which was placed on 
the other and called the back-stick ; then came two round sticks, green and less 
combustible than the others ; these were placed endwise against the back-log, and 
served in place of the more modern andirons. Upon them was laid the fore-stick, 
and between this and the back-log, dry limbs were piled in and the fire applied; 
when this was fairly started more wood was put on and a pile to keep it up lay 
near by. The fire thus built, which was done about 4 o'clock of a winter day's 
afternoon, would last a long time with little attention, keeping the family, clothed in 
good, warm homespun, comfortably warm." If, by mischance, the fire went out on 
the hearth, it was rekindled by a coal or burning brand from a neighbor, or by 
flint, steel and tinder. In many cabins, the fire described gave out but partial 
warmth, and the group which sat around it were roasting on one side while freezing 
on the other. Few, indeed, were the books to be found with the settlers, and news- 
papers were rarer still. Upon the shelf, there may have lain the few books used 
at school, the Bible and the almanac, and the paper, when one could be had, was 
read at evening hours by the light of a tallow dip, or before the glowing hearth- 
fire. 

Only the well to do (and these were few in Darke) could afford a clock. The 
hour of noon was guessed or may be ascertained by the noon-mark cut upon the 
threshold, and in place of the bell to call the chopper from the clearing, a cheery 
shout was given, or tin horn blown. Few were the households where any pictures 
adorned the wall, and the reed organ had not been invented. 

To-day, even the children carry watches ; print, engraving, chromo and 
lithograph are found in more or less profusion in most houses, and piano and 
organ are in the country as well as in every village. 

The habits of the settlers were influenced and controlled by their mode of life. 
Tasks amost impossible as thought of now, were undertaken spiritedly with no 
thoughts of time or labor. Chopping in the clearings for days alone, and prepar- 
ing a home to which to bring his family, man}* a settler became accustomed to the 
silence, and himself grew taciturn. 

Journeys on foot for many miles were made with little more of preparation 
than the traveler makes at present. Women and children rode on horseback 



268 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

hundred of miles. It was a delight to the settlers to assemble at some one of the 
log cabins of a winter evening to relate stories of escapes and wild adventures 
(lining the sanguinary scenes of !>4 and later years. Prominent ideas survive the 
lapse of time, and the conversation of the aged backwoodsmen, referring to the 
pioneer period, is of deer, wolf and bear; of trapping, hunting and fishing; of 
prevailing diseases and makeshifts during sickness; of cutting roads, clearing 
lands, and journeys to distant mills and markets. 

The subject of food was all important with the settler, and hard labor in the 
open air created a keen appetite which made of much account the feasts of merry- 
makings, parties and public meetings. Quality was not so much regarded as 
quantity. Fish from the creek, venison and bear meat, bacon, and even the 
raccoon's carcass, were made available for lbod. Enormous potpies were baked 
containing fowls, squirrels and due proportions of other meats. The food was 
generally most wholesome and nutritive. There was a bounteous supply of the 
richest milk, the finest butter and most palatable meat that could be imagined, and 
meals were eaten with all the relish which healthful vigor, backed by labor, could 
bestow. 

The clothing worn in earby days was generally the same in all seasons. The 
settler, standing upon the prostrate trunk of a huge tree, stroke following stroke of 
his keen ax, and chip after chip whirring out upon the snow, little regarded the 
winter temperature, and coatless and barefooted, the summer heat was not 
oppressive. The garments worn were mainly the product of home manufacture, 
where necessity insured effort, and practice gave skill. 

Flax has been raised in Darke from the period of early settlement down to 
the present time, and when sheep were introduced, there was supplied a new and 
excellent material for wearing apparel. 

It is said of Creviston and others of his class, besides not a few of the 
pioneers, that their garments about the years whereof we write, were truly de- 
scribed in the " Annals of the West," as follows : " The hunting-shirt was univer- 
sally worn. This was a kind of loose frock, reaching half-way down to the thighs, 
with large sleeves open before, and so wide as to lap over a foot or more when 
belted. The cape was large, and sometimes handsomely fringed with a ravelled 
piece of cloth of different color from that of the hunting shirt itself. The bosom 
of his dress served as a wallet to hold a chunk of bread, cakes, jerk, tow- for 
wiping the barrel of the rifle, or any other thing necessary for the hunter. The 
belt, which was always tied behind, answered several purposes, besides that of 
holding the dress together. In cold weather the mittens, and sometimes the bullet- 
bag occupied the front part of it. To the right side, hung the hatchet ; to the left, 
in its leather sheath, was the hunting knife. The hunting-shirt was made of 
linsey, sometimes of coarse linen, and some few were made of dried deerskin. 
These last were very cold and uncomfortable in wet weather. The shirt, and jacket 
were of the common pattern. A pair of breeches and leggings were the dress of 
the thighs and legs: a pair of moccasins answered for the feet much better than 
shoes. They were made of dressed deerskin. They were mostly made of a single 
piece, with a gathering seam along the top of the foot, and another from the 
bottom of the heel without gathers, as high as the ankle-joint, or a little higher. 
Flaps were left on each side to reach some distance up the legs. They were nicely 
adapted to the ankles and lower part of the leg by thongs of deerskin, so that no 
dirt, gravel or snow, could get within the moccasin. 

"The moccasins, in ordinary run, cost but a few hours' labor to make them. 
This was done by aid of a instrument denominated a moccasin awl, which was 
made of the back-spring of an old clasp-knife. This awl. with its linck-horn handle, 
was an appendage Of every shot-pouch strap, together with a roll of buckskin, 
for mending the moccasins. This was the labor of almost every evening. They 
were sewed together and patched with deerskin throngs, or whangs, as they were 
commonly called. En cold weather, the moccasins were well stuffed with deer's 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 269 

hair, or dry leaves, so as to keep the feet comfortably warm, but in wet weather it 
was usually said the wearing them was ' a decent way of going barefooted ; ' and 
such was the fact, owing to the spongy texture of the leather of which the} - were 
made. 

" Owing to the defective covering of the feet, more than to any other circum- 
stance, the greater number of hunters were afflicted with rheumatism in their 
limbs. Of this disease they were all apprehensive in cold or wet weather, and there- 
fore always slept with their feet to the fire, to prevent or cure it, as well as they 
could. This practice unquestionably had a very salutary effect, and prevented 
many of them from becoming confirmed cripples in early life." This description, 
while of interest as revealing the shifts of the times, also brings that period near 
to us, and so dispels, by evident accompanying discomforts, the glamour gathered 
about the buckskin garments of the forest dwellers of the early day. 

Rude covering of deerskin gradually gave way to suits of linen and woolen. 
Sheep required much care to protect them from wolves, and the cash price of the 
coarsest wool was half a dollar per pound. One or two acres of land were sown 
to flax, expressly for lint. When ripe, the young people were invited, as to a frolic, 
and the flax was speedily pulled, and then such as had no religious scruples 
against dancing, remained after supper, to enjoy an hour or so in the pleasures of 
the dance. 

Months of hard labor were required to earn a suit of clothes, and the use of 
boots and shoes was dispensed with by men now affluent, until long after the first 
falls of snow. The price for an ordinary pair of cowhide boots was $7, and this 
was paid in produce, at low rates. 

The flax prepared for the wheel, now rarely seen, and the loom, was spun and 
woven by the mothers and the daughters, and with the woolen yarn were made up 
into warm, serviceable garments. The buzz of the spinning-wheel and the double 
shake of the loom were pleasant sounds, and their operation was a favorite avoca- 
tion. The long web, unfurled upon a grassy spot, was left to bleach in the sun, 
under care and supervision, and when of snowy whiteness, were made up into 
shirts, sheets and summer wear. Sabbath and holiday suits were worn with laud- 
able pride, as the skillful handiwork of mother, wife or daughter. 

In the larger Eastern towns, British goods were worn, but in the "West they 
were unknown. The love of dress was not here wanting, but the means of grati- 
fying it. Fashion had its votaries, but changes were infrequent and exactions not 
severe. A calico dress, made up by the wearer, served not only for the reception 
of company at home, but also for the party at the neighbor's. The wearer looked 
in nowise less attractive than do those clad in the richer fabrics of to-day, and 
few excused themselves from social gatherings upon the plea of " nothing to wear." 

It was not until 1836, that Levi Spayd, the first tailor in Greenville, and still 
a resident, opened a shop for the making of mens' apparel. The women, as has 
been said, made up the cloth and garments worn by them. Carding-mills came 
later than the period of which we speak, and it was rare to see a person dressed 
in store clothes. 

Girls spun cheerily with lightsome tread and quick movement, under the pros- 
pect of receiving 75 cents a week, and, in 1823, you might have gone in Green- 
ville to the stores of John S. Douglass, Nicholas Greenham or of the House 
brothers, Isaac and Henry, and pricing calico, found it held at 40 to 50 cents a 
yard. Society in that early day knew little factional distinction, and the love of 
liberty and the maintenance of lofty sentiments were cherished by industry, and 
no dignity of character was held more precious than that derived from conscious 
and acknowledged worth. The opinion of the public and the sentiments of the 
aged were estimated at full value. True manhood was exampled in principle, 
integrity and independence, fitly expressed in the saying of an eminent old writer : 
"The inbred loyalty unto virtue which can serve her without a livery." The 
amusements of young and old were enjoyed with zest, There were huskings and 



270 IIISTOUY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

quiltings, woodchoppings, losings and raisings, celebrations and musters, and 
each was a glad occasion. There was a double sense of enjoyment, the conscious- 
ness of profitable and necessary employment and familiar intercourse. Visits 
were made without formality, and were received with genuine satisfaction. Horse- 
back riding for business or pleasure was common to both sexes, since horses could 
pass where tree and stump forbade the use of wheeled vehicles. 

To-day, society, labor, dress and mode of travel are all changed. There is 
more formality and less happiness. There are fictitious distinctions of clans, but 
the records of the past honor the pioneer as the people of the present are doing 
noble work in the continuation of past labors. 

Living in houses that are clapboarded, painted, blinded, and comfortably 
warmed and supplied with every essential and luxury of the age, we may look 
upon the old-fashioned implements as indispensable to the time, and present 
relics. They are seen as curiosities, guide-marks of progress in scientific and 
mechanical skill, while contemplated by the pioneer whose brawny arm had heaped 
and burned the log-heap, he muses as if his senses were steeped in shadowy 
dream. He sees again "the sleepless wilderness, a scene of wild expanse and 
nameless grandeur comes before his mind, 

"The voice of Nature's very self drops low, 
As tho' she whispered of the long ago, 
When down the wandering stream the rude canoe 
Of some lone trapper glided into view, 
And loitered down the watery path that led 
Thro' forest depths that only knew the tread 
Of savage beasts, ami wild barbarians 
That skulked about with blood upon their hands 
And murder in their hearts. The light of day 
Might barely pierce the gloominess that lay 
Like some dark pall across the water's face, 
And folded all the land in its embrace; 
The panther's screaming, and the bear's low growl, 
The snake's sharp rattle, and the wolf's wild howl; 
The owl's grim chuckle, as it rose and fell 
In alternation with the Indian's yell, 
Made fitting prelude for the gory plays 
That were enacted in the early days. 

" Now, o'er the vision, like a mirage, falls 
The old log cabin with its dingy walls, 
And crippled chimney, with the crutch-like prop 
Beneath a sagging shoulder at the top. 
The coonskin battened fast on either side, 
The wisps of leaf tobacco, cut and dried; 
The yellow strands of quartered apples hung 
In rich festoons that tangle in among 
The morning-glory vines that clamber o'er 
The little clapboard roof above the door; 
Again, thro' mists of memory arise 
The simple scenes of home, before the eyes; 
The happy mother humming with her wheel, 
The dear old melodies that used to steal 
Sn drowsily upon the summer air. 
The house dog hid his bone, forgot his care, 
And nestled at her feet, to dream, perchance, 
Some cooling dream of winter-time romance. 
The square of sunshine through the open door 
That notched its edge across the puncheon floor, i 

Ami made a golden coverlet whereon 
The god of slumber had a picture drawn 
Of babyhood, in all the loveliness 
Of dimpled cheek and limb and linsey dress. 
The bough-filled fireplace and the mantle wide, 
Its fire scorched ankles stretched on either side, 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 271 

Where, perched upon its shoulders 'neath the joist, 
The old clock hiccoughed, harsh and husky-voiced ; 
Tomatoes, red and yellow, in a row, 
Preserved not then for diet but for show; 
The jars of jelly, with their dainty tops; 
Bunches of pennyroyal and cordial drops. 
The flask of camphor and the vial of squills, 
The box of buttons, garden-seeds and pills. 
And thus the pioneer and helpsome aged wife 
Reflectively reviews the scenes of early life." 

REMINISCENCES — LAND PRICES AND PAYMENTS — FARMING IMPLEMENTS — CONDITION 

OF COUNTY IN 1824. 

" Each of us is only the footing-up of a double column of figures that goes 
back to the first pair " asserts a great truth, since each generation inherits not 
alone the features, but much of the moral, mental and physical constitution, of 
that preceding. The sayings of our predecessors, perhaps reduplicated, are worthy 
of record since the}- speak knowingly of those who lived and toiled with them. 
W. S. Harper has written regarding the habits and manners of early settlers, as 
follows : " Darke County was first settled by an industrious, hardy race of pio- 
neers, poor men who had been renters in other parts of the State. As soon as they 
were able to raise $100 or upward, the}- came here and invested it in land in order 
that the}' might have a home of their own, and not be compelled to work one-third 
of their time for an exacting landlord. As about all the means of the settlers were 
laid out in land, and as there was a heavy growth of timber all over the county to 
be cleared away before there could be anything raised to live upon, and as every 
man was solely dependent on his own labor and that of his family for the improve- 
ment of his farm, with this scanty help, he had many hindrances to combat. 
Three months of the year, sickness prevailed to such an extent that there were 
scarcely well persons enough to take care of the sick. To procure breadstuff, 
milling had to be done many miles from home. A single trip occupied from two 
to five da} T s. Salt and leather must be had once a year by a journey to Cincinnati, 
which required from seven to ten days. If, as was sometimes the case, some prod- 
ucts were in excess of the family need, and it was desired to sell, there was no 
market nearer than Piqua or Dayton, and the roads were so intolerably bad that 
it required a good span of horses in the most favorable season of the year to haul 
twenty-five bushels of wheat. There were many other hindrances of less magni- 
tude, such as visiting the sick, administering to the needy, assisting to raise build- 
ings, roll logs, keeping the ' vermin ' from the growing crop, and hunting to suppl}' 
the table with meat. 

" To make lnonej' was out of the question, and no one fretted over it. If there 
could be enough money procured by selling wheat at 3 shillings 11 pence per 
bushel, or by disposing of deerskins and hams, or coonskins, or hoop-poles, to 
procure salt and leather, coffee for Sunday mornings, and to pay taxes, it was all 
that was expected ; and the recipients of these means of defraying expenses were 
more than thankful and better contented therewith than the frugal farmer of the 
present day with his abundance. Under these and other disadvantages, the 
county improved slowly. When a spot of ground was cleared and fenced, the 
gr< >und being dotted over with green stumps and roots, the farmer entered the 
field to prepare a crop with his team, bar-shear or bull-plow, and after whooping, 
hallooing, fretting, scolding and often getting heavy blows upon his ribs, and 
abrasions of skin, and working on in this way for a week, he had gone over the 
field, which then presented the appearance of having been rooted over by a drove 
of swine in search of edible roots. 

■ Little of the land was fenced, and roads were made in every direction accord- 
ing to individual fancy, and without regard to land lines, the one object being to 
shun wet land and the larger logs. When any part of the road became almost 



272 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

impassable, improvement was made by laying poles or rails across the track and 
throwing upon them dirt to keep them down ; to repair one rod of such road was 
considered a (lav's work. As poor a makeshift as this was, it was the best that 
could be done in those days. It is doubtful whether as late as 1^20. there was 
money enough in the country to pay for the building of ten miles of turnpike. 
Under the impulse of making, having, living at and enjoying a home, the people 
in their poverty labored diligently, lived frugally, and contentedly cleared up their 
farms, minded their own business, helped their neighbors, and were accorded the 
fayor and blessing of their God. As the country was improved, houses of worship 
were erected, and the settlers in plainness and simplicity of speech met in them 
and at their own homes to worship the Giver of all good. There was more love 
for neighbors, more sympathy for suffering humanity, more benevolence, more of 
every grace that adorns the Christian character, than can be found in our country 
at the present day. Those plain, frugal and industrious pioneers have laid the 
foundation of one of the finest counties in the State of Ohio. With over eight 
hundred miles of turnpike, 2.000 miles of open ditches, and 10.00(1 miles of tile 
ditches ; with broad acres, fertile fields and manifest natural and acquired advan- 
tages, the people are greatly blessed." 

This statement, made by one familiar with this subject after years of observ- 
ation and experience, seems fully warranted in the essential facts. Increase of 
population has bestowed strength, divide burdens and restricted intercourse. The 
channel of feeling flows, perhaps not as deep, although the depth is not discoverable, 
and the people in the main have greatly improved upon the past. 

The early conditions of society made it necessary that men, while seeking 
such opportunities as were presented to pursue their trade or profession, should 
base their means of subsistence upon the ownership and cultivation of land. It 
was not unusual to find the blacksmith-shop near the house, to which he came 
when wanted from his field, the preacher toiled during the week, and exhorted 
upon the Sabbath, the teacher shared in this condition, and was by no means 
exempt from the law of necessity governing the settlements, as is demonstrated by 
the following reminiscence of Dennis Hart. This person came in November. 1817, 
to Darke County, and entered a tract of Government land at what was known as 
" Yankee Town " in the township of Harrison. He found the land heavily timbered 
and sparsely inhabited, and therefore abandoned this tract in the fall of 181!). and 
located on Bridge Creek, on the lands of George W. N. Night. As winter 
approached, the settlers desiring a school, he opened a rate school in an old log 
cabin, the property of Joseph Townsend, and taught a satisfactory term. The 
next year, the citizens in that neighborhood built a log schoolhouse on the Green- 
ville and Eaton road, just east of where now stands the house of A. II. Van Dyck, 
and he was called to serve as the teacher during the winters of 1820-21. His wife 
died in the former year, and two years later he married Jane McGlure, then a res- 
ident on Whitewater, near the McClure and Provines settlement. Miss McClure 
had come to Darke from Kentucky with her father in 1812, when ten years of age, 
and had grown familiar with a life in the forest, and with its vicissitudes, as several 
of her father's best horses had been stolen by Indians shortly after his settlement 
in Darke County. Teachers of the present complain of low wages, but Mr. Hart, 
as teacher in that day — sixty years ago — agreed to take his wages in corn. meat. 
potatocs.in short, anything he could use and the settlers could spare. Money 
payment was out of the question, and his necessity was great lie says : •• 1 was 
poor and scarce of money, and my clothing was not of the kind suitable for a cold 
winter, for 1 had to go many times to Adam's mill, which was some five miles 
distant, for a grist of corn-meal, after dismissing my school at night. 

•• One day I went to Greenville to try to get some warmer clothes, especially a 
pair of pantaloons, hut had no money. I called at the store of Abram Scribner, 
and told him what was wanted and that I wished to pay him in trade from the 
articles received for services as teacher. He replied that he was not in need of 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 273 

corn, potatoes or produce of any kind, and such an exchange would not suit him, 
but that he would let me have the clothing and receive the pay in whisky. I then 
went to William and Robert Rood, who were operating a little distillery and horse, 
mill on the bottom land between Greenville and Mina, on the north side of Green- 
ville Creek, sold them my corn at somewhat less than the market price, and received 
in exchange whisky at a higher rate than the Greenville merchant would allow, 
but succeeded in settling the account " — the last one for which Mr. Hart ever ran 
in debt. 

Times have changed since then, in truth. Teachers no longer need to patron- 
ize distilleries to clothe themselves, and salaries are promptly paid in money. Judson 
Jaqua's experience and information form an interesting relation in connection with 
the foregoing, since, in addition to information of points of settlement, there is a 
statement of the disposition of the section set apart for schools and of a stimulus 
given to educational interests. He moved into Darke County in the spring of 
1819, and " settled in the woods where there was not a tree amiss, except such as 
had been felled by hunters of bees and raccoons. A small opening had been made by 
Hart prior to his removal toward Greenville, and a settlement was soon formed by 
the arrival and settlement here of a number of families. Among the earliest on 
the ground were two or three New Englanders, and from that circumstance the 
settlement derived its name of Yankee Town. No schools were known at this time 
to be in session. Our Section 16, had been rented some years on a lease for ninety- 
nine years, forever renewable, with interest at 6 per cent on its appraised value, 
but there had been no payment of rent, as there were no schools. At an election 
held in 1821, Mr. Jaqua was chosen Justice of the Peace, and thereby came into 
possession of a law-book, which being examined, there was found an act defining 
the method whereby school districts could be laid off, and acting on this informa- 
tion, the people defined the boundaries of a district which they entitled No. 1. 
The}' now began to inquire about the rent due on Section 16. This drew the 
attention of other settlements, and more districts were duly formed. New Madison 
was then Fort Black, and the block-house was still standing, its day of service 
past. Zadoc Smith had staked off some lots, and then sold out to E. Putnam, 
who had secured the services of Henry D. Williams, by whom the place was duly 
laid out. At this time there was, also, a semi-military station called Fort Nesbit 
on Section 29, but no town, and a good settlement on Whitewater Creek, extending 
from the south county line as far up as McClure's, lately C. C. Walker's place. 

While alluding to the general privations of the earl}' settler, we may dwell 
upon one embarrassment which bore heavily upon his energies, and which to this 
generation is measurably unknown. Poor as he usually was, the settler, alone or 
with his family, had entered upon his westward journey with sufficient means to 
enter a tract of Government land. He knew that from the soil must come sup- 
plies of food ; but a noble growth of timber — sure token of fertility — encumbered 
the ground, and must first be removed before grain or vegetable could grow. 
Hard labor as it was, many found actual enjoyment therein, and, had no obstacles 
existed beyond the actual clearing, the woodsmen could have done their work 
without great difficult}'. It is a pleasure, at this late da}', to listen to the narra- 
tions of those who, when children, came upon their farms in this now favored sec- 
tion, and thereon have grown old in all but the evergreen memories of those first 
impressions. Differing in names, dates and locality of the settlement, the history 
of one of Darke County's pioneers is like to that of all. As units of the number 
in the force engaged in rendering subservient to the man the wild luxuriance of 
nature, the greatest troubles were met by those who led the van. When land had 
been chosen and improved somewhat, when lapse of time brought the day of pay- 
ment and there was no money, nor the means to procure any. and when, suffering 
sickness and enduring hunger, default of payment or foreclosure of a claim drove 
the family from such home as had been made, then, in truth, was hardship known ; 
yet such was the reward of many who cleared land in Darke. As the law then 



274 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

stood, not less than :i quarter-section could be entered. The price of the public 
hind was si' an acre, and the purchaser was required to pay $80, or one-fourth, 
down, one-fourth in two years, and the balance in two equal annual installments, 
with interest; altogether, $320. If not paid within the time specified, the lands. 
with whatever had been paid of the installments, were forfeited, and a great many 
were unable to pay for their lands as required, and so. being placed at the mercy 
of the Government, they remained as occupants by sufferance. Forfeiture was not 
declared, and. in March, 1820, an act was passed by Congress, extending the time 
for payments to entries until March 31, 1821. This legislation simply allowed the 
settler to reside on his land another year, hut this gave no aid. He was as unable 
to pay at the end of the year as at the beginning. At length, a bill was introduced 
which provided that the holder of any legal certificate of purchase might file a 
relinquishment in writing, at the land office, on or before September 30, 1821 ; 
and if such person had paid but one-fourth of the first cost of the entry, he could 
pay the rest in eight equal annual installments ; if he had paid one-half the bal- 
ance could be paid in six annual payments ; if three-fourths, the rest could have 
four equal yearly installments ; and if the whole amount could be paid by the last 
of September, 1S22. a deduction of three-eighths would be made on payments yet 
to be made. March 21, 1821, the bill passed, but Darke Count}- was remote, and 
news of this relief measure came when it was too late to make it available. The 
time, too, had nearly gone b}- before the district land officers had received orders 
from the proper department, and few had any benefit from the enactment. An act 
was passed March 3, 1823, continuing the provisions of the law of 1821 to Septem- 
ber 30, 1823. Congress, however, contained man}' men who felt a deep interest in 
the development of the West, and who were earnest in their efforts to aid the 
moneyless settler. Soon an act was passed, authorizing the sale of public lands in 
one-eighth sections, and reducing the price to $1.25 per acre. Still another law was 
passed, legalizing land sales in one-sixteenth of a section, or forty-acre tracts, and 
permitting such as had entered lands under the first act to relinquish them, and 
to apply whatever they had paid to the payment of one-half the lands entered, or 
any other tract they might choose. The beneficial influence of this legislation was 
apparent, in securing as permanent settlers a number of families that otherwise 
would have been deprived of their homes, after losing both payments and labor. 
The land was low, wet. wooded and hard to clear up. About each cabin were a 
few acres in crop, and these pioneers raised no surplus. They were satisfied to 
bide their time if they had sufficient food to take them through to the next 
harvest. When supplies were necessitated, hauling had to be done great distances, 
upon roads almost impassable for wagons, and the greater part of such provisions 
was mainly corn meal and bacon, which were placed, generally, upon horses, and 
so brought home. Journe} T s through the woods on foot were as little regarded, at 
such times, as trips equal distances now are by the railway. 

Clearing was the labor of the day. and its method is little known by the 
favored descendants of the present. In 1820, intelligence directing physical 
strength was excellent, but courage and bodily power were imperative, and the 
weakly were out of place, Avhile idlers were held in contempt, Opprobious epi- 
thets were freely applied to him who shunned labor, and his punishment came 
home with force when neighbors refused to attend his calls. 

The settler, ax in hand, prepared to commence a spot of clearing, felled his 
trees with scientific skill in double windrows inward, piling and interlacing limbs 
and tops ; then, when the summer's heat had evaporated the moisture and all was 
dry as tinder, a chosen time found favorable winds which drove the fires enkin- 
died with waxes of flame and furnace heat from end to cud. and left the charred 
and blackened trunks for future disposal. The practice of girdling was frequently 
a resort, and a tract whereon the trees stood leafless and decaying was aptly 
termed a deadening. These trees were cut in time, and used for fencing and for 
firewood, the latter use from readiness to burn, not disposition to economize the 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 275 

timber. The choicest timber found no exemption, the walnut, cherry and poplar, 
with the beech, the ash and the maple, were alike " in one red burial blent." 

It was customary to cut logs in lengths, and then give notice of a logging 
bee, when all turned out to roll the logs in heaps ready for burning. Changing 
works was the rule, which had no exception. Many a settler, having risen earl}', 
traveled miles through the woods to take part in a logging, and has, on his return 
home, passed much of the night in kindling and keeping up his log-heap fires. 
There being a small spot cleared for home site and truck patch, it was customary 
to chop during winter for a spring crop of corn. The brush was burned where it 
lay, and if there was rank vegetation and the fire swept the field, it was in all the 
better condition for the crop. The matted roots of vegetable growth and the lay- 
ers of decaying leaves contributed to fertilize the ground. In the early spring 
days, the busy settlers fired their log heaps or their windrows, and the woods were 
darkened and travelers confused and blinded by the dense clouds of smoke. The 
darkness of night was intensified by the fires. Lurid flames, casting strange 
shadows upon the surrounding forest, lent a weird, uncanny aspect to this mid- 
night holocaust of noble timber — the wreck and ruin of unchecked centuries of 
growth. There were pillars, too, of fire in these clearings where the flames had 
crept as if in stealth insidiously upward along the hollow of some tall dead tree, 
till, issuing fiercely exultant at the top, the}' waved their victory from this wood- 
walled furnace. And on these clearings were seen the many fires burning, as if 
the night had come again after the massacre of November 4, and the savages 
were repeating in pantomime their infernal tortures on their hapless captives. 
Here is seen a heap just lighted, where burns a lively flame, there red embers, 
glowing in heat, mark the sites of piles of logs consumed. Those who were with- 
out team and plow, or all, if the season was far advanced, planted their corn, 
pumpkins, turnips and potatoes irregularly among the stumps, amid the mold- 
mingled ashes. The pest of weeds, which came later to strive for dominance was 
unknown, and settlers had need only to guard their crops from depredation , and 
to go through the fields to pull or cut the fire-wood, which grew rank and lu xuri- 
ant from questioned germ, upon these newly cleared fields. It was soon e xter- 
minated, to be succeeded by others less thrift}' and more obnoxious. In cropping, 
each settler followed his own desire ; some sowed wheat and rye upon the g round 
after cutting the corn, in wide rows of stooks, while others sowed a piece of 
ground prepared for the purpose during the summer, and, one way with another, 
managed to harrow it under. 

The farmer of sixty years ago was poorly supplied with poor tools. There 
was no kind of machinery used in agriculture, as then there teas none to use. 
Hoes, drags and brash were used to cover seed. A broken tool was not easily 
repaired, for the blacksmith's shop was generally some distance away, and, in con- 
sequence, tools were made strong and unwieldy. The drag was made by the set- 
tler or his more handy neighbor. Two round or hewed sticks were joined ; the 
one was longer than the other, and, projecting, was made the place for attachment 
for the chain, and both were braced apart by a cross-piece. Seven heavy iron 
teeth were set in, four upon the longer piece, three on the other. Not unfre- 
quently, necessit}' supplied the harrows with wooden teeth. Fields were cultivated 
several seasons mainly with the hoe, to allow time for the decay of roots. For 
breaking up land, two kinds of plows were used — the bar shear, which had a long, 
flat shear, a coulter or cutter placed on the point of the shear, and extending up 
through the beam, and a wooden mold-board. The beam and handle extended 
about ten feet. The other was known as the " Bull plow," and was brought into 
the country by immigrants from New York and New Jersey. One of the first 
employed in breaking in Darke County had but one handle and a wooden mold- 
board. The first improvement made upon this plow was the addition of another 
handle. It was the best plow then in use, clumsy and heavy to handle as it was. 
The earliest introduced patented plow was known as the " Peacock." The great 



276 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

improvement on the <>1<1 bar shear consisted in the change of the material of the 
moldboard from wood to east iron. These served to stir up the surface of the 
soil, but the plowman of to-day, throwing the soil clean from the furrow, lias little 
thought of the effort made to drag one of those plows through the land, the 
adherence of soil to the plow, the failure to "scour," and the poor work possible 
with such a tool. 

CLIMATE. 

A powerful element of no slight importance, relating to the past and present 
of Darke County, and one beyond the considerations of fertility and prospective 
or actual capacity, was that of climate. It was generally believed, with good 
show of reason, the land being cleared, this county would excel in the salubrity 
of its climate. Since the early settlement of Darke County, occurring changes 
have greatly modified the climate, and to a less extent this is still in progress. 
The original forest, together with the undergrowth, shut out the sun from the soil 
and impeded atmospheric circulation. The almost monotonous level of the sur- 
face receiving the winter snows and spring rains retained the water through the 
summer on account of driftwood, vegetation and other obstructions. Evaporation 
proceeded slowly during summer, and thereby caused a moist, cool air. The for- 
ests broke the sweep of the cold northwest winds of winter, and the freezing of 
large, partially submerged tracts, gave off a sufficient amount of heat to sensibly 
mitigate the cold incident to the season. The soil, bedded in leaves and vegeta- 
tion, was greatly protected from the frost, and the warm air of spring speedily 
awakened the dormant germs of vegetation. It also happened that the surface 
protected by overhanging foliage from the heat of summer, more readily experi- 
enced the influences of wind and frosts, and hastened winter. The forests being 
gradually cut down to make room for cultivation, the land being thoroughly 
drained, these conditions have correspondingly changed. The earth now 
receives the sun-rays unobstructed ; the air has free circulation. The tilled lands 
have been underdrained with tile and open ditches, thereby carrying away at once 
the melting snows of winter and the rains of spring, leaving little moisture to 
affect the climate by evaporation. The effect of this denuding and draining of 
the soil is seen in the great depth to which the summer's sun-rays penetrate, and 
as these rays are given off, the arrival of winter is proportionally delayed. But 
when the reserve of heat is exhausted, the unprotected earth is deeply frozen, and 
from these conditions come later springs, warmer summers and delayed but more 
severe winters. An analysis of the climate of Darke, according to the previous 
description, requires a consideration, also, of the situation of its land and the direc- 
tion and character of its winds. Located about midway between the Alleghany 
Mountains and the .Mississippi River, there is observable a prevalence of westerly 
winds. This is explained by the enormous area of level lowlands whereon the 
atmosphere is influenced by the earth's rotary motion, causing it to move in west- 
erly currents toward or from the equator. The west and northwest winds are 
mainly dry-air currents, so that although the annual rainfall is considerable, yet 
under their action the moisture is rapidly absorbed. Such conditions would inure 
to the productiveness of most soils, but in a good, rich soil such as Darke County 
occupies, there is almost a certainty of ample and abundant crops. 

The averages in the various seasons are. approximately, 31° for winter. 57° 
for spring. 7 1 for summer and 52° for autumn. The winter is long, and there are 
sudden changes from the mildness of spring to the most intense cold. These cold 
spells are rarely more than seven or eight days' duration, and are generally pre- 
ceded by storms of rain or snow. Rain falls almost nightly and for a day or so at 
a time during spring, and the temperature fluctuates from the chill of winter to 
the warmth of summer. Following one of these changes, summer comes and is 
throughout of a tropical character. As fall draws near, the atmospheric conditions 
approach uniformity, and at this period Darke County is seen to the greatest 









HARRISON TP. 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 279 

advantage Breathing an agreeable atmosphere, surrounded by healthful condi- 
tions, the beholder looks with pleasure upon the fields, the orchards and the gar- 
dens. Turning to the woodlands, he sees the maples, elms and oaks in holiday 
attire preparing for their period of rest. There is there every hue and all shades 
of color. The winds toy with the branches ; the sunlight is all about them some 
are darkened as in shadow, others are brilliant in the glow of light, and all' alXt 

;!7 n are f See ;f ^ Sm0kelike mists > completing nature's finest' port^^of 
the forest m the falltune arrayed in splendor. 

The health of the settler and of the later residents has been subjected to the 
mutations affecting the climate. In the low swamps, miasma prevatd he act on 

the sim upon the decaying vegetation opened by the clearing and stirred by he 
plow, induced fevers and chills, and there were few that did not at times succumb 
to these disorders. The healthy and hearty entered into the rtra^SaSXS 

rXE buT d th r° USly - Lab ° r h , ad itS ZeSt - and food - d Sep were most 
refreshing , but there were many who struggled on under the depression and 
hindrances of sickness. As settlers came in and clearing took SrTweep 
sickness became more general, or, at least, more apparent, and when D rs Penine 

th'caS th'sick G T nVme ' f eJ fOUnd --^employment iTaUen^Z 
tne calls of the sick. Fever and ague prevailed, and few, if any, families but had 
some sick members. Not then, as now, was quinine available-not Ten known- 

1 e PoP^ar remedies were dogwood and wild-cherry bark steeped in native 
whiskj . Slow progress was made for a time, as men became disheartened left the 
county and circulated reports that were not only true but Badly^^^T 
claimable wilderness of morass and swamp, the haunt of pestiferous agu^s and 

SSSRS vlStudL 18 a ^ ^ ^ ^ ° f ^ " ° f »"ld a on 
From 1820 to 18-10, the doctors were all kept busy attending to the sick so 

1TJ; i n ^ ere iT,V flUX ^ bili ° US fever at certain\easons of^he year The 
sichTv and I^Q tl' W6re com lff^ely healthy; the year following was more 
Si' 839 , SUl } m ° re S °' and from that time m 18 ™ there were more or less 
of bilious complaints every season. Since that date, both towns and county live 
been generally healthy As an illustration of the desperation to wMch^e medi 
cal treatment subjected patients, we relate an incident in the practice of Dr Sard 
one of the veteran physicians of the early day. He was called in as fa nily 'phvsi 
cian to minister to the wants of a sick child? Cold water was fo'rb dS and c" -" 
omel, as was usual, was administered. The doctor then retired, with romle of a 
return the next day. Cold water was barred ; the boy begged for a drink but 
entreated in vain, as the doctor's orders were immutable law°° He tnen resorted o 

i, Ih ff Fe r Ulg K a de t' e f ° r reSt and re P° se ' the toi1 ^ retired to pennrt the ? 
indulgence Soon heavy breathing announced that all were asleep, and the patient 
arose from bed, staggered to the water-bucket, and, to his dismay found Lit « tZ 
This discovery would have been hailed by imprecations that would have roLe 1 all 
in he house had not the necessity of the case demanded control, wlter must be 
ad, although the spring was at quite a distance. The coffee-pot was foim and 
the patient set out to assuage his consuming thirst. He rested several times in the 
wet grass but finally arrived at the spring, drank heartily, ai id IdScovered 
returned to his bed, having placed the well-filled coffee-pot at the bXde This 
was two-thirds emptied before this suicidal act was known, when the doctor was 

SS d ^ 7? St0 ° d Wi f aS , t0ni8hed - d °™ s look'waitli g 
serious results that did not happen. In a few days, the patient had recovered 
Di Gard was as skillful as the best, and did his duty, but the practice of that Hv 

H ion Ts->78 tf StatI H iCS ° f ^ ^^ fOT 187 ° Sh °- th ^ <£ *W 
350 Th5iw! ' de l hS WGre ' 0t maleS ' 158 ; of females > 192o r a total of 
350 There were, among the enumerated causes of deaths, the diseases of infante 

Suw'Se 86 IS'ST* f T r(0 ^ SP T\ ^-^itis). consumption pneumoS 
ana old age. The last named produced the greatest mortality. There died of 



E 



280 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

spotted fever, 21; of consumption, 58; of pneumonia, 32, and of old age, 17. 
This gives a small fraction over 1 death yearly from each 100 of population — a 
rate that will compare favorably with other localities and which demonstrates the 
present healthfullness of the climate. 

Rich as the land was. it could not produce money, and this must be had to 
meet payments and taxes. Clearing, aside from small patches, had no stimulus. 
( )f what avail were bins of corn and wheat, and droves of swine, without a purchaser 
or market, and of markets there were none. Having sufficient bread ami meat, all 
were satisfied, and they shared freely with each other and with strangers. Wheat 
was worth about 2 shillings per bushel, and corn changed hands at about one- 
half that price. The current prices fluctuated with the supply, and it was a grat- 
ification when a newspaper for the first time made it appearance and obtained 
general circulation in the county. It was published at Eaton. Preble County, and 
subscription was paid in corn at 15 cents per bushel. Pork was sold, when it 
could be sold, at 2 and 3 cents a pound ; beef brought about the same 
price ; maple sugar was held at 6 and 8 cents per pound, and maple syrup at 
about 2 shillings a gallon. Wages ranged from 2 to 3 shillings a day, and 
this was regarded as an average of compensation. Had some wealthy man bought 
large tracts and taken steps to develop the capacity of the land, there were many 
who would gladly have offered their services, but improvement in wages, prices 
and health were yet far in the future ; and this border life between the civilized 
and the savage had few attractions such as society affords. 

DARKE IN 1824. 

Fifty-six years ago, and nine counties in Western Ohio, stretching from the 
State's south boundary to Lake Erie, had one representative in the State Legisla- 
ture and cast a vote of less than 700. Andrew Hiller took the census of Darke 
County in 1830. at which date the population entire was 6,204, and of Greenville 
204. which was an increase of 2,487 in ten years. The condition of the country 
in 1824 has been described as follows : " At that time, the present townships of 
Mississinewa, Jackson, Allen, York, Patterson and Wabash, did not contain a 
single inhabitant. In Brown, there were three families; in Franklin, one; in 
Monroe, three ; more than three-fourths of the townships of Wayne, Richland, 
Adams, Van Buren, Butler and Twin, were an unbroken wilderness, and in the 
most populous parts of the county, more than half the land yet belonged to the 
United States. The present fine valleys of East Fork. Mud ('reek. West Branch 
and Bridge Creek, were dismal swamps, tangled morasses through which the 
intrepid surveyors under Ludlow forced their way ; at times waist-deep in water 
and resisted by briars, branches and tall grasses. Half the farms were fenceless ; 
cattle and swine ran half wild, and the latter were trapped and hunted with fero- 
cious dogs. In that year, there were four grist-mills in the county, all of which, 
together might have ground one hundred bushels of corn per day, if the condi- 
tions were favorable, that is. if there was water in the streams, the dam unbroken 
and the mill machinery in order. Much of the time, the settlers resorted to the 
mills of Jerry Cass, on Middle Fork ; Sheets and Razor, on the Stillwater ; Leh- 
man's, at Howdy, and to those more certain, yet more distant upon the Miami 
River. 

There were also eight or ten saw-mills that, for three months in the year. 
could cut from 500 to 1,000 feet of lumber in a day and night's run, provided 
something was not broken or out of order; for it was the exception and not the 
rule to find them in running condition. In one branch of business, the 
county has retrograded. There were then a dozen or less of petty distil- 
leries, whose united product fell far short of quenching tin- thirst of the peo- 
ple, and additional supplies were drawn from the establishments of McGrew, on 
Whitewater, and Sheets. Razor's and Robnock, on Stillwater. Those of Lehman 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 281 

& Rench were passed by, as the local demand left no surplus. To this was added 
the imported cognac. Jamaica, Scheidam, from Cincinnati, besides Madeira, sherry 
and port, so essential to preserve health, and so essential in sickness. T. Snell 
and J. Huffman coopered kegs for the products of the stills, and manufactured 
well buckets, kraut tubs and other vessels needed by the settlers. There were in 
the county six brick houses and thrice that number of frame buildings, the cost of 
construction of none having been in excess of $500. Every other human habita- 
tion was the log house, in its various phases, from the round-pole structure with 
bark covering, to the two-story hewed-log, with shingle roof and glazed windows. 
There were a number of schoolhouses, the best of which was not worth $15, and 
all of them together would have been dear at $100. 

Two meeting-houses, one a Methodist and one a Hard-shell Baptist, built of 
hewed logs, and roofed with clapboard, composed the ecclesiastical structures of 
the county at that period. Religious services were held at long and irregular 
intervals, at various places, the court house, private dwellings, or, if the weather 
permitted, out of doors. 

The roads of the county consisted of the old war traces of St. Clair and Wayne, 
cut more than thirty years before, the Indian path to the Miami on the east, "and 
the Whitewater towns on the west and southwest, and some few other " traces," as 
they were called, cut out by the early settlers ; so that a wagon might possibby get 
along in the daytime, provided the driver had an ax along with him, to cut his 
way around trees, which had fallen across the road. A trip with a conveyance on 
wheels, to and from Piqua or Troy, to Lockey's Mills or Paris, under very favora- 
ble circumstances, might be made in from three to five days ; to Eaton, the Mississin- 
ewa or Recovery, in a much longer period. Nothing on wheels was ever attempted to 
be taken to St. Mary's or Loramie, and if anything of the kind ever went to Win- 
chester, it never returned. 

There were not then over one hundred acres of cleared land in a body, in the 
county ; the proportion of cultivated to wild land cannot definitely be stated, but 
sixteen years later, 1840, the area of land utilized by civilization, by inclosure, and 
much of that still covered with timber and denominated " woods pasture," 
amounted to but little over 25 per cent. 

It remains to revert to the general features of the county. At that 
time the lands subjected to cultivation were the more elevated portions of Green- 
ville, Washington, Harrison and Neaves Townships, with narrow belts along Still- 
water, Swamp Creek and Greenville Creek in the townships of Richland, Wayne 
and Adams ; on Millers Fork in Twin, and at the head of Twin Creek in Butler. 
The Painter Creek and the swamps of Twin, reaching from Greenville Creek to the 
southern boundary of the county, and from the east side of Butler and Neaves 
Townships to the Miami County line, and including an area of more than a 
hundred square miles, now exhibiting a bocby of as good farming lands as any in 
the Miami Valley, and which are now as well-improved and productive as any in 
the county, were, fifty years ago, and for many years thereafter, a wilderness, 
heavil}- wooded and much the greater part under water, varying from one to five 
feet in depth, more than half the year. In a like condition, until quite a recent 
period, was more than half of the townships of Jackson, Brown, Allen, Wabash 
and Patterson. These regions have been entirely reclaimed to agricultural uses, 
and are now producing, some thirty, some sixty and some an hundred fold." 

EARLY PREACHERS — EDUCATION — MARRIAGE CUSTOMS AND MARRIAGES, ETC. 

When settlers' cabins stood at secluded places, at wide intervals upon high 
ground, on creek banks, or deep in the woods, the circuit rider had set out on his 
mission of good. Traversing road, trace and forest paths, he found cordial wel- 
come eveiwwhere. Arousing strong opposition, he had power in Gospel truth, 
plainly expressed, and found ample illustration from the boundless volume of 



282 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

Nature. Let it be said to the honor of the pioneer, that despite the crude state of 
society, whoever made any profession of religion was faithful in worship and 
fervent in spirit. Church members from the East gladly called in kindred spirits 
to hold prayer-meetings in their cabins, relate their experience and cheer each 
on. They gave kind greeting to the chance or expected itinerant preacher on his 
arrival, took charge of his horse and speedily sent out the children or went them- 
selves along the byways to notify the neighborhood, when all dropped their 
employment and gathered to the meeting. 

It was well that Christians were strong in faith, brave and determined, for 
there was much wickedness practiced. The character of employment, and asso- 
ciation at races, courts, musters, raisings and other assemblages, tended strongly 
to make the popular vices of gambling, drinking and righting. There was urgent 
need of the enthusiastic and eloquent men, who from the cabin door, the rude 
stand in the large barn, or the extemporized pulpit at the camp-meeting in the 
wood, addressed the gathered throng in ringing tones with thrilling language upon 
those noblest of themes — salvation and immortality. The records of those meet- 
ings of the olden time almost persuade the reader that some speakers of that day 
were, at times, inspired with superhuman power of speech. 

There are few now living who recollect John Purviance, who lived on the 
"Whitewater, and championed the tenets of the Christian Church ; Andrew and 
Henry Rush, who exhorted in the Methodist faith, and Dearborn and Finley, represent- 
ative circuit riders. Some tew may recall old John Hiller and his grown-up sons 
— settlers on the West Branch — and the pioneer meeting-house erected in his 
neighborhood. They have passed away, and few are the traces left of them. 

It is asserted that Judge J. Purviance preached at the house of Judge Rush, 
on Mud Creek, in 1811, the first sermon delivered to a civil congregation within 
the bounds of Darke County. His father, David Purviance, was one of the origin- 
ators of what were termed the " New lights," in Kentucky. Rev. J. Purviance was 
a teacher, as well as a preacher and worker, and his dwelling near Braffettsville, in 
Harrison Township, was made to answer the threefold purpose of schoolroom, 
meeting-house and dwelling. 

About the same year, Abraham Sneethen preached a sermon in Greenville, 
and Henry Arnold speaks of it as the first he had heard in this county. Among 
other pioneer preachers of the Christian denomination were Isaac- Main, John 
Foster and William Polly. The Baptists formed a society at an early date and 
erected a house of worship — evidence of members and influence. The Presbyte 
rians delayed organization until 1818, when Rev. Shannon who had seined as chap- 
lain in one of Harrison's Kentuclcy regiments, ^preached at the residence of Mr. 
Martin, father of John H. Martin. Early history of Methodism in Darke County 
has mainly to do with the circuit riders, elders and churches. The record of 
Methodism during the early 3-ears of settlement is meager. The first Methodist 
minister that visited this county was Rev. John Brown in 1817, and the year fol- 
lowing John P. Durbin (since Corresponding Secretary of the American Missionary 
Society) preached on what was then known as the Baton Circuit. It was extensive 
in area, embracing appointments at Camden and Eaton in Preble County ; Green- 
ville and Siller's in Darke County, Covington, in .Miami County, and Union, Con- 
cord and Germantown in Montgomery County, besides parts of Wayne and Ran- 
dolph in Indiana. The pioneer meeting-house of the county was erected by the 
Methodist society in 1818, and is yet standing upon its original site, about four 
miles west of Greenville and a half-mile south of Winchester turnpike. Great 
pains were taken with this rude sanctuary in its construction. Its walls were of 
hewed logs, and the work when completed was considered excellent. The pulpit, 
made of rough boards, and two or three slab seats, are still in existence. The roof 
was originally of the old well known cabin style, but has since been renewed and 
bears a more modern covering. The old house itself has been kept in such repair 
that it served for the accommodation of the people on funeral occasions. The 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 283 

dedicator}' sermon for this old landmark of religion was preached by Rev. Durbin, 
and the following Presiding Elders severally held within its door their quarterly 
meetings : Alexander Cummins, John Strange, John Collins, J. B. Finley, John F. 
Wright, William H. Raper and William B. Christie. The first quarterly meeting 
for the Greenville Circuit of 1S17 was held at Greenville in the private dwelling 
of John Dunn by Elder Moses Crume. Rev. Durbin preached at the house of A. 
Scribner and his teaching seems to have been salutary in its effect upon the commu- 
nity. Soon the limits of the circuit were diminished and regular preaching was 
discontinued until 1833, although during this interval, sermons were occasionally 
delivered at the court house, dwelling-houses, and such other places as could be 
procured for that purpose. The want of houses of worship gave rise to the cus- 
tom of holding camp-meetings and other religious assemblages in the open air. 
This was resorted to by the different denominations, and drew large crowds, but 
sometimes the good results were counterbalanced by the rowdying ruffianism that 
intruded itself. The yearly Dunker meetings were rarely disturbed. The peculiar 
methods of the sect, their generosity in feeding the multitude, chiefly upon soups, 
had much to do, no doubt, in securing the order that so generally prevailed at their 
meetings. 

In 1818, the first class was organized in Darke County, at the pioneer church, 
and was known as the"Hiller and Li vergood class." In 1833, William Oliver, 
resident about six miles north of Greenville, formed a second class, which con- 
sisted of the following named persons : Mrs. Turpen and daughter Emeline (the 
wife of Dr. Sexton), Mrs. L. R, Brownell, William Barrett and wife, and William J. 
Birely and wife. It is said of Mrs. Turpen that she, at times, walked four miles 
to church and class. This class was organized under Revs. Francis Timmons and 
Ira Chase, who were on the circuit at this date. A class was formed at Greenville 
this same year. The Methodists experienced much opposition, being regarded as 
hypocritical and fanatical. Meetings were disturbed and attempts were made to 
inflict violence upon the ministers. 

In 1834, prayer-meeting began to be held at the house of William Wile} 7 , 
whose wife had been a member of the Baptist Church at her former home. Mr. 
Wiley's meetings were at first attended by persons spirituously as well as spiritu- 
ally inclined. After a time, religious people came quite generally, and this led in 
time to the present Wednesday evening prayer-meeting in Greenville. 

This year, Jesse Prior was on the circuit, and among those in the county 
added to the church were William J. Birely and wife, J. M. Baskerville, Lovina 
Houp, Hiram Bell, Jane and Lemuel Rush and Eliza McGinnis. In 1835, a church 
building was commenced in Greenville. Stephen F. Conry and Adam Miller were 
on the circuit. In the year 1837, Rev. Prior was returned and the church influ- 
ence became manifest. Religion was the topic of converse at home, in public and on 
the street, while attendance at church was general. Eli Truitt labored on the cir- 
cuit in 1838-39, Robert 0. Spencer was Presiding Elder, and Wilson Barrett and 
George Starr were Class-Leaders. During the years 1840-41, William Morrow 
and James McNabb being on the circuit, it was now reduced by increase of 
population to Darke Count}-. About 300 persons were converted and a like num- 
ber joined the church. From 1841, to the close of 1843, S. M. Batty and Eliakim 
Zimmerman, were on the circuit. They were followed in 1844, by Jacob Brown 
and Cadwallader Owens ; then came T. Phillips in 1845-46 ; Joseph Wykes 
in 1847-48 ; and Alexander Hammond in 1849-50. David Rutledge labored 
on the circuit in 1851, and the church received some accessions. Jacob 
Burkholder, assisted by Franklin Mariott. were well received in 1852. and 
the church prospered. L. C. Webster, assisted by Rev. Mariott. in 1853. W. W. 
Winter was the senior preacher in the two following years, assisted first by P. G. 
Goode, then by Oliver Kennedy, who from 185(3-58, was senior preacher, aided by 
L. C. Webster and P. B. Lewis. Great interest was shown, accessions were 
numerous, and the people saw these men remove elsewhere with regret. Ministers 



284 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

in 1858 wereW. J. Peck and John T. Bower, and for 1*59 and 1860, Isaac Newton, 
assisted by P. B. Lewis, at which date Greenville was made a station with an 
appointment at Coleville. From this date, the history of Methodism will be found 
continued in city and township record. It was but justice to enroll the names of 
those circuit riders. What a life was theirs ; uncertain one year of their field of 
Labor the next. A pair of saddle-bags contained their wardrobe and their library. 
Long journeys were made to meet appointments. All honor to these men, though 
they have gone from us, their memories are preserved in the ennobling influences 
created and fostered by their faithful instructions. 

The Darke County charge of the German Reformed Church presents its first 
record in reference to a meeting held at Beamsville Aug. 6, 1853, at which five 
congregations were represented, viz.: Zion, five miles west of Greenville; St. 
John's, in German Township ; beside Zoar, Beamsville and Gettysburg. At this 
meeting, Jesse Prugh was President ; John L. Darner, Secretary ; and Philip 
Hartzell and Jesse Prugh, delegates to synod and classis. A new charge was 
designed at Greenville, and the different congregations pledged $131 for the 
support of a minister, and Indian Creek congregation was put down for $25, the 
sum they were supposed willing to contribute. At the next annual meeting, Zoar 
and Zion only were represented. Another year elapsed, and the joint consistories 
of the county met at St. John's Church, when the resignation of Ilev. J. D. Colli- 
flower was tendered and accepted, and a committee appointed to pi"ocure another 
minister. Meeting again on July 24, these same congregations extended a call to 
Rev. J. McConnell, and pledged $185 to his support. The call was not accepted ; 
Mr. Prugh was re-elected President, and Mr. Hartzell was chosen Secretary. Aug. 23, 
1856, these congregations were represented at a meeting held at Clayton, Miami Co., 
Ohio. The same person was continued as Secretary, and John Nicodemus elected 
Treasurer. Delegates were chosen to attend the meetings of the Synod. The 
consistory of Zion's congregation desiring to withdraw from the charge, the 
request was assented to on condition of a donation of $50 to supply the deficiency 
caused by their retiring. Meantime, Rev. I. M. Lefevre had accepted a call to 
preach, and a meeting was called for August 23, 1857, at the house of Levi Rahn, 
in the limits of the Gett} T sburg congregation, at which Zoar and Beamsville met 
the local consistory and chose for officer's J. L. Darner, Vice President ; Secre- 
tary, the same as before ; G. W. Cromer, Treasurer ; Jesse Prugh and William 
Aspinwall, elected delegates to Synod and classis. The Missionary Board was 
asked for $50 for one year, to support minister, in addition to $175 pledged by 
the members. Again they met a year later, continued the same officers, and, as 
an illustration of the poverty but willing spirit prevailing, a deficit of the Pastor's 
salary was reported and a pledge made of $160 for the coming year. It was 
then "Resolved, That the Pastor preach a missionary sermon in each congregation 
of this charge, and at the same time take up a collection for domestic missions." 
In 1859, Beamsville, Zoar and Gettysburg met at Clayton, Ohio, elected officers and 
appointed a committee to extend an invitation to Rev. J. Weaver to visit the 
charge with a view of securing him as Pastor. The Darke County charge, of 
which these records are given, has ceased to be known as such. By an action of 
classes in the fall of 1861, the Zoar congregation became attached to the 
St. Paiis' charge, and the Beamsville and Creager's (Gettysburg) to the Dallas 
charge in 1862, thereby dissolving the charge. This action was preparatory to 
starting an interest in the town of Greenville, so long neglected, and the formation 
of what was thereafter to he known as the Greenville charge. The hardships and 
discouraging vicissitudes incident to a new country, have been experienced by 
the different denominations; although the record has not been in all accessi- 
ble, yet no distinction need be made, since originators, members and minis- 
ters have been heroic and undaunted in building up the present elevating and 
advancing interest in things spiritual and eternal, and furthering the cause of the 
.Master. 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 285 

The first Sabbath school in the county was organized early in 1834, in what 
was afterward sometimes called " Scribner's white house," wherein Harrison made 
a treaty with the Indians. The school began with an enrollment of but eleven 
persons, including officers, teachers and pupils, and that it was non-sectarian is 
proved by the association in this work of Methodists, Presbyterians and Congre- 
gationalists. In the spring, sixteen accessions were chronicled, and within three 
years the number had increased to fully one hundred and fifty more. The school 
was then discontinued, and each denomination that had sufficient pupils organized 
a school of its own. The first Superintendent was William Barrett, a Methodist. 
The first Secretary was Herman Searles, a Congregationalist, and the pioneer 
teachers of classes were Mrs. Bell, Mrs. Sexton, Mrs. Briggs, Mrs. Barrett and 
Miss Evaline Dorsey. 

Educational advantages in town and count}' were for many years quite lim- 
ited. There were a few rude schoolhouses widely scattered, and these were occu- 
pied three months of each winter by teachers whose qualifications better adapted 
them for burning brick than solving problems in mathematics, and, consequently, 
there was little learned. Schools were taught by subscriptions. Settlers built 
houses as they were needed. Taxes came as a result of the practical defeat of a 
law which appropriated public lands for school funds. Many of these sections 
were at the time worthless, and, such as were of value being sold, the proceeds 
were squandered. The work was in private hands, there was no test of ability 
or qualification, and not till 1821 was the first general school law found in the 
statutes. There were no school districts, nor public funds, special or tuition. 
Every one paid for the instruction of his own children. 

Many settlers had large families — as many as ten children were found in a 
single cabin — and, to provide for the future of these .young people, the parents 
came to this county. There was always work to be done, and the services of all 
hands were needed ; it was only during the winter months that schools could be 
attended. At these, only the elementary branches were taught, and the predomi- 
nant idea of the schoolmaster was discipline first, learning afterward. No gram- 
mar nor geography were taught. Few studied arithmetic, and these did not 
proceed much beyond the rudiments ; and when, at length, grammar was intro- 
duced, such pupils were thought well advanced. In any locality, whenever suf- 
ficient families had moved in to form a school, the' settlers stood ready to build a 
house and engage a teacher. Tall, strapping 3 T ouths attended school, and the mas- 
ter had need of decision and courage as well as method and erudition. It was 
customary for the person applying for the school to call upon the parties within 
sending distance and canvass for scholars. If enough were secured, school opened. 
An illustration of the old-time method is given as follows : About the year 1815, 
a man came into the Rush neighborhood and offered his services as teacher. The 
settlers located along Mud Creek, West Branch and Bridge Creek talked the matter 
over, and concluded to employ him. It was a light labor for all to turn out with 
axes, handspikes and oxen, upon a day appointed, to chop and draw logs to a 
chosen site, for the purpose of putting up a schoolhouse. The location was near 
Bush Fort, on Mud Creek. While some put up round logs, notched down, one 
layer upon another, until they were of sufficient elevation to form a stoiy, split 
clapboards for the roof, chamber floor and door, and puncheons for the floor, others 
drew stone for the fireplace and prepared sticks and mud for the chimney. The 
floor being laid, next came desks and seats. Large holes were bored in a log on 
each side of the room, wooden pins were driven in, and a slab or unplaned plank 
laid on these pins. For seats, holes were bored in puncheons and legs driven in, 
two at each end. Windows were made by cutting out a log nearly the whole 
length of the house, leaving a hole a foot wide. Into this was filled a sort of lattice 
work of sticks, and upon this greased paper was pasted to transmit the light. Such 
was the schoolhouse of sixty-live years ago. It was not much of a structure, but 
there was no °Teat contrast between it and the homes of its builders. There was 



286 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

no lack of ventilation, and the wood was not too long for the fire-place. School 
opened in charge of W. II. -Jones, of whom mention has been made in m previous 
chapter, his services having been secured at a salary of $7 per month. He was 
severe and exacting; punishments were the order of the day. Whispering and 
other indiscretions subjected the offender to blows with a ferule upon the palm of 
the hand ; and so freely did Mr. Jones administer chastisement, that the patrons 
were obliged to request him to moderate his punishment, as the hands of 
their boys were so sore from repeated feruling that they were unable to use the 
ax. It was a species of torture to strike the tips of the gathered lingers with the 
ferule, and this was disapproved by the settlers, indurated to rough usages as 
they were. Only two branches of education were taught — reading and writing. 
The example of this neighborhood was contagious, and soon a house was built 
near the place of David Studabaker, and a man named Montgomeiy was hired as 
teacher. Gradually schoolhouses became more numerous, and the demand for 
teachers in some measure induced a supply. Summer schools were rare. Females 
made no application till an adventurous woman, named Anna Boleyn, 
attempted a three-months term during the summer of 1825, but quit in disgust 
before the expiration of that time. Despite liberal provisions favorable to educa- 
tion, little had t been done up to 1S8S toward perfecting a system of common 
schools, the result of the scanty means and constant toil incident to pioneer life. 
No inconsiderable portion of early history is that which treats of marriage cus- 
toms, first births in the county, deaths and cemeteries. 

The arrival of a family occasioned eager inquiry b} T young men as to whether 
there were any marriageable daughters of the number. The demand was in 
excess of the supply. The same maiden had sometimes several suitors ; this 
involved the delicate matter of rejection as well as of choice. Sometimes the 
girls were betrothed before leaving home, and a knowledge of this fact caused dis- 
appointment. For a long time after the first settlement of the count}', the people 
generally married young. The parties differed little in fortune, and none in rank. 
First impressions of love resulted in marriage and a family establishment cost 
onry a little labor. Weddings occupied the attention of the entire neighborhood, 
and the event was an hilarious occasion, anticipated by old and young. This is 
readily understood when it is considered that a wedding was almost the only 
gathering not accompanied by labor. The marriage ceremony was arranged to 
take place before dinner, which was a substantial feast of beer, pork, fowls, and 
sometimes venison and bear meat, roasted and boiled, with abundance of potatoes 
and other vegetables. Dinner was free from formality, and a time for mirth and 
enjo3 T ment. There was dancing after dinner. "The figures of the dances were 
three and four handed reels or square sets and jigs. The commencement was 
always a square four, which was followed by what was called jigging it off; that 
is, two of the four would single out for a jig, and were followed by the remaining 
couple. The jigs were often accompanied with what was called cutting out, that 
is, when either of the parties became tired of the dance, on intimation the place 
was supplied by some one of the company without any interruption of the dance. 
In this way the amusement was often continued till the musician was heartily 
tired of his situation." Among marriages in pioneer days, was that of Ullry to 
his brother's widow; they had lived together some time during the inoperative 
period before the election of justices, and when a justice was chosen, they were 
legally married. In a spirit of joviality a party of young people being resolved 
to have a marriage, seized upon a man named Israel Wertz and fitted him out 
with a suit. One of the party furnished leggins, another some other article of 
dress until he was properly clothed, and then calling upon a woman named Jane 
I higan, asked her if she was willing to marry Wertz. She replied affirmatively, 
and they all started for the house of Alexander Smith, a .Justice of the Peace who 
lived east of Greenville. Wertz repented and broke away, upon which a dog was 
set after him. and he was caught and held. The ceremony was then performed, 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 287 

and the twain thus singularly made one lived many ye&vs together happily and 
both finally died of old age. 

Instances of seduction and bastardy were rare, and could not take place with- 
out great danger from the brothers or other relatives of the injured party, as 
family honor was highly estimated. Divorce was accounted dishonorable, and was 
seldom a resort. The statistical reports for 1877 give, of marriages that year, in 
Darke, 334 ; suits for divorce pending. 23 ; brought within the year, 41 — total, 64. 
Brought by husband, 26 ; wife. 38. Principal causes were, absence, neglect, incon- 
tinence and cruelty. 

The burial customs of sixty years ago differed much from those of to-day. 
"When a death occurred, neighbors would call in, take the measure of the body, 
and procure a plain coffin, at a cost rarely exceeding $5. A neighbor possessed of 
a team brought the coffin to the house and conveyed the body to the grave. Ruder 
sepulture was not infrequent. No costly shaft marked the spot where their dust 
reposes, but plain head-board. Cemeteries were known as graveyards, and some 
families had a burial plat of their own. as the Sumptions. "We close by a brief 
extract from the record of what is known as the Old Graveyard, at Greenville, 
which was deeded by John and Margaret Devor to the Trustees of the M. E. 
Church, July 15, 1818. The deed is recorded in Book A 1, B. 74. and the bounds 
are as follows : Southeast by Water street, and running along the said street 
eight poles and fourteen poles, to the rear, so as to include the burying-ground at 
the north end of town, and to contain 112 square rods — excepting two square 
rods, to be used as a burying-ground by each and every person who has heretofore 
occupied any part of said lots for that purpose." The conveyance was a dona- 
tion, since the consideration was $1. The grounds were laid out, fenced and left 
to be populated as the wearied and worn here " laid themselves clown in their last 
sleep." 

DARKE COUNTY IN 1840 — CELEBRATION — COMMEMORATION — MASS MEETING AT 

GREENVILLE. 

It was during the period of heated political debate that Greenville and Darke 
County began to emerge from the gloom and obscurity of nature, where they had 
lain from time unknown, and to aspire for place among older and sister counties of 
the State. You glance over her townships, and you find them thickly settled still. 
You find that in ten years her population has more than doubled. The 6,204 of 
1830 has now become 13,145, or twenty inhabitants to the square mile. Of its 
eighteen townships, Greenville leads, with a population of 1,851. Four others, 
Harrison, German, Butler and Twin, have over 1,000 each, while Mississinewa 
enumerated but 124. Greenville, the county seat, contained four churches, sixteen 
mercantile stores, a flouring-mill, a printing office and about 800 inhabitants. The 
lands wear a wild look. There is an abundance of fine poplar, walnut, blue ash, 
beech, hiekory and sugar maple. It has won a reputation for the production of 
excellent wheat, and is reputed to be well adapted to grazing. The woods still 
abound in game. The heavy timber stretches almost unbroken for miles, not alone 
over the low and swampy but along the higher lands. Cattle range at will through 
the woods, and the swine run wild and savage in droves. Land ranges in value, 
from the Government price, to $12 per acre, the latter for improved farms. Soil, 
relieved of heavier growth, sustained rank and luxuriant grasses, while furnishing 
but scant supply of wheat and other grains. The old cry of milk sickness and 
fevers was now changed, and it was said of Darke County that its chief products 
were " pumpkins and hoop poles," and in this there was much of truth, especially 
in regard to hoop-poles, since, at this date, they were the only article of export. 
During the winter, the principal employment of farmers was wagoning these hoop- 
poles to Germantown. Middletown, Lewisburg and other markets, and by this 
means they were enabled to measurably supply themselves with salt, groceries, 



288 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

leather and other necessaries. This supplied the county with ready money that 
would otherwise have been badly missed. Away now in the past the count}' seat 
was seen, with a population of about three hundred, many of those were poor, and 
had hard scratching to get a living. There were two stores, a blacksmith-shop and 
a whisky-shop, two doctors' offices, an antiquated brick court house in a spacious 
public square, a brick jail, a single ordinary frame church building, and a small 
log schoolhouse. There were a few respectable looking private dwellings, but most 
of the houses were shabby and were widely scattered, south and southeast of the 
square. The streets were more nominal than real : the nearest actual being that 
which runs south from the square, in the direction of the old fort, and which held 
the business of the place. This was all changed in 1840 ; the town had far more 
than doubled its population, and indications of business growth were apparent. 
New buildings had been erected, new stores started, new men had moved in. and 
they had brought some capital with them. Allan La Mott and John 1). Farrar 
had opened dry goods in 1830, the next } T ear W. B. Beall and Francis Waring started 
stores; then, in 1832, came John 0. Potter, and the veteran merchant of Green- 
ville, Henry Arnold, now, in 1840, in business with H. N. Arnold, who three years 
before had been a partner with James M. Dorsey, an arrival of 1833 ; besides these, 
there were Townsend, Bailey, Beall and Bascom. Lawyers were not wanting ; of 
these were Gen. Bell and Dempsey, and of doctors, Baskerville, Ayres, Buell and 
(lard. Greenville had two hotels now. They were earlier known as taverns. Mrs. 
Armstrong was the pioneer. Then came Moses Scott, who provided entertainment 
for man and beast until 1824, when he moved to Fort Wayne, Ind. Linus Bascom, 
in 1817, opened public house, down where stands Hall & Hine's livery stable. A. 
Scribner was cotemporary with Scott ; James Craig was successor to the latter. 
Craig gave way to Edward Shaffer. Then we come to 1840. Charles Hutchins 
is the proprietor of a two-story brick house, erected in 1837, on the east side, and 
Frank Hamilton located in a two-story frame, on the south side, of the public 
square. Notwithstanding the somewhat humble pretensions of the latter, it had 
the prestige of seniority over its more costly neighbor and vigorous rival, besides 
being honored by guests renowned and distinguished. During 1840, here stopped 
the hero and patriot of North Bend, who. from its uppermost porch, addressed 
the gathered multitude, upon the issues dividing political parties. The urbane, 
courteous hospitality of the frame was matched by the grandeur of the brick, 
whose proprietor received the suffrages of the people as the County Treasurer. 

The postal facilities gradually approached an ability to transmit intelligence 
within reasonable time. A. Scribner had been appointed in 1815, and had but 
nominal duties to perform. His successors were Carleton Morris and David Mon- 
roe. He then recovered the position which he held till 1833, when Judge John 
Wharry became the incumbent, and. after several years, gave way to a successor. 
The office was not in a room by itself, but occupied a small portion of the store or 
other room of the Postmaster, and was auxiliary to the business. 

Dempsey. of whom mention has been made, a man small in stature but large 
enough to attract notice at the National Capital, had not long been resident of 
Greenville before be was favored by Van Buren's administration with the appoint- 
ment of Postmaster, and at once combined the threefold duties of law. trade and 
public functionary, having his law and post office in his store. The change of 
administration again returned the office to Scribner. Although Greenville was 
tlourishing at an unprecedented rate at this time, it had few attractions, and was 
lacking in many essential elements to solid improvement and prosperity. It had 
need of a g 1 printing [tress. Iv ])onnellan had printed and published a news- 
paper then known as the Western Statesman ami Greenville, ('<>"ri<r. the initial 
number bearing date of June 25, 1832. It was of super-royal size, was published 
irregularly, had a sickly existence' and upon its subscription list there were some 
two hundred and fifty names. lis mottoes were excellent, its prospectuses were 
frequent, but its duration was brief. A good llouring-mill was a needful thing. 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 289 

This was not a local want ; the entire county needed better and more reliable mill- 
ing facilities which had hardly kept pace with the development of the country. 

Soon after Harrison's treat}-, Maj. Adams, an old soldier of Wayne's army, 
erected a kind of chopping-mill, five miles below Greenville, upon the later site of 
the mills of Oliver & Co. Cotemporary with Adams were Mathias and Aaron 
Dean, who, having built a saw-mill three miles above Greenville, had attached 
thereto a " corn-cracker." Neither ground much wheat. Bolting was done by 
hand, each customer bolting his own grist. Somewhat later, Andrew Noftsinger 
put up a grist-mill on Mud Creek, below the outlet of the lake, on the later site of 
Otwell's Mills. The bolting here was done by hand, and could not supply the 
demands of the people. Wheat had to be taken to the mouth of Greenville 
Creek, to Milton or to Whitewater to be ground. In dry times the grist was left, 
and at a specified time it was promised to be ground, and the farmer went back for 
it, and, in the bad condition of the roads, this made a two days' trip. 

The next improvement was a horse-mill, put up by John Puderbaugh, on the 
east side of West Branch Prairie. This mill afforded fair facilities for grinding in 
winter while other mills were frozen up. Two neighbors, going together, set out 
before day with harnessed horses and a sack of corn on each horse. If, on reach- 
ing the mill, it was found to be thronged, a neighborly feeling was shown. Each 
got part of his grist ground, but there was no meal left to require a return, for the 
old miller had thriftily connected with the mill a small copper still, which turned 
out a very desirable quality of whisky which was always readily exchangeable for 
corn. 

Then all drank liquor as a beverage. Children were solicited to drink by 
parents, and, when too raw and strong, it was blended with sweetening, and in it 
the bread was soaked. It was everywhere indispensable, called for on all occasions 
and in all places pronounced good and desirable. Quality was reputed good, 
drunkards were said to have been few, and cases of delirium tremens were 
unknown. 

In 1840, Briggs' mill, two miles below town ; Dean's, three ; Cole's, five miles 
above on the creek, and Clapp's, six or seven miles west of town, afforded accom- 
modations, but, at the same time, they were regarded as but a shade above refined 
corn-crackers. Otwell's mill, nine miles southwest of Greenville on Mud Creek, 
was originally one of the same sort, but it had changed hands several times, and 
with each change had received repairs that made it, perhaps, the best mill in Darke 
County. This and a new steam mill started in the vicinity of Palestine by a man 
named Cloyd, did most of the wheat grinding, but when a drought came, as was 
the case most every fall, the whole country had to go to Stillwater, a distance of 
some twenty or twenty -five miles. Fortunately, at such times the roads were dry 
and solid ; teams could haul good loads without interruption. At any other sea- 
son, except when the ground was hard frozen, the roads were so intolerably bad 
that teams could scarcely pass with empty wagons. In the summer of 1833, Pat- 
terson had on a load of five barrels of flour drawn by three stout horses and all 
were mired in a " slough."' 

Besides these grist-mills, there were several saw-mills scattered around on the 
small streams, which answered the purpose so far as they went, but they did not 
go far enough to meet the demands of the county for lumber. Steam had not 
then come into use, except in the single instance above named. 

Many predicted that would be a failure, there existed such a prejudice against 
steam as a propelling power. It was generally believed that water was the only 
force that could be profitably used in running any kind of machinery. With these 
backward appliances, there was still another establishment in the shape of a 
" carding machine and fulling-mill." located some Jliree miles west of town, on 
what was then called West Branch, which was owned and run by Benjamin & 
Jack Devor. This was the only machinery of the kind in the count}-. Andrew 
Smith was foreman of the concern and had an apprentice. This mill was a 



290 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

valuable aid to the labors of the women, for homespun in 1840 was still the order of 
the day. It was only on occasions of weddings that people indulged in "broad- 
cloth and Swiss mull." Alter the ceremony, the garments were carefully laid away 
and held as proud relics of a precious memory. Matron and maid still spun and 
wove, as had the mothers and aunts of twenty years before. A delicate chintz, 
held as a reserve for Sunday occasions, was carefully preserved and worn, and if 
the fair owner chose to walk barefooted to church, a distance of several miles, cus- 
tom accorded that privilege, provided the feet were dressed during service. To 
preserve the shoes in good order, they were taken along wrapped in a handker- 
chief, and if the happy gallant could secure the privilege of carrying the parcel, 
he felt highly honored. 

We have elsewhere spoken of education and religion. Besides these religious 
meetings in grove and camp, carrying with them an absorbing influence, there was 
still another gathering of a military character, the "Big Muster," as it was called. 
which was held annually at Greenville. This was simply an assembly of the 
county militia to exercise in the manual of arms, but it was regarded by some 
of the men, and by the boys generally, as the day for which all other days were 
made. The show}' uniforms, the stirring martial music, bright muskets, gay cock- 
ades and measured tramp, the melons, ginger-cakes, cider and other supplies were 
a great attraction to the boys. Israel Cox proudly put in his appearance as filer. 
and well he might, as he was acknowledged the best in the comity. He had no 
known equal. His brother John was no ordinary performer, but when Israel 
moved at the head of the column, accompanied by his favorite drummer, his 
mastery was universally conceded. 

Among the well-known and esteemed men of that da} T were Gavin Hamilton, 
Jacob Hamilton — a friend of and judge of honor — John, who resided at Tecumseh 
Point in a two-story frame house, James, a clever, country blacksmith, Joseph 
and Andrew, good farmers. The brothers, James and Alexander Craig, carried 
on a wagon and blacksmith-shop in Greenville to the manifest advantage of the pub- 
lic. Riley Knox, a young lawyer of promise, had just entered upon his profession. 
He delivered an oration at a celebration of the 4th of July, in 1838 or 1839, which 
was considered a masterly production for one so young. William Wilson was his 
preceptor, and took him in as a law partner. Among the worthy and notable 
farmers of that day were John and Aaron Hiller, Joseph Croll, John Martin, 
Samuel Cole, Sr., Philip Manuel, George Diverly, William McKhann, James and 
Thomas McGinnis, William and Samuel Rush, William Morningstar and James 
Bryson, a few there of the many whose iron wills held all vantage-ground, and con- 
tinually extended their domain. 

A few of the hoys of that day were David, Theodore and Thomas Beers, John 
Devor, Jack and Frank Scribner, William Douglass, Calvin McNeil, John Hiller, 
-Jr.. Levi Elston, William and James McKhann. Martin Brady. -J. and II. Bry- 
son, Benjamin and Andrew Croll, Samuel. Joseph and Henry Cole, John Hen- 
ning, Jr., James and Barton Hays, Zack and Ben Clark and many another the 
old resident will recall to mind. Levi and Amos Potter found homes elsewhere. 
Some have passed from earth, some yet remain where they spent their youthful 
days together. The heads of those full of ardor then are now adorned with silver 
locks, premonitory of a coming change. 

The celebration of the anniversary of American independence has fallen into 
disuse since the last, great civil conflict, but for many years, it was made a holiday 
of the nation. A notable observance of the day was held at Greenville in is,")::, 
and is probably remembered by many. Due notice had been given, and people 
began to pour into town at an early hour from all parts, not only of Darke County. 
lint from the Counties adjoining. All the public houses were crowded the night 
before by strangers from abroad. Military companies and firemen from Piqua 
arrived in the vicinity of the town at seven in the morning. An hour later and 
they were received by the Greenville Guards, ami escorted to the town. At 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 291 

the head of the column marched the Greenville Band, assisted by part of the Win- 
chester (Ind.) Band, and discoursed appropriate airs. A train came from Dayton 
at 9 A. M. with 800 passengers, among whom were two military companies, the 
La Fa} r ette Bifles and the National Guards and the Deluge Fire Company. These 
organizations were escorted by the military to their quarters in handsome style 
under the gratified observation of a tremendous concourse of people. At 10 A. 
M., a train from Union came in with many excursionists, and the streets were 
jammed. It was the largest crowd in the place since the meeting of 1840, of 
which notice will be given further on. There were citizens present from Piqua, 
Troy, Dayton and from Miami, Preble, Shelby, Mercer and Randolph Counties. 
The procession was formed at 10 A. M. under Capt. Frizell, and presented a fine 
sight. First came the military — five well-dressed, well-drilled companies — next fol- 
lowed two fire companies with engine and carriage, then came the officers of the 
day, the Orator and the Reader; after these were soldiers and citizens, and last of 
all, a large wagon bearing twenty-two youhg misses, one bearing the flag of our 
country, and each of the others a flag marked with the name of a State. At the 
head of the column marched the pioneers of a Dayton company. There were six 
bands, all of them played at the same time, and gave utterance to a confused and 
deafening, exciting and bewildering medley of sounds as the procession passed on 
their way to the grove. Arrived at the stand, the military opened ranks, through 
which dignitaries and others passed to the stand. The audience was seated. The 
military drew up in line and fired a round of musketry. After stand exercises, 
there was a dinner, then a parade and reviews, after which, as the trains came in, 
the visitors started homeward ; wearied as is usual on such days, with tramping 
along the streets in heat and dust, but full}' satisfied with what had been seen and 
heard at the notable celebration. . 

The commemoration of the disaster at Fort Recovery was an occasion 
of an immense assemblage of the people. By accident, the remains buried 
in one of the shallow trenches became unearthed, and it was deemed a 
duty to honor the memory of the fallen by a decent and final interment 
of their remains, accompanied by appropriate ceremonies. The time set for the 
ceremonies was fixed at September 10, 1851, and, on that day, from five to seven 
thousand persons had assembled at the appointed hour. Curiosity drew many, 
but the greater portion came with a due sense of the service done by these fallen 
soldiers, and, too, there were relatives and descendants amid the gathered throng. 

The bones of some three hundred skeletons were found and placed in thirteen 
large coffins. Upon the skulls were seen the marks of scalping-knife and hatchet, 
bringing the far-away past into the present like a dissolving view. At an early 
hour, the procession was formed and assembled to perform the rites required. 
There were distinguished men among those who eulogized the slain and depicted 
the events of the bloody fray. Among them were Gen. Bell, member of Congress 
of Greenville, B. Stover and Abner Haines. Finally, a resolution was passed to 
petition Congress to raise a monument over the dust of these fallen men, and at 
the same time it was voted to ask for a monument at Greenville upon the identi- 
cal spot where Wayne concluded his memorable treaty. The monuments have 
not been erected, and these men are remembered only in the fragmentary recollec- 
tions of pioneer and press, but their lives were not laid down in vain, and their 
efforts to protect the homes of the frontiersmen are as well worth enshrining on 
historic pages as are those who fought for national independence, for a country's 
honor, or for the perpetuity of an unbroken union of the States. 

Still another outpouring of the people, worthy of fitting record, was the 
enthusiastic mass-meeting in Greenville on the 22d of July, 18-40, during the 
remarkable political contest when " Tippecanoe and Tyler too " was the popular 
cry, before which the party in. power was hurled from position as dry leaves before 
the wind. It is estimated that more than one hundred thousand visitors were 
present. 



202 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

Up to this time, political enthusiasm h:i<l never reached a very high pitch 
among the hardy settlers, but now the excitement was as great in the woods of 
Darke County as it was in Hamilton County in Ohio, or in any of the older 
States, and when it was announced, weeks in advance, that -Old Tip" would 
address the people, the surrounding country went wild. Immense delegations 
came from Kentucky. Indiana and .Michigan. There were more than three hun- 
dred ladies present from Kentucky, and the gallants of the backwoods were so 
much smitten by their graces of person, manners and apparel that from that time 
till after the election all the young men were Whigs, and " log cabins, canoes and 
coon-skins " became the symbols of their faith, and '-hard cider" the favorite 
libation. Many of the delegations were headed by log cabins on wheels, drawn 
by horses, and, in one or two instances, by oxen. One delegation from one of the 
river counties was headed by a monster canoe mounted on wheels, in which were 
twenty-seven young ladies, representing the twenty-six States and the Goddess of 
Liberty. This canoe was drawn by ten white horses. The meeting was held just 
west of the town, in a beautiful grove. Facing the speaker's stand, or rather 
encircling it on three sides, was a bank, well shaded and affording comfortable 
seats for the vast throng. This natural amphitheater could not have been 
improved had it been designed for this special occasion. The various delegations 
as they approached the town were met by one of the " Greenville bands" and 
escorted in with honor. A brief description of these musical companies will not 
be without some degree of interest. The " band " par excellence consisted of 
William Morningstar, mounted on a fine horse, and his instrument a violin, upon 
which he was no mean performer. He met each delegation in turn, and gave 
them a medley comprising several of the rollicking airs to which the campaign 
songs were sung — "Hail to the Chief," " Bonaparte's March," with the more inspir- 
ing strains of " Soldier's Joy " and " Money Musk," and thus, with the booming of 
cannon and the cheers of the excited multitude, the delegations were welcomed. 
The other bands, consisting of drums and fifes, although less singular, were much 
more noisy, and far and near the martial music resounded, stimulating the feel- 
ings, accelerating pulsation, and with rattle and roll of drum and shrill, clear 
shriek of fife, performing the air of " Yankee Hoodie," and intensifying the excite- 
ment with the " double drag." The principal speakers were Tom Corwin and 
Gen. Harrison. Corwin argued that the re-election of Van Buren would be the 
signal for a reduction in the prices of labor and of all American products, and. in 
support of his plea, read several advertisements of well-known produce dealers 
from Whig newspapers, somewhat after the following effect : "On and after the 
1st of Hecember, 1840, the subscriber will pay $1 per bushel for wheat if Harri- 
son be elected, and 40 cents if the election favors Van Buren." Similar notices 
concerning corn and hogs were also read from the advertising columns of the 
party press. Various arguments were presented by Corwin in a way and with a 
force that brought conviction to many a close listener. The speech of Harrison 
was characterized as an able and eloquent statesmanlike effort in support of 
republican institutions. He also devoted considerable time to personal reminis- 
cence, and won over many warm friends from the opposing party. He remained 
two or three days in Greenville, the guest of Mr. Scribner, and. in company with 
his host and neighbors, visited many points of interest in the town and its envi- 
rons. The old merchant and tavern-keeper had been a stanch Democrat, but, 
from this time on, became and continued an anient supporter of the hero of 
Tippecanoe. 

GEOGRAPII1CAT SITUATION — AREA — TOWNSHIPS — VILLAGES. 

Darke County lies in the extreme western part of the State, a little south of the 
center, adjoining Indinna on the west. It is bounded by Mercerand Auglaize Coun- 
ties on the north, by Preble and Montgomery on the south and on the east by Shelby 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 298 

and Miami. The area is 588 square miles. Its outlines nearly describe a rectangle, 
its greater extent being north and south. In accordance with an act passed by the 
General Assembly of December, 1803, incorporating townships and establishing 
boards of County Commissioners, the comity of Darke from its sparse population 
was originally organized into one township and known as Greenville. On July 3, 
1817, Twin Township was taken from the south end of Greenville, and embraced all the 
county south of a line running due east from the southwest corner of Section 31, Town- 
ship 11 north, Range 1. In the same month. Wayne was created from the northern 
part of Greenville, and embraced within its limits all of the county north of a line 
beginning at the northwest corner of Township 12 north. Range 1 east ; thence east 
to the northwest corner of Township 9 north, Range 4 east ; thence south to the 
middle of said township, and thence east to the county line. In February, 1818, 
Harrison was formed and, in March, 1819, all of Greenville Township that lay in 
Range 1 was formed into a new township entitled Washington, and, in the same 
month, Adams was formed from all lands in "the county, east of a line running south 
from the northwest corner of Section 4, Township 10, Range 3, to the southwest 
corner of Section 28, Township 9, Range 3. In September, 1820, two tiers of sec- 
tions across the north end of Greenville Township with parts of Wayne and Adams 
were formed into a new township called Richland, and. in 1821. Neaves Township 
was laid out, taking four tiers of sections from the south side of the old township. 
In March, 1829, all of Richland lying in Township 12 north. Range 2 east, was 
transferred back to Greenville, and also Section 31, of Township 13 north, Range 
2. This last section was afterward returned, leaving Greenville as now constituted. 
German was constituted in 1820 ; Brown and Jackson in 1833 ; Gibson and Mon- 
roe in 1836 ; York in 1837, from Richland ; Van Buren in 1838 ; Allen, north end 
of Brown, north end of Jackson, and Mississinewa, in 1839 ; also Franklin in -lime 
of the same 3 7 ear ; Wabash, Patterson and Butler in 1841. In 1840, Gibson 
Township, about one-half of Allen and parts of Patterson and Wabash were taken 
from Darke and attached to Mercer County. There are at present twenty civil 
townships— Patterson, Wabash, Allen, Mississinewa, Jackson. Brown, York, Rich- 
land, Wayne, Adams, Greenville, Washington, German, Neaves, Van Buren, Frank- 
lin, Monroe, Twin, Butler and Harrison. Within their area are contained eight 
incorporated towns and twenty-five villages. Greenville has priority from age and 
has always been the capital of the county. Here, as elsewhere stated, are court 
house, jail and all the conveniences for officials, courts and criminals ; here are 
some of the oldest churches in the county ; here lived men prominent in letters, 
and here was started the first newspaper published in Darke. The place is rich in 
its historic associations. Near the cit}- are the fair grounds, a notable feature of 
a leading agricultural section. It is situated on Greenville Creek, in the township 
of Greenville, ninet} T -two miles west of Columbus, and ten from the Indiana line. 
It has manifest advantages from turnpikes and railroads, and of later years 
has made a fair use of them. It was laid out in 1810, and incorporated in 1832. 
It has a national bank, fine churches, good business houses, a handsome and 
capacious school building, a number of elegant and costly residences fitted up 
with tasteful grounds. The Turpen House, a large hotel, together with the Wag- 
ner House, offers excellent acommodations to guests ; and the city and county 
support three newspapers. Postal facilities, fire department and other agencies 
for business, comfort and safety are well supplied. The incorporated towns are 
New Madison, laid out in 1817, incorporated. 1841. and situated ten miles south- 
west of Greenville, near the site of old Fort Black ; it is a fine thriving place. 
Versailles, platted in 1819, and duly incorporated in 1855, and located in Wayne 
Township ; Union City, a flourishing place on the State line, platted in 1838, and 
incorporated in 1853, and a lively railroad center ; Gettysburg, incorporated in 
1866 ; Dallas, in 1867 ; Arcanum, platted in 1849 and incorporated in 1858. and 
Bradford, platted in 1867, and incorporated in 1871. The villages are thus enum- 
erated : Minatown, laid out in 1818 ; Fort Jefferson, same j'ear. remarkable as 



294 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

the first work built as a fort in the county; New castine and Ithaca, in 1832; 
Braffettsville and Palestine, in 1833; Webster, 1835; Beamsville and New Ear- 
rison, in 1837; Bollandsburg, 1838 ; North Jacksonville and' Gettysburg, 1842 ; 
Dallas. 1845; Sampson. 1846 ; Hill Grove and Coleville, in 1848; Gordon, 1849; 
Tampico, 1850 ; Hose Hill. 1852; De Lisle, 1853; Nevada, 1854; Stelvidio, in the 
Same year, and Woodland, in 1859. There was now an interval of seven years. 
during which the stormy scenes of warfare embittered feeling and absorbed pub- 
lic attention, hut again the current rolled on. and. in 1866, Pikeville was platted. 
next Bradford; then RossvLUe, in 1868, Painter Creek in 1870, and Wood- 
ington in 1871. A number of these are promising, prosperous villages, while oth- 
ers are lively hamlets, convenient of resort for meals, grists, trade, lumber conven- 
iences and church privileges. Pine pikes hearing the name of the village of 
which they are a terminus, or through which they extend, render wheeling conven- 
ient and make all points accessible, regardless of seasons. Railroads traverse the 
townships in various directions, and the difficulties of early transportation are now 
unknown. The obstacles of the past cannot be conceived from any observation of 
the present. The fields traversed by open or covered drains, and hearing fine 
crops of wheat and corn, the groves free from all undergrowth, and the unob- 
structed streams, require personal knowledge or strong faith to believe the stories 
of the battles of civilization with the rude, strong elements of nature. 

The county occupies a position inclining its surface southward from the west- 
ern limits of the great watershed dividing the basins of the Wabash and the 
Miami. It is classified as a portion of Southern Ohio. A good knowledge of the 
general topography of the count}', so far as relates to the dip of the land and 
changes induced by the action of water, is afforded b}^ the statement that "the 
summit ridge enters the county in the northeastern part, bearing southwest through 
the northern part of Patterson Township, through the southern parts of Wabash 
and Allen, and passing out near the middle of Jackson Township." Persons familiar 
with lands like situated, could derive analogous information of the surface or con- 
tour features of this and give proper weight to agencies concerned in alluvial deposits 
and erosure of higher lands. The general surface is, in the main. Hat. and slopes 
almost uniformly from the summit line northwest and southeast ; there are, there- 
fore, no distinct topographical features to avert the sight. Something approx- 
imating monotony is presented by the basins of Greenville and Stillwater Creeks. 
the numerous wild and beautiful cairns and other variations originating in local 
causes. There are occasional striking manifestations perceived upon the underly- 
ing rocks of a tremendous erosive power, but the deposit of an average of 100 feet 
of drift, conceals most effectively this truth, and the surface contour presents no 
indication of this interesting geologic fact. Portions of the surface are a level 
plain, others are hilly and undulating, while to the northeast there is low. waste. 
inundated land, rich in its deposit of vegetable debris, treacherous to the foot and 
useless for cultivation, till ultimately co-operative drainage shall render its wealth 
available. 

The summit ridge is not strongly marked, nor is it of uneven outline. For 
ages, active agencies have divested the surface of loose material and worn down 
inequalities until we simply behold a broad, rounded belt of elevated land. The 
rock, gradually crumbling has been swept down as varied alkali clays, and spread 
as a layer over the low. wet basins of the Wabash and Stillwater, thereby com- 
mingling with thi' black, loamy soil, ami supplying those elements of fertility 
which have given this section its reputation, while leveling the early broken out- 
lines of surface. The ridge is yet prominent, as it bounds the line of the extreme 
southern limits of the northern lakes and stands as a marked feature in thetopog- 
raphy of the State. 

The highest land in the region of the divide is in the northwest portion of 
the county. A little north of Union City, the altitude above low-watermark in 
the Ohio at Cincinnati, is lit;.") feet, which is the highest accurately known. On the 




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HARRISON TP. 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY 297 

crest of the slope between the Stillwater and the Wabash, the land has an eleva- 
tion thirty feet less than at the point named. On the line between DarkeTd 
Mercer, the elevation is 634 feet, although places in this vicinity have a dossH o 
altitude of 700 feet. The elevation at Greenville is about 59 le7 while 1 on he 

Ti-,; ~ + 7 i '■ W n Townshl P> the elevation is 557 feet above the Ohio 

The greatest depression is considered to exist along the bottom of Greeny lie 
Creek, m Adams Township where the elevation is but 520 feet, while the bluffs in 
the vicmity rise 20 feet higher. Lake Erie is 133 feet higher than the Ohio and 
taking the former as a basis, these altitudes must be diminished to that extent for 
comparison From this we find the highest land is 567 feet above Laurie or 
1,132 ieet above the level of the sea. ' 

In the study of these surface features, it is remarkable, that but one of those 
primitive lakes once so numerous and still frequently met with upon the water 
shed m counties eastward, exists here. It is known as the « Blacl S™ Ind 

^jStTo"a lTg agQ " redUChlg ltS lmmenSe dep ° sits ° f ve ^ etable mattei ' to "e 

Peat bogs are found in different parts of the county. Near Weaver's Station 

here is a peat deposit of two to three feet in depth, resting upon the limestone an 

is a substance well calculated as a fertilizer for the more sterile, hio-h clay lands 

Just to the southwest of Greenville, on Mud Creek Prairie, which was formerly 

deposit of peat. To the southeast of the city, about one and a half miles another is 

^Tbeen tlmst ven ' " M^ ** "^ C " r ° f °» e ° f theSe ' £*££ 
nas been thus given: "Many years ago, in the construction of the Cleveland 

Columbus Cincinnati & Indianapolis Railroad in the northern part of tL count 

the route of he track necessitated the running over one of these peat bo's To' 

the apparently dry loam, with its dense growth of vegetation, was acWecl sufficient 

gravel and other material to complete the bed of the road, and in due t me the 

rails were laid and the track used. But one morning, not ong after as thTtrate 

came along, a great break was espied ; the track had evidently disappeared and 

upon investigation, the truth was revealed. The track, insteadof crS?oyefa 

dry peat bog, was rather laid over a hidden lake. Vast quantities of rnolses and 

SffiX'uf^.^ of trees, and other IcoZZtlZs. 
nad collected until they had formed, as it were, a super-aquatic soil of several feet 
n thickness, and of such a remarkable density and buoyancy as o support for a 
time, the weight of a passing train. J 8U PP ort ; IQ1 a 

wl 5S 8 C ° Unt ^ as > to a certai * extent, divided into prairie and timber land 
tiUab w7™ "n 1U erSperSed that some f *™s were advantageously composed of 
tillable and woodland m fair proportions and compact form. Those so fortunate 
as o have acquired this land were indeed favored. The timber at once 7SK 
building material, fences and fuel, and when a market opened, the foie wood was 
utilized and the ground cleared for tillage. Much the greater portion ofThe Id 
of Darke is well known to be rich and fertile to a remarkable decree and the 
appearance of the farms strongly contrasts with those that may be leen te many 
other counties, and suggests a long-settled section. It is an actual La^arTof 
corn, oats and wheat. The yield is annually large and the quality is & excellent 
This fine yield is almost entirely the result of the drift. Deposit? of 2^ 
and gravel acted upon by heat, cold, air and streams, blended with veoeta fon a 
anima life for ages, have formed the present productive soil which 3vS cetebriW 

hlS;" "The ro^f 1 ' "jf* , *£ ^ "* -* beC ° me -pai^te? from tte 
bardpan the locks crumble under the alternate thaws and frosts and their debris 
was washed downward upon the bottoms and assisted by vegetation SSte™ 
and decayed; overflowing streams dissolving mingled these materials ^nd 

S£ttoS and ;f d f Three classed of soil LTh^ateri^c 
of tin, section, that of clay, of alluvial and of turf. The first-named predominates, 



298 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

and is a particular constituent of the region of watershed and all other 
uplands or higher portions of the county. Its hue is varied from yellow to red 
and brown. It is seen upon the crest of the divide to be of an almost white or 
ashen color from the weathering and drainage. This soil is in places solid and 
tenacious, but in the main is fret.' and porous. The former is of value in the 
manufacture of brick and tile ; the hitter is renowned for the crops of wheat and 
kindred cereals produced. The alluvial or bottom is of a black, loamy character. 
blending with a considerable amount of decayed plant matter and leavened with 
silica; it is free, mealy and fertile, the natural soil for corn, which thrives thereon 
remarkably. The turf soil is of a dark gray color, covering- the primitive surface, 
which, where it prevails, is low but dry. It is seen to advantage in freshly cleared 
forest lands, and blends clay with vegetable growth, and is adapted for the growth 
of pumpkins, potatoes and the like, together with the lesser grains. 

The natural products of Darke County were those little known to the present 
occupants. The times when Jefferson and Greenville were built and trains of 
pack-horses traveled the traces of armies, saw an unbroken forest stretching from 
the Ohio away to the shores of the Great Lakes. Here could be seen the various 
oaks, white, red, black, burr, chestnut and pin ; sugar and swamp maples, the 
former rich with the juices of the frosty spring's rising sap ; the sassafras, whose 
root bark made healthful drink; the white and slippery elms, the latter with its 
viscous inner bark ; the walnuts, black and white, the one prized by the cabinet- 
maker, the other known as the " butternut," and freighted in the falltime with 
brown oval nuts; the S} T camore, as often known as " buttonwood ; " the shagbark 
hickory, whose bark gave light for evening labor ; and besides all these, the Cot- 
tonwood, the flowering dogwood, the buckeye, the white ash, the beech, and 
a sprinkling of black cherry, mulberry, thorn, iron wood, black willow, wild plum, 
and trembling aspen. The sap of the sugar maple supplied the pioneers with 
sirup, sugar and vinegar, and from the earliest da}s till now this manufacture of 
a native product has been a springtime occupation. Pickles were made by plac- 
ing freshly plucked cucumbers in a mixture of one part whisky to four of water, 
and a little salt. They were soon fitted for use. Molasses was made from 
pumpkins, and pared pumpkin, stewed, was placed in the juice, boiled down, all- 
spice was added and pumpkin butter made. Early fruit was of indifferent 
quality, but later years were marked by attention to its cultivation. The apple 
thrives, and in 1877, over twenty-five thousand bushels were produced from the 
orchards. The peach is foreign to this region, and to partake of this fine fruit it 
is needful to plant out trees each year. Pears thrive with ordinary attention, and 
during the year last named the product in this county was upward of a thousand 
bushels. 

While the position of her territory admits no rivers, the lands are not deficient 
in water-courses. The numerous springs and surface drainage occasion many 
water-ways, which, from proximity to their sources, are but headwaters of ultimate 
large streams. The chief stream is known as Greenville Creek, which has its 
origin in the northern divide, a short distance without the county. Conforming 
to the direction of slope land, it flows in an almost uniformly southeast course, 
until arrested by the bluff upon which the county seat is located ; its course trends 
around its cairn toward the northeast, and then, with many a curve and turn, runs 
eastward to its junction with the Stillwater in Miami County. All its affluents are 
received from the south, since the highlands on the north press close upon its 
bank and divert all its streams into the basin of the Stillwater. Painter's Creek 
drains the count}' to the south, and the two constitute a system of which there 
may lie said to be four — small, but clearly outlined. 

Stillwater Creek rises in the summit ridge, in the northern part of the county. 
and traverses the shallow valley lying between the plateau and the watershed. 
Like Greenville Creek, it pursues an easterly course, following the natural inclina- 
tion of the surface. The rivulets which form its affluents originate in the clayey 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 299 

drift deposits of the divide. This and the Greenville system drain the most fer- 
tile lands of the county. The once well-known " spread of the Stillwater " has 
been rendered the richest and most productive of soils by removing obstructions 
in the water-course and by ditching. 

The Mississinawa and the Wabash rise upon the northern slope of the divide. 
A little further east these streams would be directed toward Lake Erie, but are 
intercepted by Wabash Ridge and turned westward into Indiana. Not much area 
is drained by these headwaters in Darke County, where the basin of the Wabash 
begins in a narrow, gentle valley, which gradually broadens into an immensely 
fertile belt in its course through Northeastern and Central Indiana. This course 
of the Wabash to the southeast may be thought to indicate the course of an 
ancient gap whereby waters and icebergs were borne into the valley of the Still- 
water. Upon a different declivity far to the southward in the county, are the 
sources of Whitewater, Miller's and Twin Creeks, together with other creeks of 
minor importance. All these streams are shallow in the main, and flow within 
modern basins, the greatest elevation of Greenville Creek not exceeding about 
thirty feet. 

Many fine springs are found in different parts of the county. The well-water, 
as well as the spring- water along the water-sheds, is sulphurous and not desirable 
for use. Near Weaver's Station, New Madison and that vicinity occur numerous 
springs, which rise upon the surface of the magnesian limestone, and which are in 
consequence impregnated with carbonate of lime, magnesia and other mineral 
properties exuded from the rock and the clay. Thus mineral springs exist, some 
of whose waters are as fully charged with minerals as are the famous Cedar 
Spring of New Paris, Preble County. The supply of water is of ample volume 
and good quality. The best well-water is obtained from a depth varying from 
thirty to fifty feet, and is drawn from the deposits of sand and gravel upon the 
surface of blue clay. All in all, situation, soil, climate and product unite to make 
Darke County one of the most desirable portions of the State. 

AGRICULTURE, TRADE AND MARKETS. 

Darke County has a soil, a climate and a local position which constitute the 
essentials of a first-class agricultural county. For a time, the wave of immigra- 
tion swept around her lands and beyond, but ultimately those far seeing selected 
from her territory their farms and began their work. Half a century ago, Darke 
County was yet in a state of nature, except here and there where the pioneer had 
kindled his camp-fire and cut away a small area of timber from about his dwelling ; 
then the settler had at his option the best land in the count}', and his successors 
continued to make choice until not only the bottoms along the streams and the 
more inviting upland was entered, but even the "flats" and "slushes," that the 
settlers thought " would forever remain unentered, and give pasture and range for 
their stock." The virgin soil produced in abundance with indifferent tillage, and 
the woods supplied meats for the table. 

The ax was vigorously plied, the deadening was extended, and from spring to 
spring time again, the smoke could be seen to rise from the clearing. Little by 
little improvements were made, one succeeding another, and here and there the old 
settlers died until it is seen to-day, that the foundation and the founders are pass- 
ing from memory in present labors. As was said by Hon. Abner Haines before 
the agricultural society on September 18, 1853, "The early settlers had many 
obstacles to contend with in the development of the country which no longer 
obstruct the progress of this generation. It required much labor to clear the land 
and prepare it for cultivation. This labor has been performed, leaving to the pres- 
ent generation time to think and improve, as well as to work." We have in earlier 
chapters depicted the perils and the crudities of early agriculture. We see the 
settlers flying in panic from their homes, from dread of the hatchet, suffering from 



300 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

chills and lever, hindered by insufficient implements from doing good farming, 
deprived of access to store and shop, without roads, almost without mills, and 
dependent upon the soil and the forest for the supply of every want, It is well 
worth a review to note the gradual transition of field, dwelling, habits and per- 
sons, machinery, stock and crops, bringing soil and occupant to the front, the one 
to become celebrated, the other to be marked as independent and progressive. Old 
times have passed away ; the ax, the maul and wedges, the sickle, the scythe, and 
hoe are relics now of a past system. Splitting rails is no longer an occupation, 
though the most common fence is still the zig-zag rail fence. The cradle displaced 
the sickle, to be itself superseded by the Dorsey Eeaper, and then others improved 
to the present perfection. The stumps are gone from the clearings, the log houses 
have been abandoned, used as granaries and stables, torn away or rotted down, the 
old well-sweeps have all finally disappeared, and, annually at the old and prosper- 
ous agricultural fair, are seen the various plows, chilled, diamond, champion, sulky and 
others, so of cultivators, corn-planters, seed-drills, harrows, pulverizers, harvesters, 
hay-rakes, thrashers and separators, each contrasting to the experienced mind, 
changes of method in agriculture, relieving the husbandman of toil, and assuring 
in uniformity and perfection in preparation and cultivation a yield of profit and the 
means of read}' harvesting, thrashing and marketing. Contrast the dropping of 
corn and covering with the hoe, with the swift movements of the planter, the 
irregular broadcast sowing by lands or landmarks with the seed-drill, the former 
harrow with the present, the old reaper even with its man to rake off the gavels 
with the self-dropper, the old method of haying with scythes laying the swaths, 
with hand-rakes forming the windrows, with forks placing in cocks, and finally the 
wearisome labor of pitching and stowing away in the barns, in striking contrast to 
the music of the mower as the farmer rides, always leaving circles about his 
meadow, shaving and spreading the grasses at each round, the buggy-rake gather- 
ing with wide sweeps, the hay-fork and hoisting tackle depositing the fragrant hay 
in the capacious bay for winter's food to choice breeds of domestic animals. 

The staple grain product of Darke has constantly been corn. Fully twice as 
many acres have been devoted to this cereal as to any other. It has always played 
an important part in the agriculture of the country. From being the almost sole 
dependence for food to the farmer, it has become the source of an important 
income by export, as well as food for stock. Next in order came wheat, always 
desirable for food, not so certain as corn, and of later years a second great source 
of profit to the farmer. In the earlier day, the market was at the mills of Fiqua, 
where the farmers went with doubled teams upon a three-days trip to realize from 
35 to 40 cents a bushel. Reports were circulated of good prices, a rush of team- 
ing followed and the market was overstocked. About 1837 or 1838, a colony of 
Germans moved into Darke and bought rejected lands, entered some and paid as 
high as 812 to $16 per acre for farms partially improved, and gave a stimulus to 
farming, but it was not till after the completion of the first railroad, a dozen years 
before the pikes began to have an existence, that that the most powerful stimulus 
was given to agriculture. 

We have elsewhere noted a variegated soil, well adapted to wheat, corn, iye, 
flax, potatoes and various grasses. The improved facilities for market of surplus 
products and the influence of a newly formed agricultural society, produced a 
marked and favorable change in farming, and became apparent in every depart- 
ment. The year 1853 may be regarded as the revival of agriculture. The fertility 
of the soil seems to have been realized, plowing was deeper, manuring was begun, 
rotation of crops was considered, farm lands were extended by clearing woodland 
and by bringing into cultivation swamp lands, much of which had been deemed 
valueless, through the application of judicious draining ; there was improvement 
in agricultural implements, and the greatest interest and progress seems to have 
been made in the. breeds of domestic animals. The building of the Fan Handle 
enhanced values, bringing wheat to 75 cents a bushel and making prices for land. 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 301 

It will be seen that this year the county was rapidly growing into note and 
importance, growing out of an ability to enjoy natural and local advantages. Farm- 
ers from theEastern States, and industrious foreigners, were constantly moving in 
and occupying the new lands. Now, at last, the capabilities of Darke were to be 
realized. Her territory was extensive, fertile and mainly serviceable. The crops 
of small grains were generally sure and abundant, and confidence not altogether 
devoid of speculation seized upon the minds of the residents of towns and the 
dwellers upon the farms. 

To present at a glance the condition of agriculture in Darke twenty-seven 
years ago, we refer to the following table of 

THE STATISTICS OF 1853. 

The valuation of the 371,053 acres of land in the county was placed at 81.21 1,- 
858, or an average of $11.35 per acre ; the value of buildings was estimated to be 
$399,731, while the aggregated value of all taxables was nearly $5,000,000. This 
was a net increase over 1816, but seven years previous, of $2,297,111. There were 
now of arable or plow lands, 98.512 acres ; of meadows and pasture, 22,169, and 
of woodland and uncultivated, 250,863 ; this gives us about 60 per cent yet in a 
state of nature. The wheat crop of 1852 was 321,958 bushels, and of corn, 661,- 
019. There were of domestic animals 8,798 horses, 11 mules, 19,717 cattle, 
23,731 sheep, and 15,010 hogs. 

Four years later, improved farms about Greenville were held at $10 per acre, 
at which figure several changed ownership. Among them was the sale of 152^- 
acres by W. A. Weston to John C. Schmidt, for $6,100 ; L. H. Byran sold 97 acres 
for $1,000 ; and Tunis Denise disposed of 80 acres at the same rate. These figures 
premise rise in values and wealth of purchasers. 

The future was not less prosperous than the past ; an aroused intelligence, 
increased numbers, ready appliances and the command of means brought Darke 
County, during the years up to 1860, and thence to 1868, into the front rank in 
all staple products of the State. In the yield of wheat for the eight years from 
1860 to 1868, Darke stands fifth among the foremost ten counties, and in average 
per acre the seventh. She had during these years turned her energies to the con- 
struction of pikes, and speedily advanced toward the van. A writer of that day 
thus depicts the local feeling, " Ours is a level county, a rich soil susceptible of 
eas}-, rapid, cheap cultivation and yielding bountifully to the husbandman who is 
up with the day, in the purchase and use of improved farm machinery. Darke is 
not dark, but as smiling, beautiful, healthy and pleasant a locality as can be found 
in the country, possessing good schools and fine dwellings." 

The following was the annual yield of wheat from 1860 to 1868, inclusive : 551.119 
bushels. 437,001, 671,355, 505,972, 493,513, 310.611,260,611, 337,550. During 
1863-61, the yield brought Darke to the fifth from the first in the State. The total 
yield for the eight years was 3,610,756 bushels. The county stood ninth in corn 
product in 1866, with a yield of 1,397,968 bushels ; in barley the sixth, and in ilax 
culture the fourth. She stood second in the number of turnpikes, there being 
34, with an aggregate length of 293 miles, and, in 186S, ranked eleventh in the 
number and value of horses, there being 11,300, valued at $756,139. 

We come now to the statistics of the year 1878 : Acres of land, 377,430 ; 
Their valuation, $10,937,000 ; real estate in city, towns and villages, was assessed at 
$1,902,250 ; chattel property at $5,659,180 ; the grand total of the assessment is, 
therefore, seen to be $18,498,430 ; the total amount of taxes assessed for all pur- 
poses was $218,330.50; the county lew was $21,018; for the poor. $9,100 ; 
bridges, $89,000 ; roads, $21,000 ; townships, $18,000 ; for school purposes, $66,000, 
and b} T city, towns and villages. $17.00(1. The value of merchant's stock was 
$296,185 ; of manufacture, $35,775 ; of moneys. $209,781 ; credit book account, 
etc., $1,351,229 ; interest on the irreducible State debt on account of Section 16, 



302 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

for school fund, was $5,135.02; debt of separate school districts. $38,850; the 
total debl in 1878 amounted to $42,550, which was a reduction as compared with 
1ST", of $48,341. The hanks gave as capital the national. $84,000 ; three private, 
$59,500 a total of $1 13,500. The sale of lands for the year ending June 30, 
1878, was 28,540 acres for $1,068,412. Three hundred deeds were recorded, for 
which the consideration was $207,102 ; 782 mortgages were made to secure 
$.">( I l.o:-)0. There were canceled 237, releasing $5 t-3,327. Reverting particularly 
to the source of all these values, we find the following agricultural showing : 
Acreage of wheat, 35,423, product, 513,105 bushels ; acreage of rye, 2,351, 
product, 36,591 bushels ; acreage of buckwheat, 378, product, 4,354 bushels ; 
acreage of oats, 18,044, product 627,405 ; acreage of barley, 2,666, product, 
77.182; acreage of corn, 71,416, product, 2,013,504; total acreage, 133,278, 
total product, 3,172,321 bushels ; acreage of timothy, 1.053. product in tons, 
13,684 ; acreage of clover, 10,180, product in tons, 5,527 ; bushels of seed, 3,711 ; 
pasture lands, 2,611 acres ; tlax product from 2,481 acres, 21,270 bushels, 55,850 
pounds fiber ; potatoes product from 1,650 acres, 114,264 bushels; sweet potatoes 
from 38 acres, 2,220 bushels ; tobacco from 703 acres, 836,206 pounds ; sorghum 
from 552 acres, 168 pounds of sugar, 37,020 gallons of sirup ; maple sugar, 1,736 
pounds, and 5,614 gallons of sirup manufactured ; hives of honey-bees, 2,144, 
producing 17,186 pounds of honey. There was of taxable land cultivated. 
100,035 acres ; pasture, 14,578 acres; woodland, 100.270 acres ; uncultivated or 
waste, 0,31 — total, 315,111 acres. It is most remarkable that the remnant of waste 
land should have been reduced to less than 10,000 acres. The following were the 
dairy products : butter, 714,036 pounds ; cheese, 245 pounds. Of stock there were 
13.1*57 horses, valued at $724,108 ; 21,180 cattle valued at $203,600 ; 462 mules 
valued at $29,196 ; 51,605 hogs valued at $110,804 ; 7,787 sheep valued at 18.067 ; 
wool product was 18,081 pounds. The assessment of dogs is a curious feature, 
bearing the following showing : There were listed as worth $50 and under, 241 
valued at $2,724. and exceeding that figure, 2,514 valued at $134,824. Horticult- 
ural interests do not make much prominent showing, there being, however, 5,548 
acres devoted to orchards, principally apples. Associations of persons engaged in 
like pursuits furnish opportunity to disseminate information, compare experiences, 
examine machinery and stimulate exertion. 

It was not until 1852, that leading agriculturists conferring, resolved upon 
the organization of an agricultural societ}", of which we have the following : 

HISTORY OF THE DARKE COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 

On November 16, 1852. some thirty citizens, from all parts of the county, met 
at the court house at Greenville and organized a county agricultural society, by 
appointing X. Grard, President. Alfred Kitchen. Treasurer, and Noah Arnold. Secre- 
tary. A committee of one from each township was appointed to procure subscrip- 
tions, and Messrs. Wilson, Northrup and Kitchen were appointed to report 
a constitution and by-laws. The society was organized November 24, 1852, and 
within a year numbered 320 members. The first annual fair was held at G-reen- 
ville on the 7th and 8th of September; attendance large, competition spirited. 
exhibits respectable. The Greenville ladies made it attractive by a Leafy bower 
for the reception of dairy products, domestic work' and flowers. 

As early as 1853, the local press was earnest in the use of its influence to 
interesl the public in the support of such a society as would be of service to town 
and county, in a less or greater degree, and. on April 10, the Greenville Journal 
contained the following editorial : " The officers and managers of this association 
are using every effort in their power to insure to their fall exhibition a character of 
interest that will call together a very great assembly of compel itors and specta- 
tors. Their list of premiums is extensive and liberal. They contemplate making 
a large indosure. The various committees are attending faithfully to the discharge 



HISTORY OF DAUKE COUNTY. 303 

of their duties. From present indications, the first Darke County Fair will 
be quite creditable to our producers. The spirit of emulation awakened by this 
move will leave its impress. Darke Count}' has the soil, has all the advantages 
of a great producing region, and all should conclude to be present on the 7th and 
8th of September next." This was followed by other timely articles during the 
months of July and August. In a paper called The Mad Anthony, published 
in Greenville September 14, 1853, we read : " The Darke County Agricultural Fair 
proved to be all that its friends could have wished. The occasion is one that will 
long be remembered. We have had the pleasure of attending sevei'al old-estab- 
lished count}' fairs throughout the State, and can safely assert that we have never 
yet witnessed a better display of stock than was exhibited in Greenville on the 7th 
and Sth. The committee had spared no pains to fit up the grounds in an appropriate 
manner, and had ample accommodations for every article offered. On the whole, 
the exhibition reflects great credit upon our county, and should inspire every citi- 
zen with zeal in the cause. We anticipate having one of the largest county fairs 
ever held in the State next fall."' In the same paper, two weeks later, the follow- 
ing paragraph appeared : " We understand that Darke County was not thrown 
altogether in the shade by her more stately neighbors at the State Fair. She was 
awarded the first premium on flour, wheat, poultry, apples, potatoes, the best qual- 
ity of white lime and other articles. Don't be ashamed, now, to admit that you 
hail from 'way out in Darke County.'' The Mad Anthony must have been propi- 
tiated by the receipt of two specimen apples grown by William McKhann, of the 
count}-, one of which weighed one and three-fourths pounds. The records have 
not been accessible to us till 1857, when, on November 25, pursuant to notice, 
the Board of Directors met at the office of M. Spayd and organized, pursuant to 
their election September 25 previous. Members present, Moses Hart, President ; 
J. W. Shivery, Vice President ; M. Spayd, Secretary ; Joseph Bryson, Treasurer, 
and Managers George Elston, Isaac Funk and Reuben Lowry. A committee was 
appointed to draft a constitution and code of by-laws. The bond of the Treas- 
urer for $1,000 was accepted April 17. 1S58. and approved, and the annual fair 
appointed for the 23d to the 25th of September following, at the old fair ground 
south of Greenville. A " complete set of good, substantial books for the use of 
this society " was also authorized. Committees were appointed to purchase lum- 
ber for a fence around the said grounds, and to arrange a premium list. At a 
meeting held on the 22d of May, the Secretary was instructed to get information 
from parties resident of the counties of Preble. Miami and Montgomery, regarding 
the selection from those localities of persons suitable to act as judges on stock. 
On the 3d of July, the new constitution and by-laws were adopted. The follow- 
ing preamble will be of interest to the reader in this connection : " Whereas, it 
appears, from the constitution heretofore adopted by the Darke County Agricult- 
ural Society, that the same is inefficient and defective, and, for the purpose of 
more thoroughly and effectually promoting the general interests of said society in 
our representative capacity, we do alter and amend said constitution." Alterations 
rectifying defects were accordingly made. On August 25. then' was held a meet- 
ing, at which delegates were appointed to confer with like parties from Miami and 
such other counties as might be represented, concerning a plan for the establish- 
ment of a district agricultural society, and the report of this committee was there- 
after approved, and it was recommended that a district fair be held in rotation in 
each of the several counties concerned, in lieu of the fair for that county the same 
year. The number of entries made for live stock, grain, etc.. prior to the opening 
of the sixth county, or first district, fair, held in the tall of 1858. was not prom- 
ising, but on the first day the rush to make entries was remarkable. The Secre- 
tary, with the regular aid of two assistants, and the occasional aid of a third, was 
tasked to his utmost to wait upon exhibitors and make the number of entries 
desired. The attendance, apart from exhibitors, was meager. About one hundred 
day tickets were sold, and about three times as many family passes. Considerable 



304 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

stock arrived this day, and the owners took pains to show to advantage. The 
leader of the following excerpt, taken from the Secretary's report, will admit that 
that official was endowed with descriptive powers quite beyond what is usual : 
"The weather was very pleasant, the air was calm and temperate, the skies 
unclouded, and the atmosphere rilled with a mellow haze which gave everything a 
softer hue and a milder aspect, constituting one of those delightful autumnal days 
in which nature seems to be reposing from her toils and labors of the past sum- 
mer, and to be rejoicing in her own loveliness and beauty. The grounds were 
undisturbed by drunken revels or beastly brawls, thus presaging a good and agree- 
able time coming." 

The second day was equally propitious and brought a concourse of people 
much greater than has ever before visited the grounds — the number being variously 
estimated at from four to six thousand. All departments were well filled, and 
the floral hall was especially attractive. The third and last day of the fair opened 
ominously, with gloomy and blustering weather, but soon the cloud rifted and 
again the grounds were crowded, but the throng was perceptibly less than on the 
day preceding. Following the award of premiums and the reception of the reports 
of committees, an election of officers for the ensuing year was held with the follow- 
ing result : President, J. Townsend ; Vice President, Dr. James Rubey ; Sec- 
retaiy, M. Spayd ; Treasurer, George Studabaker ; Managers, George Keister, 
John Plessinger, John McClure, James Grimes and James Aulett. Much spirit 
was manifested upon the track ; the ladies' equestrian contest won general admira- 
tion and a liberal premium. "The bo} r s " engaged in a riding match which won 
applause, and during the afternoon the Greenville "Yagers" entered the fair- 
ground in full uniform, under command of Gen. Craner, and the proceedings 
were closed with a fine display of the military. The receipts from all sources 
were $1,594.99 ; from fair, $838.01 ; premiums paid, $384.75 ; balance in treasury, 
January 3, 1859, $275.19. 

We have supplied the description of this, the first fair under the auspices of 
the new organization in detail, because, in man}' respects, it had its counterpart in 
those which followed. 

As the time drew near for the annual fair of 1859, the Secretary was ordered 
at a meeting held April 23, to prepare and cause to be published and printed in 
pamphlet form, the premium list, and this, no doubt, contributed to the attendance 
at the fair which opened on the 4th of October. The Seeretaiy and four assisants 
were kept busy recording the raany entries. The second day is described as " an 
atmospherical phenomenon, a paragon of autumnal beauty." The grounds had 
been increased materially in extent, yet the woods were filled with vehicles, and 
the whole area was alive with people. On October 6, the last day of the fair, the 
attendance reached its maximum. Receipts of the season nearly doubled those 
of any previous fair in Darke County, there having been taken for tickets $1,332.23, 
and from all sources, including balance in the treasury. January 3. 1859. $2,376.86. 
Balance on hand, January 2, 1800, $S09.73. The fair of 1860 is not recorded on 
the books of the society. Quite a large sum had been expended in improvement 
of the grounds, but the political excitement just prior to the outbreak of the war 
had so diverted the attention of the people from civil interests, that the receipts 
fell some sl'ho below the current expenses. On February 10. 1S01. the Board of 
Directors met to enter upon the discharge of their duties. There were present 
President II. 15. Wail. Vice President Levi Graver, Secretary Noah Arnold, and 
Managers Robert Drew, James McCabe, Nicholas York, John Stoltz and George 
Shively. August 10, the President was authorized to borrow $400, and. at the 
next meeting, an additional loan of $50 was sanctioned. The fair opened October 
2. and during the first three days of its continuance, the weather was fine and 
attendance large. An encouraging number of entries was made, but on the fourth 
and final day, there was a I'alling-otf. partly owing to unfavorable weather. The 
receipts were sufficient to extricate the society from its indebtedness, but a definite 
statement has not been made. 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 305 

On January 18, 1862, it being the time set for choice of officers, William 
Turner was chosen President, John Stoltz, Vice President ; J. E. Matchett, Secre- 
tary ; J. F. Bertch, Treasurer, and J. Townsend, George Shively, A. K. Doty, 
C. C. Walker and David Thompson, Managers. In common with every other 
interest and organization, the effect of the war was felt in a marked degree upon 
the society, and at a meeting held August 15, 1862, the following preamble and 
resolution were adopted : 

Whereas, In consequence of great excitement in military circles, our young men having 
mostly volunteered in the service of their country, the public mind being very much unsettled 
thereby, 

Resolved, That in the opinion of this Board it will be inexpedient to hold a fair, and that 
none will be holden the present season." 

On December 27, 1862, John E. Matchett was appointed a delegate to represent 
the Darke County Agricultural Society in the State Agricultural Convention, to be 
held in Columbus on January 7, 1863. The Board met on January 31, 1863, to 
elect officers, but, their being no electors present, adjourned sine die. 

No fairs were held during during the years 1862-64, but with the return of 
peace came a revival of agricultural interests. July 22, 1865, the Board of Agri- 
culture for Darke Count}* met at the court house in Greenville, in response to a 
published call. The following resolutions were passed : 

Resolved, That we hold a county fair on the old fair grounds, near town, on the 28th, 
29th and 30th days of September next. 

Resolved, That the Board solicit a temporary loan, by subscription, of §1.000 from the 
citizens of this county for the purpose of enabling it to purchase lumber to fence the grounds 
preparatory to holding said fair. 

Following the appointment of various committees, the meeting adjourned. 
At the next meeting, on August 8, the Committee on Subscription reported a col- 
lectable subscription of $1,000. The fair proved a success in all regards. There was 
large attendance, numerous entries, and receipts fully equaled the most sanguine 
expectations. The general expression of managers and people was that " Darke 
was herself again," and that the fair was this year, as it had been in former times, 
a great success. The total receipts from all sources, including loans, was $3,792.97, 
and there was a credit balance, after defraying all expenses, of $103.72. The 
The officers elect for 1866 were : President, H. B. Vail ; Vice President, John 
Stoltz ; Secretary, Noah Arnold, Treasurer, John E. Matchett and eight Directors, 
named as follows : J. Townsend, J. W. Porter, H. Bichel, M. Zich, to serve 
one year ; for two years, A. Gaskell, N. Arnold, G. W. Studabaker and C. C. 
Walker. From the 26th to the 29th days of September, inclusive, were fixed upon 
as the time for holding the next annual fair. It was resolved to make an effort 
to purchase grounds for the society to hold its fairs in the future," and a com- 
mittee was appointed to take the matter in charge. On March 17, 1866, a propo- 
sition from Messrs. Dawes & Turpen for the sale of the lot south of the railroad 
for $2,000, was accepted by resolution, and a committee appointed to close the 
contract. Report was made April 7, that the purchase had been completed of the 
entire tract south of the railroad for the designated sum — one-half cash in hand, 
the remainder in one year, with interest at 6 per cent. The contract was at once 
approved, and a certificate drawn on the Treasurer for $1,000, the society having 
that amount of mone}' and collaterals. At a subsequent meeting, 48,000 feet of 
poplar lumber was ordered to be purchased for inelosure. 

( hvingto bad roads and unfavorable weather, the attendance at the fair, although 
larger than was expected, was comparatively small, yet it was no failure in the 
number of entries, the quality of animals, the article shown, nor in the receipts. 

The officers for 1867 were : John L. Winner, President ; H. Mills, Vice 
President, and the new members of the board — Moses Hart, J. E. Matchett, John 
Stoltz and George Ivester. The entries and attendance at the fair this year, Octo- 
ber 2 to 5, inclusive, was the largest in the history of the society. There was line 



306 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

weather. The stock, products and articles entered were better ; the displays in 
floral hall, and especially in the fine arts and domestic manufactures were partic- 
ularly good ; the contest on the race course was unusually spirited, and every thing 
passed oft' agreeably to all concerned. 

A special meeting was called March 21, 1808, to lease additional grounds, and 
a committee was appointed to contract, if possible, with Isaac Rush, for five acres. 
On August 29, it was ordered that hereafter all gambling be excluded from the 
grounds. The fair for 1868 opened September 30 and closed October 3. The 
first day was rainy, unfavorable, with small attendance ; this continued until noon 
of the second day. but it cleared off in the afternoon, and from then to the close 
there was large attendance. The receipts were $1,775.10.. The following officers were 
chosen January 9, 18G9 : D. Noggle, President ; Gr. W. Studabaker, Vice Presi- 
dent. The new members of the board were J. E. Matchett, S. Shepherd, Gr. D. 
Medford and George Elston, and shortly after it was decided to fence the fair 
grounds. The fair began September 28, and continued four days, with favorable 
weather, numerous entries, a fine assemblage and good interest. The number of 
tickets sold on the third day, exclusive of family tickets, was 1,707. The display 
of fast horses drew the attention of a large crowd. On the last day, the trotting 
premium of $100 was won by the horse of William T. Ball, mile heats, three best 
in five ; time, 2:57, 2:52 and 2:51. Receipts of the fair were $2,297.85, yet a loan 
of $500 was required to pay off the premiums. The officers elect for 1870 were : 
H. Mills, President ; David Noggle, Vice President ; new Managers were C. C. 
Walker, I. D. Parent, N. Arnold and J. T. Martz. 

On March 26, 1870, a committee was appointed to rent the grounds during 
the summer, reserving the privilege of granting the use of the track during the 
time, to any person or persons who may solicit the same for the training of horses, 
and also the privilege of permitting picnics and other public gatherings to be held 
thereon during the said time. At the next meeting, the conditions were modified 
and the grounds rented to A. H. Vandyke for$25. The society partially relinquished 
control of the track, but reserved the right to permit picnics, political meetings 
and other public gatherings to be held on the grounds during the time of the 
rental. An entry fee of 10 per cent on all premiums of $5 and over was ordered 
to be hereafter collected at the time said entries were made, and there was to be 
no deductions on the premiums offered, and it was further decided that any persons 
who might bring stock to place upon exhibition should not be permitted to pass in 
any one to care for or take charge of the stock, unless the admittance fee of such 
party had first been paid. The price of family tickets was fixed at $1 each ; 
single day tickets, 25 cents ; a wagon 20 cents, or good during the fair, 50 cents. 
The premium list was carefully considered and revised. All second prizes 
were fixed at half the amount of the first, except hands, which were set at $25 and 
$ 1 5. The premium of $15 on vocal music and $20 on cabinet of natural curiosities 
were stricken from the list, and *1(>o was borrowed to redeem outstanding orders. 

On June 30, the contract for building a permanent [ticket fence was let to Abra- 
ham Black, the lowest bidder. Seven hundred dollars were borrowed to defray the 
expenses of erecting this fence, and 12 per cent was paid on this indebtedness. A 
committee was appointed to supervise the erection of buildings, sheds, etc.. and 
5,000 feet of lumber were ordered The need of more lumber to complete improve- 
ments caused an additional debt of s!50. 

The fair was held during the latter days of September. 1870. There was fine 
weather with dusty roads and track. There was a notable display of farm imple- 
ments, and a line turnout of blooded stock, but entries in this department were 
barred by inability of owners to establish pedigrees. A number of newspaper 
reporters and correspondents were the guests of the board on the second day. from 
Cincinnati. Richmond and other places. It was estimated that 7.5(10 people were 
[•resent on the third day. The receipts were $3,013.97 : subsequent receipts from 
sale of lumber increased the amount by $586.06. The officers for 1871 were : George 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 307 

D. Miller, President ; George W. Brawley, Vice President, and Managers — James 
Hopper, John M. Hall, Amos Halin and George Elston. The treasury con- 
tained less than $100 in uncollected notes, accounts and cash, and $50 was bor- 
rowed to meet orders issued. On the 1st of April, 40,000 feet of lumber, dressed 
on one side, was ordered for roofing buildings, etc., and in July a committee was 
appointed, in connection with one from the Joint Stock Agricultural, Mechanical 
and Horticultural Association, to consult with the County Commissioners relative 
to the future disposal of the fair grounds. Following considerable discussion and a 
tie vote, the President ruled in favor of a proposition to hold a horse fair on August 
18 and 19. There was $400 borrowed to apply on payment of lumber purchased. 

Having included in our history of the Darke County Agricultural Society nearly 
every important item from its organization up to 1871, and the details during the last 
ten years being easily accessible to the general public, only a brief outline of what 
has transpired up to 1880 will be supplied. The fair of 1871, held early in October, 
was attended by a multitude of people, as many as eight to ten thousand being- 
reported present on the second day. The officers for 1872 were H. Mills, 
President ; A. H. Vandyke, Vice President, and new Managers — G. D. Miller, J. 
T. Martz, James McCabe and N. Arnold. J. J. Martz was chosen Secretary and 
Amos Hahn, Treasurer. The " horse fair " proposition was this year defeated. The 
fair for 1872 was a notable success. There were, in round numbers, twelve hun- 
dred entries, and, from sale of tickets, it was seen that 9,494 persons were on the 
grounds. 

The election of 1873 resulted in the choice of John M. Hall, President ; H. 
Mills, Vice President ; new Managers — Daniel Walker, James Hopper, Amos 
Hahn and I. N. Shivery. The Treasurer and Secretary of the previous year were 
retained. In the early part of the year, the board procured the written consent of 
the County Commissioners to sell the fair grounds, provided they purchase other 
grounds with the proceeds of the sale. Soon after this, the grounds embracing 
17.19 acres in the southeast quarter of the southeast quarter of Section 34, Town- 
ship 12, Range 2 east, were sold to J. W. Sater, and, on June 7, forty acres were 
bought of Messrs. O'Brien & Martz for a new ground. The price being $125 per 
acre, involved an outlay of $5,000, besides the no inconsiderable sum required for 
fencing and general improvements. The fair began September 22, continued five 
days and gave universal satisfaction. On the third day, it was estimated that 
9,000 persons were within the inclosure, and the expression was heard that " these 
are the very grounds we want." The officers for 1874 were : H. Mills, President ; 
John M. Hall, Vice President ; new Managers — David Thompson, J. T. Martz, 
Arnold and McCabe. The others as before. This year the fair was held during 
the first days of September. Entries were being made on the first day by the 
Secretary and three assistants, and were continued until late at night. The crowd 
was very great the next day, and despite the intention to close entries at noon, 
the number and eagerness of the crowd to enter articles for exhibition were so 
great that the time was extended until the close of the day.. The principal 
attraction of the day was the trial of speed of horses. The attendance on the 
third, estimated by tickets, was above 12,000 ; there were 1,000 wagons on the 
ground, and the sale of single tickets realized $3,604. The expression was heard 
that the grounds were too small. There were 1,800 entries. The racing elicited lively 
interest from the presence on the course of noted horses from Centerville. Urbana, 
and from Fort Wayne, Ind. The fourth day was clear above, but the dust was 
almost unendurable. Many of the finer articles of needlework, etc., on exhibition 
were badly soiled, and it became evident that to insure the prosperity of this 
department in the future, a building must be erected which should combine secur- 
ity of goods at night with means of protection from the dust or storm by day. 
The show of stock, products and implements was creditable, and the test of speed 
seemed to have been fairly and satisfactorily made. The final day presented the 
attraction of the ladies' equestrian performance. In competing for the premium of a 



308 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

lady's saddle and bridle, valued at $40, there were four entries, and we would have 
been glad to record the one successful did we know her name. A balloon ascen- 
sion failed, through no fault of the managers. The result of the fair financially 
was gratifying, bat who can estimate the benefit derived from the commingling 
here and interchange of opinion of the great body of farmers. By this agency. 
the manufacturer was brought to acquaintance of his patrons, and premiums given 
by capable men, directed where the best machinery could be obtained. Step by 
step, a progress was made toward permanent and advantageous improvements, 
now evident in all parts of the county. Arrangements were made, close following 
the conclusion of the fair, to construct a dwelling on the grounds, to be occupied 
b} T a family whose duty it should be to take charge of the property. 

The officers for 1875 were John Townsend, President ; Thomas McCowen, 
Vice President ; new Managers — Michael Noggle. J. C. Turpen, I. N. Shively and 
A. F. Koop ; Mr. Martz remained Secretary and Mr. Koop was chosen Treasurer. 
The fair was held somewhat later ; the weather was chill and unpleasant. Few 
entries were made the first day, and prospects unfavorable, nor was the second 
day much more encouraging, but the entries were beyond hopes, and it was found 
necessary to keep the books open till dark. The third day was mild, pleasant and 
drew a crowd. Over 8,000 persons and 900 vehicles came upon the grounds. 
The interest centered upon the races, and bets were publicly made on the ground. 
" the police making no effort to prevent the same." A balloon ascension took 
place at 3 P. M. to the full satisfaction of a gazing multitude. The descent was 
gradually and safely accomplished to the southern part of the old fair ground. 
The final day saw a diminished throng ; awards proved satisfactory. Again public 
wagers were noticed — a scandal heretofore unknown to the fair — and again there 
was a balloon ascension. The daring aeronaut attained a great altitude, and came 
to the surface just east of the Elston pike near the corporation line. 

The officers for 1876 were: Thomas McCowan, President ; Mr. Townsend, Vice 
President, and new Managers — Gr. W. Studabaker, Sr., J. N. Lowry, E. Lecklider and 
N. M. Wilson ; J. C. Turpen now became Secretary ; Mr. Koop having resigned as 
Treasurer and Manager, George W. Studabaker was appointed to the former office, 
and H. S. York to the vacant position on the board. 

Again, September came around. It had now become usual to employ the 
first two days in entering articles and stock for exhibition. Farm products, poul- 
try, stock and implements were well represented, but there was a falling-off in the 
display of furniture. 

The morning of the day was rainy, drizzling showers fell until nearly noon, 
and the clouds looked threatening all the day. yet there were present seven to 
eight thousand people. The races "drew " as before, the •• ascension" was again a 
success, although twice accomplished. 

The election of 1877 caused Messrs. McCowen and Townsend to exchange 
positions. Messrs. Shively, York, Noggle and Turpen were chosen managers, the 
Treasurer was continued, and Mr. Turpen elected Secretary. An addition was 
made to Floral Hall during the summer, for the disposition of plants and flowers. 
The fair opened with a fair representation of the several departments. The horse 
and the cattle stalls were nearly all rented, additional pens were required for sheep 
and swine, and at the fine art hall, so great was the number of plants and flowers 
brought in. that an addition had to be extemporized for that department also. 
The third or exhibition day was bright and pleasant. The gate-keepers were 
obliged to call for assistance. The attendance was about ten thousand, besides 
hundreds of vehicles. So dusty grew the ground, that the board determined to 
employ a sprinkler for the next day. The fair held its own as in times past in 
attendance and harmonious action. 

Officers for 1878 wen' same as previous year. The pay of help was reduced 
10 pei- cent, as follows : Chief of Police. gate-keepers and assistants of Treasurer 
and Secretary, each sl'.l\"> per day ; the hall committee $1.35, and a proposition 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 309 

from the Greenville Band to play during the three clays for $75 less thfrteen 
or more family tiekets was accepted. The annual fair began September 17. 
'There were a great mam- entries, but the " district pacing race," set for the second 
day, failed to become an attraction. The exhibit of cattle, poultry, grain and 
fruits was particularly good. On the third day, at 7 A. 31., the population of 
Darke County " and the rest of the United States " began to stream through the 
gates, at 25 cents a head, children under twelve years of age being free. The 
Secretary had asserted, and it now came true, that " this day will pass into the 
history of the Agricultural Society as one of the most successful in every way 
since its organization.'" Concerning the final day we quote : " most inglorious 
day ! da} r that made officers, managers, exhibitors and visitors, especially the 
' horse men,' say words out of the Bible ! ' The rain, the rain, how beautiful is 
the rain, after the dust and heat, in the crowded street and in the narrow lane,' but 
not under the present circumstances. It was about 10 A. M. when all were taken 
by surprise by the showers that began to fall most heavily. The people rapidly 
took their departure without waiting to hear the band play ' Sweet Home.' " It 
was the opinion of the managers that the races should not be held, but they 
3-ielded to the importunities of those who remained. The receipts from this exhi- 
bition were $4,651.44. 

The officers remained practically the same in 1879, save that a new manager, 
S. Rynearson, was chosen, and AYilliam Sullivan appointed Secretary. The race- 
course was remodeled during the summer and lengthened to a half-mile, under the 
supervision of C. O'Brien. Other alterations and repairs were made during the 
same season. The fair lasted this fall only four days. So much stock arrived on 
the day previous that parties were kept busy in their proper bestowal. It had 
been advertised that a match trot for a purse of $200 would come off on the open- 
ing day (September 16). and the result was an attendance of fully two thousand 
four hundred persons. The Secretary and assistants were busied all day and 
thence on to midnight making entries from memoranda supplied by exhibitors. 
The weather was cool during the second day ; about four thousand were present. 
The books were kept open till noon, and due diligence was exercised in expediting 
entries, but this department was obliged to close before full record could be made. 
Carpenters were engaged all day building stalls and pens, and night found consid- 
erable stock unsheltered. The races, stimulated by the surging multitude, proved 
very exciting. It had been announced that Gov. Bishop would deliver an agri- 
cultural address during the fair. He arrived at Greenville on the night of the 
17th, and by noon of the next clay, the people and vehicles gathered from all 
points far and near. The '-grove" seemed literally packed . with wagon, buggy 
and other conveyances, while there was a perfect jam of people in and about the 
various halls. The Governor came upon the ground about 11 A. M., and from 
the band-stand delivered a short address, congratulating the citizens of Darke 
County upon their rapid advance in agriculture, and their good fortune in having 
selected such a fertile spot for their homes. 

The managers of awards had anticipated their duties, and the business pro- 
gressed rapidly toward completion harmoniously. Committees on horses, cattle, 
sheep and hogs reported an unusually fine displa}- in those departments ; more 
especially was this the case with swine, which was the finest exhibit of any here- 
tofore made in the county. From 2 P. 31.. races claimed attention, and were con- 
tinued until dark. Judging from the number of tickets sold, the number present 
was full 12,000. The morning of the final day was clear and cold, yet some 7,000 
persons were present. About 10 A. 31., the removal of stock and machinery began, 
and by 3 P. 31. was mainly completed. Three races occupied the afternoon, a 2:30 
trot for a purse of $300. the county trot and a running race for $125. Receipts of 
this fair were $5,681.81. 

Officers for 1880 are Thomas 3IcC<»wan. President; John Townsend, Vice 
President; new managers — G. W. Studabaker, X. 31. Wilson. J. N. Lowry and 



310 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

Ezra Lecklider; the managers who hold over are X. S.York, Michael Noggle. 
S. Rynearson and William Sullivan, who on February 3, 1880, was elected Secre- 
tary, while Mr. Studabaker continues Treasurer. 

After a somewhat checkered experience financially and otherwise, that required, 
at times, the most prudent counsels and judicious management, as well as the 
hearty co-operation of friends and promoters in general, the Darke County Agri- 
cultural Society stands in the fore front of local enterprises, with a prosperous 
future confidently assured. Its present debt is about $1,000, the remainder of the 
purchase of its new and commodious grounds, embracing forty-four acres, located 
one-half mile south of the city, just at the corporation line between the Jefferson 
and Eaton turnpikes. The buildings, fencing and other constructions and improve- 
ments are permanent and need no immediate repair nor material increase. 

In addition to the credit deservedly bestowed upon the society for efficient 
management, there has recently been presented a new claim to the respect and 
esteem of community by an unanimous interdict of the sale of intoxicants on the 
fair grounds. We predict for the society a prosperous future, calculated to con- 
tinue the county in its vantage ground of varied and enormous products, till by 
drainage, tillage and crops, the maximum shall be reached and held. 

GEOLOGY. 

There is no subject identified with the history of Darke ComnVy so little known 
and so abounding in matters of interest and value as that which treats of its 
rock formations. The facts stated in this chapter are drawn from the report of 
the Geology of Darke County, published in "Geology of Ohio." The structural 
geology of the county presents us with a single rock formation, upon which rest 
drift deposits which vary, within the bounds of Darke, in a great degree in their 
thickness. In some places superficial, in others of considerable depth. A study 
of these deposits in their various phases will tend to aid people in their search for 
comfort and wealth, and will decide the pursuit or abandonment of various desir- 
able projects. The rock upon which the drifts rest is known generally as Niagara 
limestone, beneath which are the series designated as paleozoic. The geologists of 
this region thus write : " Hither the great glaciers of the north, at a very remote 
age, have transported and deposited all over this rocky floor, in varied depths, vast 
quantities of clay, gravel and bowlders, on an average of 100 feet or even more. 
Through the action of water, or the hand of man, where there was no other 
impediment than a few feet of soil, in five different localities, small areas of the 
native rock have been exposed." Slight knowledge can be acquired of the out- 
lines of the bed-rock, while its constituents and characters may be fully understood. 
This rock is of diverse texture. It has been found soft and sandy, and again 
crystalline in its hardness. Where it is exposed to view, it is seen unbroken and 
horizontal, save a single exception. In the quarries owned by Dr. Card, a mile and 
a half southwest of Greenville, between the fork of Greenville and Mud Creeks, 
the beds of rock are found folded, with a dip to the south and east. The Layers 
are also seen to terminate in the contiguous drift, and may be fdflowed short dis- 
tances by scattered fragments. The Niagara Ledge was reached at a depth of 
ninety-five feet, by parties engaged in excavating the public cistern at the corner of 
Fourth Street and Broadway, in Greenville. Though the enterprise failed in its 
object to secure a supply of water, yet it rendered useful knowledge in a variety of 
ways. This depth is placed at the minimum to reach rock in the vicinity. The 
quarries mentioned lie twenty-one feet below Greenville, and are. therefore, seventy- 
four feet above the rock underlying the town. The same ledge crops out four and 
a half miles east of Greenville, at Bierley's, and is there eighty-nine feet above the 
rock at the county seat. Five miles south, at Maur's Station. Mud Creek flows 
over the horizontal limestone, showing a still greater elevation. These observations 
tend to locate Greenville upon a huge drift heaped in a great glacial valley. Since 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 311 

the town is elevated thirty feet above the channel of the creek, its present bed. 
must flow over detritus sixt} T -five feet in depth. This deposit also points to the 
early junction of the two streams beneath the present site of Greenville. Strong 
proof is supplied by Gard's quarries, which stood a bold rocky islet, around which 
swept the great streams which in the remote part formed this basin. 

The streams flow over their original beds in three localities within the county, 
for short distances : Greenville Creek at Bierley's, Mud Creek at Weaver's Station 
and Stillwater in Wayne Township. That the excavation noticed was the work of 
glaciers is proved by the general horizontal position of the rock and by the 
smoother polished glacial stria? found in the quarries. These striae bear a direction 
almost due south. 

The superficial deposits consist of a mass of clay, sand and gravel, sometimes 
found in regular distinct layers, at others, heterogeneously blended. The former 
mark the action of water, the latter, of glacier and iceberg. There seems to be a 
diversity in the divisions of the deposits, as no two sections present uniform suc- 
cession of parts. 

The well at the Greenville gas works shows as follows : 

Feet. Inches. 

Sod and yellow clay 6 

Red clay* 1 6 

Yellow clay, with pebbles and bowlders 8 

Yellow sand, stratified 8 

Hardpan 1 6 

Fine blue clay, very tenacious, stratified 8 

Blue sand and gravel 21 10 

Total depth 42 

The pebbles and bowlders are worn by water. The layer of blue clay is 
derived from melting icebergs. Surface bowlders are of greenstone, S} T enite, etc., 
while those found blended with the yellow cla}* were of waterlime and Niagara 
limestone, water-worn. 

From many wells, of various depths, the following section may be taken as 
an acknowledged type of this region : 

Inches. Feet. 

Sod or loam from (j to lh 

Red clay " " 4~ 

Yellow clay " 12 " 15 

Yellow sand and gravel " 6 " 20 

Blue sand and gravel " 8 " 30 

Blue clay, with pebbles " 3 " 18 

Fine blue clay, compact " " 1J 

Hardpan, alternating with blue clay " 10 " 20 

Blue clay " 3 " 9 

Bowlder clay " 10 " 20 

Total " 41$ " 148,}, or 95 feet average. 

A noticeable feature of the drift in this locality are the sand and gravel hills 
which largely prevail in the county. These cairns, as they are called, are easily 
accessible, break the otherwise monotony of the landscape, and are nature's store- 
houses for the material of which the fine and numerous turnpikes have been con- 
structed. They, also, supply abundance of building-sand, at the very places where 
this auxiliary is most needed. 

These hill range in height from thirty to sixty feet, and are in form either 
conical or elongated ; the latter type is the most common to this localit}*. It is 
noted that their axes lies uniformly northwest by southeast. They most abound 
along a line parallel to the divide, passing from the northeast through the center of 
the county, to its southwestern portion. Along the railroad, between Greenville 
and Richmond. Ind., they are in clusters ; they ma}* be seen isolated and in groups. 
Their shape and distribution indicate their oriain. at right angles to the direction 



312 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

of the watershed. There is a marked peculiarity between the cairns and the soil 
surrounding them. They are frequently met with in the midst of black bottom 
land, entirely distinct and dissimilar. Their composition is sand, gravel and a 
small quantity of Intermixed yellow clay. The mass, generally 3'ellow, is at vary- 
ing intervals streaked with blue, and the presence of iron and sulphur is often 
perceivable from the red brown hue of the deposit. There is an absence of 
large bowlders, the pebbles are seen to be rounded and smoothed, anil the sand 
and gravel are found interlocked in wedge-shaped layers. The pebbles are from 
one-half to three inches in diameter. Large fragments of rocks are sometimes 
found imbedded in the drift. Among varieties of this are flint, granite, shale and 
limestone. Wherever fossils have been discovered, they are seen to be much worn 
and are scarcely recognizable. A section of an isolated cairn, known as Bunker 
Hill, near the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati & St. Louis Railroad, one and one-half miles 
southwest of Greenville, gives the following : 

Red clay 3 feet I Unassorted gravel 24 to 30 feet. 

Fine yellow sand 4 " | Hard pan 3 " 

This hill, once fifty feet in height, has been pretty much removed. A very 
fine section, with well-stratified layers, showing interlocking, free from bowlders, 
and containing pebble of blue shale and limestone, is obtained from Hetzler's 
gravel pit, in Adams Township. It shows series, as follows : 

Feet. Inches. 

Clayey soil 4 

Yellow clay 1 

Tough red clay 1 

Sorted gravel 2 

Fine sand 3 

Unassorted gravel 2 

Fine yellow sand 4 

Brownish sand, coarser 1 O.y 

Bluish gravel, assorted 2 

Bluish yellow sand 1 3 

Fine bluish sand 4 

Fine reddish sand and bluish gravel 2 

Total depth of section 17 2h 

Dr. Newberry speaks of these cairns as follows : " It seems that in the 
period of greatest submergence, the larger part of the summit of the watershed 
was under water, and was swept by breakers and shore waves, by which some of 
the beds of sand and gravel were formed which are described under the head of 
cairns ; and I have supposed that a considerable proportion of the materials 
composing these cairns or eskers was derived from icebergs standing on the shoals 
which now form the crest of the divide." It is theorized that, in the passes of 
the divide, there was depth of water sufficient to float icebergs of some size. As 
these stranded upon the shelving slopes of the divide, or dissolved in their 
slow movement southward, there was set free their immense stores of mud and 
gravel. The gradual upheaval of the continent made the gaps in the divide. 
through which volumes of water continued to pour for an indefinite period, and 
their eddies and other agencies united to sort and shape the successive layers. 

Very many bowlders are found scattered over the surface of the county, and 
their origin is imputed to floating ice. Two classes differing in location are 
observed, one finely striated, of deep-blue color and resting on the bed-rock, the 
other containing ordinary drift rocks and lying within a few feet of the surface. 
These bowlders are first observed in the northwest [tart of the county, along the 
crest of the divide, where they were set free from the stranded icebergs. We may 
trace them along the line of the deepest channels of the principal streams, promi- 
nent among which was Greenville Creek. We quote, "at Bierley's quarries, and 
in that vicinity, resting just above the Niagara limestone, in probably a foot or 
two of soil, they exist in a perfect jumble, sometimes two and three huge ones 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 815 

piled up together. Up stream, they can be traced as a perfect moraine ; below, 
however, they are few, though, for the most part, larger." The beds of rock were 
evidently a barrier at this point to the further progress of the floating ice-masses. 
Like, though smaller, prevalence of these large bowlders is found at all exposures 
in the county, and gives color to the statement of quarrymen that the presence of 
groups of bowlders on the surface indicates the presence of the limestone at a 
small depth beneath. 

A belt of these iceberg-moraines extends up the left bank of the creek from 
Bierley's quarries, pursues a direct course at a bend of the creek, crosses and fol- 
lows the north side of the Greenville & Gettysburg pike, makes a circuit through 
neighboring fields and returns to the creek below Knouf's mill, where the bowlders 
have been used in the formation of a large dam, and from this point its course is 
traceable toward the divide. This belt of rock was seen to advantage in the early 
day, upon the commons east of Greenville, before removal for building purposes. 
Another prominent belt of surface bowlders, three or four hundred yards in width, 
is seen to extend from the northern part of Van Buren Township, in a southwest- 
erly course, crossing the Dayton & Union Railroad a few miles south of Jaysville, 
thence, with a bend to the southeast, through Twin Township, near Ithaca, into Pre- 
ble County. Bowlders in Van Buren Township are eight to ten feet through, and 
there are examples where they have a diameter of twelve feet. This moraine was 
long regarded as impassable and untillable. but these difficulties have been over- 
come, and the belt produces average crops, and the rough, rock}' roads are at least 
dry and lasting. While the peat-alluvium of this region was in process of forma- 
tion, the sedgy and marshy banks of the small lakes — now peat-bogs — were 
haunted by the mammoth and the mastodon, whose remains are almost annually 
found in different parts of the county. The remains of a mastodon and an almost 
perfect skeleton of a mammoth, found in the peat deposits of Mud Creek Prairie, 
are parjb of the collection of Dr. Cr. Miesse, of Greenville. A fine tusk of a 
mastodon was found in the northern part of the county, and the tooth of a mam- 
moth was picked up in the creek-bottom north of Versailles. Parts of the 
skeletons of nearly a score of those huge creatures have been discovered in as 
many years. 

'■ The geology of Darke County is pre-eminently that of the drift, but one 
rock formation being exposed within its entire borders. This formation belongs to 
the upper series of the Niagara group, known as the Guelph or Cedarville beds. 
It is supposed to be identical with the Le Claire of Iowa, the Racine of "Wisconsin 
and the Guelph of Canada, from which it takes its name. Although there are but 
five exposures, there is no doubt but that these beds compose the entire rock sur- 
face. It was formerly thought by some members of the survey that the water-lime 
extended into the northern part of the country. This might have been highly 
probable before the glacial epoch, but, being evidently superficial, must have been 
removed during that period of erosion. 

The Guelph rocks are most extensively laid bare along Greenville Creek and 
at the quarries of Bierley, Hershey and Roesser, in the southwest quarter of Section 
27. Adams Township. They form the bed of the creek here for a quarter-mile or 
more. The quarries are situated in the bottom of the valle}- or ravine, and are 
covered with about two feet of dark red clay or loam, mingled with the decom- 
posed lime-rock and strewn with heaps of large drift bowlders. The banks are 
twenty to thirty feet in height, and composed of yellow clay and hardpan. The 
beds of limestone here appear perfectly horizontal, having been deposited (as shown 
by the character of the rock) in a quiet, shallow sea. and having witnessed little 
disturbance and no subsequent upheaval. A section of ten or twelve feet can be 
observed at the quarries, bearing about the same features as the Guelph bed 
generally, viz., of a light buff color, porous or spongy and fragile. The upper 
portion, in particular, is so fragile or sandy as to crumble up Tike chalk, and is 
composed almost entirely of crinoidal stems. No regular planes of stratification 

G 



316 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

appear, the rock breaking into thin, irregular slabs. Lower clown, this forma- 
tion is of a darker yellow color, firm, massive, and contains innumerable fine casts 
of crinoidea. 

A second exposure of this formation occurs at the quarries of Dr. I. N. 
Gard, southeast quarter Section 33, Greenville Township. The beds are worked 
in two places, known as the old and new quarries, and lie about fifty yards apart. 
In appearance the rock does not differ materially from that at Bierley's, but it is 
much harder and totally different in fossil contents, two or three species only 
being common to both. The upper stratum is especially to be noticed as being of 
a compact crystalline structure, and also considerably folded. Moreover, it shows 
a perceptible dip toward the south and east. The section is as follows : 

Ft. In. 

Yellow clay and loam G 

Dark-red clay, verjr compact, calcareous and interspersed with many lime- 
stone pebbles 2 

Thick stratum, with definite fracture, of dark yellow or bluish cast, compact 

crystalline; few fossils, but well preserved: glacial stria' Bouth, 5° west, 2 9 

Thick marine, porous, in many places soft and sandy, light buff in color, 

and containing many fine casts 6 

Total exposure 11 3 

The beds are again exposed just below the mill at Webster, in the southwest 
quarter of Section 32, Wayne Township. A section of between four and five feet 
is revealed on the right bank of the Stillwater, where its waters have worn down 
to its original bed. The rock here is very nearly identical in character with that 
in Greenville Township. Its hardness is sufficient for building purposes, but it 
would be impracticable to attempt a quarry from the massive, irregular character 
of the limestone. It is easy of access and might be quarried to be manufactured 
into lime. The creek bank above the rock consists of three or four feet of dark 
red-colored clay, which is greatly calcareous. Beneath this clay several sulphur 
springs flow out from the surface of the rock into the creek. 

Agatej near Weaver's Station, on the southeast quarter of Section 29, Neave 
Township, a surface of limestone is revealed along the bed of Mud Creek for 
some one hundred and fifty yards. The rock here differs but slightly from the 
other exposures noticed. The stone is plainly laminated, breaking out in thin 
irregular flags ; very sandy in texture, and mostl}* of a buff color, and in patches 
bearing a close resemblance to red sandstone. Experiments demonstrate that the 
lighter colored stone produces a fine qualit}* of lime, while the red in color is said 
to become hard from heating. This may have been the result of imperfect burn- 
ing. Stones used in the foundation of a mill in the immediate vicinity were 
taken from the creek, but they are not hard enough for purposes of building. A 
peculiar feature is the absence not only of fossils but traces of them. 

The only other exposure is on the northwest quarter of Section 24, near New 
Madison, Harrison Township, where a lime-kiln was formerly carried on by C. B. 
Xorthrup. A section six to eight feet deep and much worn is visible, showing 
the same general features elsewhere noted. Prof. Orton gives the Niagara rock a 
thickness of twenty feet at Hillsboro, Ohio, and of forty-two feet at Springfield, 
and an estimate of its depth in Darke County would place it between twenty and 
thirty feet. 

Worthless as this limestone is found for building or even flagging, it is valu- 
able for the fine character of the lime it produces. This lime is strong, very white, 
and unexcelled within the State. Its superiority has been recognized, and it finds 
a constant demand in markets near and more distant. An analysis of this rock 
by Dr. Wormley, of the survey, shows it to consist of 50.11 per cent of carbonate 
of magnesia. This high percentage is attributed by Prof. Orton to the long- 
continued presence of carbonated water, but at 'bird's quarries the rock shows 
45.72 percentage of magnesia. 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 317 

A detailed analysis of a specimen from each of these quarries shows : 

Bierley's Gard's Northrup's 
quarry. quarry. quarry. 

Carbonate of lime 44.60 51.30 51.70 

Carbonate of magnesia 50.11 45.72 45.26 

Silica, iron and alumina 4.60 2.20 2.70 

Totals 99.31 99.22 99.66 

The specific gravity of the first is 2.452, as shown by Prof. Mendenhall. 
While the supply of material for lime is inexhaustible and kilns will be built at 
accessible points, and this industry expanded and increased, the surface clay 
affords good facilities for the manufacture of brick and tile, and a number of 
manufactories are carried on to advantage in different parts of the county. A 
summary shows that the rock formations of the county furnish excellent lime, 
and contain the elements of a soil's renewal, and are a source of a highly valuable 
industry. 

CIVIL LIST — OFFICERS AND THEIR DUTIES. 

All government has its origin in the wishes of the people, but only intelli- 
gence rendered extended suffrage and republicanism a success. Peopled by the 
descendants of those who had emancipated themselves from kingly thraldom and 
intolerant persecution, Ohio eavly became, and has since continued to be, the central 
field of conservatism wherein political parties, swaying first to one side, then to 
the other, in numerical power, have held extreme measures in check, and conduced 
to State and national welfare. Territorial government in the Northwest Territory 
was provided for in the ordinance passed by Congress July 13, 1787, and October 
21 of the same year, received her first Governor, in the person of Gen. Arthur St. 
Clair, at Marietta. The Territory was so large and St. Clair became so unpopular 
that a large party was formed, in 1801, in favor of a State government, and in the 
following year, Thomas Worthington, at Philadelphia, used his influence, " which, 
terminating the influence of tyranny " was to " meliorate the circumstances of 
thousands by freeing them from the domination of a despotic chief." His efforts 
proved successful, and March 4, a report was made to the House in favor of author- 
izing a State Convention. The first General Assembly, under the State Constitu- 
tion, assembled at Chillicothe, March 1, 1803, and formed eight new counties, one 
of which was Montgomery. In 1816, the seat of State government was removed 
to Columbus, and speedily measures were brought forward agitating the question 
of a canal linking the Ohio with Lake Erie, and eventually resulting in the Miami 
Canal, by which Darke settlers found at Piqua an early market for produce. 

In 1836, the Congressional district was composed of Darke, Preble and But- 
ler, and Taylor Webster, of Butler, a Democrat, was elected. In 1838, John B. 
Weller, Democrat, of Butler, was chosen over John Beers, of Darke County, a 
Whig. Weller was re-elected in 1840 and 1842 over L. D. Campbell, a Whig, of 
Butler, but in 1844, F. A. Cunningham, of Eaton, Preble Co., was elected over 
Campbell. In 1846, the district was composed of Darke, Montgomery, Greene and 
Preble Counties, when B. C. Schenck, Whig, of Dayton, was elected. Two 3-ears 
later, he was re-elected over J. W. McCorkle, of Dayton. In 1850, the Third Dis- 
trict was composed of the same counties, when Hiram Bell, Whig, of Greenville, 
was elected. In 1852, the district was composed of Darke, Miami, Shelby, 
Auglaize, Allen and Mercer, when M. H. Nichols, of Lima, Democrat, was success- 
ful over Joseph Plunket, Whig, of St. Mary's. In 1854, Nichols withdrew from 
the Democratic Convention of the district, held at Sidney, and, announcing himself 
as an independent anti-Nebraska candidate, was elected by a majority of 6,000 
over D. G. Dorsey, of Piqua, the nominee of the convention after the withdrawal 
of Nichols. In 1856, Nichols again ran against Dorsey and won, by a Bepublican 
majority of 256. At the next election, William Allen, Democrat, by 78 majority, 
was chosen over Nichols, and re-elected for the same office in 1860 by 600 majority 



318 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

over Hart. In 1802. the district, was composed of Darke, Warren, Shelby, Logan 
and Champaign, and J. T. McKinney, Democrat, of Piqua, was elected over W. 11. 
West, Republican, whose defeat was largely attributable to the draft made at that 
time by order of G-ov. Tod. In 1864, Mr. William Laramore was chosen over 
McKinney, and was re-elected for 1866-68 : then, in 1870, McKinney was success- 
ful over W. B. McClung. In 1872, the distrid was constituted of Darke, Preble. 

lie ami Montgomery, and L. B. G-unkel, Republican, elected over J. J. War- 
ner, of G-reene. !n 1874, the election went Democratic, sendingJohn A. McMahon, 
of Dayton, to Congress over G-unkel. In 1870. McMahon was returned over John 
Hand, of Dayton. In 1878, the district was composed of Darke. Shelby. Warren, 
Preble, Auglaize and Mercer, and B. S. Lesser, of Sidney, was elected over Wil- 
son of the same place. 

The senatorial district was formerly composed of Darke. Shelby and Miami 
Counties, and always went Whig or Republican. The new constitution came into 
foi*ce in 1851, and ma.de Darke County a representative district of itself. Pre- 
vious to 1850, the majorities of the dominant party had averaged about one 
hundred votes. In 1857, J. L. Winner, Democrat, was elected Senator, and on the 
expiration of his term was re-elected. Since that time, the county has been 
increasingly Democratic, and has now about one thousand majority. The qualifi- 
cations for eligibility to be a Senator are citizenship of the United States, two 
years' residence in the district whence chosen, thirty years of age. and be known 
to have paid State and county taxes. The Representative must be twenty-five 
years of age. a resident of the county, with the other qualifications above given. 

As a convenient and instructive record connected with the political and offi- 
cial list of the county, we supply the lists of members of Assembly from 1842, 
and county officers from the organization of the county to the present time : 
Members of Assembly — 1843, James Bryson; 1844. D. I. Hostetter; 1848. Luther 
Montfort; 1849, George AVard ; 1850, Judge Lennox ; 1851, P. V. Banta ; 1853, 
Evan Baker; 1855, J. C. Williamson; 1857-59. J. L. Winner; 1801. L. B. Lott 
(served two terms); 1805, Scipio Myer ; 1807-69, Jacob Baker (two terms); 
1871, E. X. Walker ; 1873, D. T. D. Styles ; 1875-77, Dr. Hostetter (two terms); 
1879. Charles Negley and W. Long. 

The following is the list of County Commissioners, with time of service : 
1817 — Archibald Bryson, two years ; Abraham Studabaker, three years ; Silas 
Atchison, one year ; 1818, Jacob Miller, one year. (We have an incomplete record 
at this point, and resume with 1823.) 1823 — William Cury, one year: Abraham 
Studabaker, ten years ; John McNeill, two years ; 1 824. Joshua Howell, two 
years ; 1825, Dennis Hart, three years ; 1820, James Bryson, four years ; Robert 
Robeson, one year; 1828. David Briggs, one year; 1831, Jacob Harter, three 
years; 1832, Solomon Riffle, five years; 1833, John Swisher, two years; 1837, 
Richard Lucas, two pears ; 1840, Moses Woods, three years, and William B. Ludd, 
one year; 1841, George Ward, three years ; 1842. John McGriff. Jr.; 1S43. John 
Colville. live years ; 1814, Henry Lipps, two years ; 1845, William Arnold, two 
years ; 1848 (March), John Miller, one year ; 1848 (October), Christian Harshey, 
two years ; Adam Baker, who resigned, and Henry Arnold appointed till next 
election; 1849, Samuel C. Baker, two years, and Isaac Reed, three years; 1851, 
Daniel Reigle. five years; 1852, David Studabaker. live years; 1853, Abel Stona- 
ker, two years; 1855, S. A. Green, three years: 1856, William Kerr, three y 
1857, Michael Zick, three years; 1858, William Wright, three years ; 1859, Riley 
Card, three years ; 1863, John Stoltz, six years ; 186 I. George [vester, six years ; 
1865, Samuel Alexander, three years ; 1868, David Oliver, three years: 1869, 
Jesse Woods, three years ; 1871, James Auld, three years ; 1872. J. R. Holland. 
four years; 1ST:'. Elisha Berry, four years; L874, John Antonides, one year; 
1877, George 1). Miller, three years: L878, William Archard : 1879, Samuel Wil- 
son. Probate Judges— John Wharry, elected in 1851 ; A. I!. Calderwood, L854 ; 
D. 11. 11. Jobes, 1857; J. C. McKeny. 1866, resigned 1868, and A. F. Bodle was 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 319 

appointed to serve from April to November of that year ; James T. Meeker was 
elected in October, 1868, to complete the term, then elected in 1869 for three 
}-ears, and again chosen in 1872 ; then J. A. Jobes was chosen in 1875, and 
re-elected in 187S. and is now incumbent of the office. As is observed, the officer 
holds for three years. The Prosecuting Attorney is biennially elected, his term 
of office to begin the first Monday of January next after his election. No person 
is eligible to this office who is not a duly licensed counselor at law. authorized to 
practice in the State. No Prosecuting Attorney should be a member of the Gen- 
eral Assembly of the State, or Mayor of a city, and no county officer should be a 
candidate for the office. Bond not less than $1,000 is required, to be approved by 
the Court of Common Pleas in the Probate Court, which may appoint to iill 
vacanc}*. His general duties are to prosecute in the name of the State all com- 
plaints, suits and controversies in which the State is a party. In case of convic- 
tion, he shall cause execution to issue and faithfully urge collection, which shall 
be paid to County Treasurer. He shall be the legal adviser of the county officers, 
shall not enter a nolle pros, without leave of the court. He shall prepare and 
accept the bonds of all county officers. He is held to see that count}* funds are 
not misapplied, and in lieu of failure is open to suit by taxpayers. No list is given. 

The Clerk of Common Pleas Court is elected triennially ; term begins 
February 9, next after his election. Bond not less than $10,000 nor more than 
$40,000, as determined by County Commissioners, with approved sureties. He 
shall also be the Clerk of the District Court, and of any superior court held in 
the county. Auditor or Commissioners may appoint to fill vacancy. Clerk may 
appoint one or more deputies. His general duties are to indorse and file all 
papers, to enter all orders, decrees and judgments, to engi-oss proceedings of his 
court. He may administer oaths, take affidavits and depositions. Reports to the 
Secretary of State annually all crimes and criminals. Once in four } T ears, he 
reports number of males over twenty-one v-ears, furnishes poll-books and tally- 
sheets, is held for security of law reports and other books of law library ; is 
depository of all costs and fees taxed upon writs, and pay over to person entitled. 
No charge shall be made for certificates made for pensioners of the Grovernment, 
for any oath administered connected with pensions. Linus Bascom was the first 
Clerk appointed in Darke County, and held one year. Easton Morris, appointed 
in June, 1818, served seven years. David Morris served four years and deceased, 
when L. R. Brownell served pro tern, from August to November of 1829 ; John 
Beers served three terms, from 1829 to 1850 ; David Beers then served a few 
months, after which J. AY. Frizzell was appointed for a terrn of seven j r ears, but 
the new constitution, which was adopted in 1852, reduced the term to three years. 
Samuel Robinson was elected October, 1854 ; William C. Porterfield, in October, 
I860, but deceased before expiration of term, and was succeeded by Henry Miller, 
who served as Clerk pro tem. until October, 1802, when he was elected and served 
two terms ; Hamilton Slade was elected in 1SG8 ; Wesley Gorsuch, in 1873, and 
John H. Martin filled three months of the unexpired term following Grorsuch's 
resignation ; finally John H. Martin was elected in 1879. 

The Sheriff and Coroner are chosen biennially. They give bonds for not less 
than $5,000, nor to exceed $50,000. The general' duty of the Sheriff is the pres- 
ervation of the public peace, attend upon all courts, shall have the power to call to 
his aid such persons as he shall find necessary. lie shall keep a foreign execution 
docket and a cash-book. The books shall be open to inspection by all persons; the 
fee for producing the books is 124; cents, which entitles to a certified copy of entry. 
On retiring from office, all moneys are paid to the Clerk of the court. In regard 
to Coroners, it may he said that, on being notified that the body of a person, 
whose death is supposed to have been caused by violence, has been found within 
the county, he issues subpoenas for witnesses, administers oaths and takes testi- 
mony in writing. He shall draw up his findings in writing, subscribe the same, 
and. if he find any person or persons inculpated, he shall arrest and take him or 



320 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

them before a proper officer for examination. At once, after finding a body, if 
friends or relatives be known, they shall be notified by the Coroner, by letter ; if 
unknown, advertisement shall be made. All articles and moneys found shall be 
returned to the Probate Court. After one year and due publication, public sale 
may be made of these articles. The first Sheriff, who was appointed in 1817, 
served till 1820 ; his successor was William Scott, who served till 1824 ; then, 
Mark T. Mills, till 1828; Joshua Howell, till 1830; John Howell, till 1834; 
James Craig was appointed, but died, and William Vance served till 183G ; David 
Angel, till 1840 ; Thomas Vantilburg. 1844, and 1852 till 1856 ; George Coover, 
1848 ; David Stamm, 1852 ; Joshua Townsend, till 1860 ; Hamilton, till 1862 ; 
Chauncey Riffle, 1866 ; A. P. Vandyke, till 1870 ; N. M. Wilson, till 1875 ; J. W. 
Hall, till 1879 ; and Jerry Runkle is the present official. 

The County Auditor holds three } r ears. He may administer oaths, appoint 
deputies, is Secretary of the Count}' Commissioners ; he records their proceedings, 
files papers deposited in his office, keeps an account current with the Treasurer, 
issues warrants on the treasury for all moneys payable out of the same, except 
moneys due the State ; may discharge from jail persons confined for fines, when 
convinced that these fines cannot be paid. He shall make out the tax duplicate ; 
shall keep a book of additions and deductions, in which he shall enter all correc- 
tions of the duplicate made after the delivery of the same to the Treasurer. Set- 
tlement is made with the Treasurer by the 15th of February and the 10th of 
August. He shall make return, to the Auditor of State, of the number of domestic 
animals, state indebtedness of county, report number of sheep killed and amounts 
paid owners. He is sealer of weights and measures. His compensation varies 
with the population and extent of services required. The following named have 
served as Auditors : June 5, 1821, John Devor, appointed ; 1822, H. D. Williams ; 
March, 1824, John Craig, elected, died, and June, 1826, John Beers appointed to 
fill vacancy, elected, and in December, 1829, resigned to accept appointment of 
Clerk of Court, and January, 1830, David Cole was appointed to fill vacancy ; in 
October, 1832, Hiram Bellows elected, resigned October 5, 1836, and David Angel 
served until January, 1837, when John Mcllthanney took his seat — the latter 
deceased, and at a special meeting called by the Sheriff, September, 1837, C. C. 
Craig was appointed, then elected, and served till 1840, when he resigned, and 
William M. Wilson succeeded ; held till October, 1846, when he resigned and John 
L. Winner was appointed to fill the unexpired term. David Stamm served a term, 
followed by F. Gram, who died, and A. R, Doty filled vacancy ; A. L. Northrop 
served from October, 1849, to 1852, when George W. Coover was elected ; Joseph 
C Shepherd chosen in 1854 ; John E. Matchett, 1857 ; D. B. Cleves, 1861 ; E. H. 
Wright, 1865 ; O. C. Perry, 1867 ; John E. Matchett, 1871 ; W. J. Kelly, 1873 ; 
and John C. Turpen, 1879. 

The County Treasurer is elected biennially. Bond to the amount required 
by Commissioners, at the hands of four or more freehold sureties, or the office 
vacant, and appointment made. Additional bond may be required, if deemed 
necessary. All payments are made, except on tax duplicate, on the draft of the 
Auditor, or when moneys are received from the State by the Auditor of State. 
Duplicate receipts must be given for all moneys paid, except taxes — one to the 
person paying, the other to the Auditor. Receipt of tax duplicate is made known 
fry legal notice given. The oilier shall be kept open, for the collection of taxes, 
from the time of the delivery of the duplicate to him until January 25, and from 
April 1 to July 20. Taxes may be paid on or before December 20, or one-half 
before that time ami the remainder on or before June 20, but all road taxes shall be 
paid prior to December 20. After June 20, the penalty is 5 per cent; after 
December 20, the overdue taxes may by collected by distress and sale, etc. When 
the Treasurer is unable to collect by distress, he shall apply to the Clerk of the 
Court of Common Pleas, and cause to be serve* 1 upon the delinquent person or 
corporation, requiring them to show cause for failure in payment, in default of 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 321 

which a rule shall he entered, having the force and effect of a judgment. The 
right to redeem lands sold for tax holds two 3 T ears from date of sale, by payment 
to the holder, the amount, expense of deed, with 6 per cent interest and 25 
per cent on account of said judgment. When any warrant on the treasury is 
presented and cannot be paid for want of funds, it shall be indorsed and bear 6 
per cent interest from date of indorsement by Treasurer. If the Treasurer, 
either directly or indirectly, purchases warrants of his county at any discount, he 
shall, upon settlement, forfeit the whole amount due thereon. Advance payments 
may be made to local authorities, not exceeding two-thirds of the current collec- 
tion of taxes of the corporation. In case of embezzlement, the incumbent shall 
be removed and a new Treasurer appointed. The following have been the Treas- 
urers of Darke County : John Devor, appointed June, 1817, 1818 and 1819 ; 
Daniel Briggs, 1821; Linus Bascom, 1822 and 1824; John Beers, 1825; A. 
Scribner, 1826 and 1827 ; Loring R. Brownell, elected October, 1831 ; Henry D. 
Williams, 1835 ; James M. Dorse}', 1839 ; Daniel Irwin, 1839 ; James Devor, 
appointed to fill vacancy caused by death of Irwin, May, 1844 ; Charles Hutchins, 
1847 ; James Irwin, elected 1851 and 1853 ; William Schmidt, appointed 1854 ; 
James McKhann, 1855 and 1857 ; George H. Martz, 1859 and 1861; Thomas P. 
Turpen, 1862 ; Eli Helm, 1866 ; Peter V. Banta, 1870, two terms ; W. It. Kerlin, 
1874, and Amos Hahn, 1878. 

The County Recorder keeps four sets of records, viz., deeds, mortgages, plats 
and leases. He shall furnish a fair and accurate copy of any record in his office, 
and certify the same to any person demanding and tendering the fees therefor. 
He shall make and keep up suitable indexes. Abraham Scribner was the first 
Recorder, appointed in 1817 ; Eastin Morris, 1822 ; Josiah D. Farrar, Thomas 
Rush, John Wharry ; Elias Brumminager, elected 1844 ; John S. Shepherd, 1850 ; 
S. C. Eddington. 1856 ; Daniel Stevenson, 1859 ; A. F. Medford, 1865 ; Benjamin 
Beers, 1868 ; P. H. Maher, 1874, re-elected in 1878, and still in office. Besides 
these officers, there are the Infirmary Directors, three in number, who hold for 
three years ; a Superintendent of the asylum and a County Surveyor. 

For a few years from first settlement, comparatively little interest was taken 
in politics ; people were too much absorbed in the struggle for bread. Later, the 
district was carried b}' the Whigs, uniformly, but by moderate majorities only, 
until after the new constitution came into force, in 1851. An increasing interest 
was felt in politics as years went by, and both national and local issues were dis- 
cussed with much warmth, privately and publicly. During the Presidential cam- 
paign which resulted in making James Buchanan chief magistrate of the nation, 
the political pulse of the people rose to a pitch previously unknown in the history 
of Darke, while, during the whole period of the war, Greenville was one of the 
most deeply engaged and thoroughly aroused places in this part of Ohio. The 
local prints did not mince matters, but criminations and recriminations were fre- 
quent. The editorial pencils were held firmly, and moved by fervid energ}". 
Italics, small caps and capitals wearied the printer ; political writers and speakers 
dealt in denunciations, threats and charges ; the Democrat office was pied, and 
pitched into the street. Later years aroused a more conservative spirit, and a 
courtesy prevails which speaks well for the intelligence and patriotism of the citi- 
zens. The county is fully recognized as Democratic, the strength of which party, 
compared with the Republican, is illustrated by the vote of 1876 for President : 
Samuel J. Tilden received 4,667 votes ; Rutherford B. Hayes, 3,577 ; a total of 8,239. 
In 1877, the vote stood for Governor: William H. West, 2.612; Richard M. 
Bishop, 3,947. In 1878, for Secretary of State, Milton Barnes. 2.980 ; David R. 
Paige, 4,202. The following, respecting population, shows the progress of the 
county in this regard : In 1820, 3.717 ; in 1830, 6,204 ; in 1840, 13,282 ; in 1850, 
20,276 ; in 1860, 26,009 ; in 1870. 32,278. 

The following illustrates the growth between 1840 and 1850, by townships : 
Greenville, 1,851 to 3.417 ; Twin. 1.057 to 1,400 ; Richland, 589 to 793 ; Harrison, 



322 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

1.8G6 to 1,705; Washington, 898 to 1,250; Van Buren, 121 to 770; German, 
1,173 to 1,601 ; Wayne, 727 to 1,162 ; Brown, 293 to 684 ; Butler, 1,116 to 1,446; 
Monroe, 171 to 913 ; Jackson, 304 to 566; Adams, 698 to 1,416; Neave, 635 to 
883; York, 371 to 197; Franklin. 2!) 1 to 451 ; Mississinewa, 124 to 318 ; Patter- 
son, attached to "Wayne, 319 ; Allen, 194 to 290; Wabash, attached to York in 
1840, in 1850 gave 309. Gibson, with 270. was attached to Mercer County when 
Auglaize was erected. Aboul one-half of Allen and parts of Patterson unci 
Wabash were given to Mercer at the same time. Add the population of Patter- 
son to Wayne, of which it was formed, and 1,48] shows the population to have 
doubled. The same is true of York when Wabash is added. All townships hut 
Harrison showed heavy increase compare with 1840. We conclude (his chapter 
b}- the following from the pen of Hon. James Hanaway, of Kansas, formerly a 
resident of Butler Township, this county : 

' ; THE UNDERGROUND RAILROAD IN DARKE COUNTY. 

"When African slavery existed as an institution in the Southern States, there 
was an organization in most of the free States known as ' the underground rail- 
road.' Although the term was very generally used to designate a society which 
gave aid and assistance to such fugitives as had escaped from their servitude, and 
were in search of liberty, yet there were but lew persons in any community who 
had any practical knowledge of the workings of this mysterious and humane 
society. The cabalistic letters ■ \\ (!. R. R.' were generally used when referring to 
the association. It was first bestowed by slave-owners. Fugitive slaves on their 
way to the free States were not unfrequently close upon capture when they sud- 
denly disappeared. Once, pursuit was so close that success seemed sure, when 
trace was lost, and one of the slave-hunters, on his return, gave it as his opinion 
that the Abolitionists had an 'underground railroad ' on which the fugitives were 
spirited away. From this originated the term, which the Abolitionists adopted as 
the name of their organization. 

"Although there was not a regularly established line of the underground rail- 
road in Darke County, there were persons in different localities who were always 
ready to render assistance when called on. Fugitives were often taken across the 
county to another line of road which was in active operation : for example, from 
Miami or Montgomery County to Newport, Ind. This was necessary, sometimes, to 
throw the hunters off the track, and was always effective. 

-The question was often, and is even now. asked. 'How did the slave know 
whom to apply to in a strange country for assistance ? ' In all towns and cities 
there are always found a huge number of free blacks ; some of them have bought 
their freedom ; some are fugitives from far-off, distant States, and feel safe in their 
new homes. This class of persons are shrewd observers of things, and they read- 
ily detect a stranger. In tins way. thousands became aware of the existence of 
the underground railroad, and entrusted themselves to its care. Many slaves, 
before they started on their hazardous undertaking, possessed knowledge sufficient 
to work their way to a free State. While up in the lied River country, in Louisi- 
ana, many yea is ago. an old house-servant came to me just as 1 was starting 
homeward, and in a low voice said : • Massa, I heard you tell ole Massa that you 
lived near Cincinnati. Ohio. I have often prayed to my Maker to take me to that 
blessed place before I die.' This language was strange and unexpected, but I 
soon found out how he. as well as others like him in the land of bondage, had 
learned some little about the free States. Slaveholders, in their social meetings, 
would become quite indignant against the people of the \\w States, branding 
them as 'nigger-thieves,' etc., because they sometimes aided a fugitive to find a 
refuge in Canada. Cincinnati was always spoken of as the headquarters of Aboli- 
tionists. These conversations were no uncommon occurrence among slave-owners, 
and the ignorant bondmen, while listening, would naturally reason : 'Cincinnati 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 323 

must bo filled with good people who are friends to the colored folks, because Massa 
and the white folks are always cussing it and calling it a den of thieves, who help 
niggers run away to the British country, where they are forever free.' 

■■ The underground railroad was bold and open in its operations until the 
passage of the 'fugitive-slave law' of 1850. when it became necessary to adopt a 
more cautious and less hazardous plan of operations. Instead of men of means 
placing themselves in front as depot-agents and conductors, as heretofore, they 
transferred these duties to trusty poor men, off whom the law could not collect 
the heavy penalties of transgression, and the funds were provided by men of 
wealth. 

"The fugitive-slave law of 1850 was a firebrand cast at freedom by that Sen- 
atorial traitor. Mason, of Virginia; but it proved to be a valuable auxiliary to the 
cause of freedom. My old friend. Dr. Otwell, now living in Greenville, said to me 
upon the receipt of the news of the passage of the law : • It will arouse the North, 
agitation will follow, and it will result in good." 

" Some time since I cut the following paragraph from a newspaper. It is intro- 
duced here, because the fugitives mentioned were taken through Darke County, 
and because it will give the uninitiated a peep behind the curtain : 

" 'Judge Sharkey, at present a petitioner before the Supreme Court, is charged 
with being the author of an infamous decision, consigning a widow and her chil- 
dren into slavery. The former had been the wife of a Mississippi planter, who 
had legalized his marriage with her in a Northern State. The children had been 
educated in Ohio. Eeturning South, they were seized by relatives of the deceased 
planter, and on application to Sharkey were doomed to slavery.' 

" It is true, the- relatives attempted to seize the mother and five children under 
the decision of Judge Sharkey, but before the officers could secure their human 
chattels, they made their escape to Cincinnati, and were landed safely in Canada 
through the agency of the underground railroad. 

" Prior to their last visit to Mississippi, they had consulted an eminent lawyer 
of antislavery proclivities. Salmon P. Chase, of Cincinnati, and he advised them 
not to risk anything in a Mississippi court. They therefore left what in common 
law was their property by the decease of the husband and father, and escaped to 
Cincinnati Ivy steamboat. Although the children had been educated in Ohio, and 
papers confirming the marriage were on record, it was deemed unsafe to risk the 
decisions of the courts, so they were assisted on their way north, by those who 
sympathized with them. In a few days, they arrived in the city of Dayton, and 
were taken in charge by a well-known agent of the road. 

" The same evening, the slave hunters arrived, for the}' learned the colored fam- 
ily had taken passage on a canal-boat. Fortunately, by the blustering "manner of 
the slave-hunters, the antislavery people of Cincinnati became apprised of their 
errand, and a courier was at once despatched to Dayton, arriving but a short time 
in advance of the pursuers, and measures were at once adopted for the protection 
of the fugitives. They were stowed away in a dark cellar, and at 12 o'clock at 
night, they were conve} T ed out of the citj* in a close carriage, and taken across the 
country toward Newport. Ind. The person having this valuable freight in 
charge was ordered to go byway of Ithaca. Castine and New Madison. At Ithaca 
he took the road leading to Fort Jefferson, which took him several miles out of the 
way. They reached New Madison about breakfast-time. Dr. Eufus Kilpatrick took 
charge of them and conveyed them westward to Anderson Spencer. On the fol- 
lowing morning, they were forwarded to Newport, Ind.. and thus escaped the 
clutches of those who would make merchandise of their own flesh and blood. 

•' A few days after these occurrences, the Circuit Court met in Greenville. Judge 
Holt, Judge Crane, and several lawyers from Dayton, had witnessed the furor 
which had taken place at the hotel in Dayton, when the slave-hunters found their 
victims had escaped. They raved and swore, and denounced the people of the 
North as a pack of negro-thieves. This outburst produced quite a sensation, even 



324 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

in the proslavery element of the community. The Judges and lawyers were espe- 
cially severe in their condemnation of such sentiments. 

" A fugitive by the name ol* Wash McQuerry, who resided for a time in the 
western part of Darke County, took up his residence near Troy, Miami Comity, 
believing he would be safe from the pursuit of his old master, one Henry Miller, 
near Louisville. Ky. It appears that a man named John Russell, living near 
Piqua, learned that Wash was a fugitive, and ascertaining the name and address 
of his owner, basely, or, perhaps actuated by a desire for gain, wrote a letter to 
Henry Miller, informing him where his chattel could be found. 

" A posse of slave-hunters visited Miami County, and Wash was arrested while 
working on a canal-boat. There were other fugitives supposed to be in Miami and 
Darke Counties. The hunters visited Greenville Jand after consultation with a certain 
law firm, they went in the night to the colored settlement and searched several cabins. 
I received information from Greenville that the slave-hunters were hunting lost 
property in the neighborhood. I immediately started with a friend, in a buggy, for 
the colored settlement, arriving about dark. I found the whole settlement in arms. 
Every cross-road was guarded by armed men. Being somewhat acquainted, I was 
allowed to pass without molestation. That night I tarried in the academy, but the 
news I was so anxious to convey was there ahead of me. 

" Wash, the fugitive, was taken to Cincinnati, and, after an able defense by 
Messrs. Birney & Joliffe, was ordered to be delivered to the claimant. This was 
the first case under the law of 1850. It was tried before Judge McLean. 

" One of the most interesting events during my connection with the under- 
ground railroad, was the following : 

" Twenty-eight slaves escaped one night from Boone County, Ky. They were 
delayed in crossing the river, and it was nearly daylight before they arrived in the 
suburbs of Cincinnati. Carriages were obtained from a certain German in the city 
to convey them into the country, as it was deemed unsafe for the fugitives to 
remain in the quarters where they were secreted. After food and suitable clothing 
had been furnished them, at the suggestion of the late Levi Coffin, they formed 
procession as if going to a funeral, and moved solemnly along the road to Cum- 
minsville. The route decided on by the agents of the road, was via College Hill, 
Hamilton. West Elkton, Eaton, Paris, to Newport, Ind. The same night on which 
these twenty-eight fugitives arrived at Newport, three slave-hunters from Boone 
County, Ky., stopped over night in the village of Castine. Newport is sixteen 
miles west of Castine. But from the fact that the fugitives took the longest route 
from Paris, by mistake, they must have been overtaken. My suspicions had been 
aroused that these strangers might be in search of lost property. As they were 
about leaving the village, one of the party recognized an old friend and classmate, 
in one of the bystanders. They had been classmates in the Ohio Medical College 
some years before. To this Mend he confided his business, but gained no infor- 
mation from him. After their departure, my friend." who was a Leading Democrat, 
informed me all about the business of the three strangers — where they were going, 
etc They had tracked the fugitives to Eaton, where they lost the trail. From 
Eaton the hunters came to Castine. 

" A few minutes after I received this information from the Doctor, I was on 
the road to Newport. The hunters arrived ahead of me, had already put up their 
horses when I arrived, and were walking the streets, asking the price of furniture, 
garden-seeds, etc., and taking a general inspection of things. 

"When I made my mission known to the agents of the road, it created a sen- 
sation. One of them said that only ten minutes before, he had seen some of the chil- 
dren of the fugitives at play in a yard near the main street of the village, and 
might be seen by any one passing along. 

"About 1 o'clock P. M.. the' hunters left Newport, but the friends of the fugi- 
tives were fearful that they had gone north to Winchester, for assistance. Before 

* Dr. John E. Matchett, now of Greenville. 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 325 

evening, however, we found that they had made no discovery. That night the 
fugitives were taken to Cabin Creek, Randolph Co., Ind., and, after a few weeks, 
were forwarded to Canada. 

" Nine thousand dollars reward was offered for these fugitives ; $1,000 to any one 
who would put the owners on the trail. One of these male fugitives had been pur- 
chased eight months before for $1,200. Another was a Baptist preacher, a smart 
fellow, though he did not believe the New Testament a slave code. 

********* 

_" The rising generation can have but a faint conception of the state of public 
opinion thirty to forty years ago. The influence which the slave power exercised 
throughout the United States, was almost irresistible ; it controlled every depart- 
ment of government. The leading churches pandered to its power— the Bible 
became a slave code. Free speech was crushed out, under the plea of protecting 
public liberty." 

ROADS TURNPIKES AND RAILROADS. 

The construction of roads and water ways are characteristic of ancient and 
powerful nations advanced in civilization, and "knit together in all their interests by 
bonds of profitable commerce Rome made her road's for the expeditious marches 
of her legions, but America has made hers for the facility of peaceful intercourse, 
in the interests of commerce, trade and agriculture. It was a discouraging aspect 
shown by Darke in the earlier day, when trails, traces and tracks were numerous 
and roads none, and it was true as at the time said, « There is not one beyond the 
mountains and but few this side, that is acquainted with the hardships of the 
pioneers. Twenty or thirty years must elapse before they can have a comfortable 
road to get to mill or to the court house. How many thousands would rejoice if 
they had the privilege of working out upon the highways a per cent of the pro- 
ceeds of the common domain, rather than to pay cash for which they receive no 
benefit whatever." The privilege was in time accorded of working out tax, but 
it is questionable whether taxes paid and expended under a competent roadmaster 
would not be a better procedure. At the first settlement of Darke, and for many 
years after, all State roads were laid out and established by the Legislature by 
special act. The first State road laid out in the county was the highway from 
Troy to Greenville. This was the road traveled by the settlers coming into the 
county in 1811, although the locating may not have been regularly done farther 
than the boundary line west of Miami County. It crossed Greenville Creek, 
where the road now crosses near Gettysburg, and this intersected Wayne's old 
trace from Fort Recovery to Greenville. It came up on the north side of the 
creek and crossed again north of the Turner Mill, at what was called the Boomer- 
shire fording. It had, however, been altered during the period of the war of 1812 ; 
at that time it crossed the creek at the lower end of Main street, Greenville, about 
where the Beamsville road now crosses. A. short time before 1817, a survey had 
been made, and a road located from Piqua to Greenville, but the road had not at 
that time been opened. This intersected the Troy road near the present site of 
Gettysburg. When there was no established road opened between Piqua and Green- 
ville, settlers made their own road till they struck the Troy road at the Studabaker 
block-house. At that time there were but two or three* families living between 
Piqua and the point just named. The following named roads had been laid out 
just after the organization of the county, and their original and present routes do 
not materially differ : the Milton, Shanesville, Fort Recovery and Fort Jefferson. 
The roads that were first laid out under the order of the County Commissioners 
were generally located to suit the people of the different neighborhoods through 
which they passed ; they circled about ponds and marshes, angled and curved their 
way the nearest and best track from one house to another. As a result, most roads 
located by first settlers have been changed or entirely vacated. The location of 
roads was not always according to the unanimous wishes of the settlers, and as an 



326 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

instance, we give the history of what wis known as the "Western or Winch 
road," which caused considerable strife and difficulty. The settlers west of Green- 
ville joined in a petition to the Commissioners for a county road from Greenville 
to the Slate line in the direction of Winchester. A view was ordered: viewers 
met, started a1 or near the mouth of Mud Creek, ran nearly direct until they inter- 
sected the old Indian trace Leading from the Indian town on Mud Creek- to Muncie, 
End. This was at the crossing of the West Branch, from which they ran as . 
as practicable with the old trace to the State line. This location did not satisfy 
all parties to the petition, and another party arose. Names were bestowed upon 
each. The first was known as the Squaw road party, the other the Jersey road. 
The latter petitioned for a road to run a course aboul a mile north of the other; 
their petition was granted. There were now two roads, and each party, emulating 
the other, set to work to open the respective roads. Not long after, an order was 
received from the Legislature to lay out and establish a State road from Troy via 
Greenville to the State line. In the mean time Randolph County. Ind.. had laid 
out a road from Winchester to the State line, ending at the corner of a section 
about midway between the two Ohio roads. The State viewers learning at Green- 
ville of the two roads and the strife, ran their line midway to strike the Indiana 
road, and in proportion as the one party rejoiced the other was displeased. The 
line is now the Greenville and State Line turnpike. Soon the defeated party peti- 
tioned at Columbus for change of location ; it was granted without delay or inves- 
tigation, and for a number of years the Squaw road was traveled as the State road. 
Partially foiled, the Jerseys went to work vigorously to open and put in repair 
their road. It thus happened that there were two roads running parallel not a 
mile apart. No bridge had been built over the mouth of Mud Creek, and the only 
entry or exit from the town was around and across Greenville Creek. For several 
years this anomalous condition of affairs continued ; finally the people undertook of 
their own accord to build a bridge over the month of Mud Creek. Abutments 
were erected, laid on the sills and it was partially floored with split slabs, but its 
completion was delayed and it was not made passable for teams. It stood in this 
condition several years, until the timber became rotten, when, at one of the terms 
of court, some lawyers strolled out one evening, laid hold and shook it down. The 
County Commissioners then made an appropriation for the building of a bridge at 
this place, and a temporary structure was in time erected. The rival roads were 
maintained a score of years, much to the public disadvantage. As a finality there 
came an order from the Legislature to lay a State road from the branch of Mad 
River in Champaign County, via Piqua and Greenville to the State line. This was 
located on the track of the former road, and the difficulty was thus finally settled. 

J. S. Patterson, of P>erlin Heights, Huron County, in an article to the Ohio 
Farmer, written in 1870, said : " Who would have thought thirty-seven years ago, 
when the writer first saw 'old Darke County,' that it would ever stand foremost 
among the counties of State for its road enterprise. Why the county should have 
surpassed every other in the State in this regard, 1 am unable to explain. It may 
be accounted for on the theory of extremes— the roads were very bad. they are 
very good. Perhaps the people thrown upon their own resources pushed their 
way in this direction. It is certain that the pike business became in time a local 
epidemic. The many rival stations fostered a spirit of rivalry. A condition of 
things that favored the enterprise of turnpike construction was the tendency of 
the people to invest in what promised lobe a permanent improvement. Whatever 
maybe the explanation, the Secretary's report for 1868 puts down 393 miles of 
turnpike roads for Darke County : Warren follows with 224; Clermont and Wood, 
200 each ; Hamilton, 195 : Montgomery, 152 ; Champaign, 136 ; Greene, 117 ; 
Butler 111', etc. 

Of course, the burden of taxation is heavy and not every farmer is in con- 
dition to pay s I an acre road tax. Some were obliged to sell off land to enable 
them to meet assessments, but hard as it was, even such gained in the end by the 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 327 

rise in local values. It is quite a general feeling among the people that they have 
taken too much upon their hands at once. And as wheat is their staple product. 
the county ranking fifth in the State, the low price at which their surplus will 
probably have to be sold, may operate somewhat discouragingly ; but the resources 
of the county are abundant, and the people will no doubt come out all right, and 
all the better for their excellent system of roads. Parts of the county with which 
I was perfectly familiar ten years ago, I did not recognize when passing through 
them last summer." There are now over 700 miles of turnpike in Darke County, 
and several short roads are building. The writer of the above was correct in 
supposing that the outcome of this special enterprise would be favorable even to 
those most heavily taxed, for so it has proven. Within an area of GOO square 
miles there are just about 200 piked roads and part of roads, having a separate 
name. To merely enumerate them would be a task ; to state their individual 
history would require almost a volume. The first one was built from Greenville to 
Gettysburg in 1853. It was then, and is still a toll pike. All the others are free. 
The turnpikes of this count}' are estimated b} T competent authority to have cost in 
the aggregate just about $1,500,000. The lines radiating from Greenville, as seen on 
the map, resemble somewhat the radiating lines of a spider's web, while the con- 
necting cross roads complete the ideal comparison. Railroads began to exercise 
their powerful influence in this section about thirty years ago. The pioneer road 
of this county was known as the Dayton & Union Railroad. The company was 
chartered Feb. 26, 1846, as the " Greenville & Miami Railroad Company,"' for the 
construction of a railroad from the town of Greenville to any point on the Dayton 
& Western Railroad, or any point on the Miami or Miami Extension Canal, which 
the Directors might determine. The incorporators were Daniel R. Davis, Hiram 
Bell, William M. Wilson. Rufus Kilpatrick, John Colville, George Ward. John Mc- 
Clure, Jr., John C. Potter, Erastus Putnam, Alfred Kitchen, James Hanaway, 
Henry Arnold, W. B. Beall, I. N. Gard, Abraham Scribner, Russell Evans. John C. 
Shepherd. Adam Baker, Abraham Studabaker. Charles Hutchins. Joseph Ford and 
Solomon Riffle, of Darke County ; Gen. H. Bell was the first President ; Henry 
Arnold, Esq., first Treasurer ; and Hon. William M. Wilson, the first Secretary. 
The capital stock of the company was $200,000, divided into shares of $50 each. 
At the expiration of a year, Dr. I. N. Gard was elected President, succeeded by 
David Studabaker. During 1S48, the enterprise was first fully presented to the 
people of the county for their support. Among those most active in forwarding 
the undertaking, not only to obtain a favorable vote, but to secure means to do the 
necessaiy preliminary work, were Dr. Gard, Judge Wilson. Gen. Bell, Mr. Studa- 
baker, Mr. Kitchen and Maj. Davis. There was then but little money in the 
county ; the largest subscriptions that could be obtained were $500, and there 
were but eight of ten of these. 

On January 5. 18-48. an act was passed by the Legislature, authorizing the 
Commissioners of Darke County to purchase stock in the G. & M. R. R. Company 
to any amount not to exceed $50,000, provided a majority of the voters of the 
county were in favor thereof. On the first Monday of April, the proposition to 
aid was carried by a majority of 637 votes, and on the 13th, the Commissioners 
subscribed the maximum amount in aid of the road. August 21, the Auditor was 
authorized to issue an order on the Treasurer for $110, to pay for the survey of 
the road. February 2, 1840. the Town Council of Greenville was in like manner 
impowered to subscribe thereto any amount not exceeding $10,000. Judge Wilson 
continued Secretar}' of the company from organization to about 1850. that is, 
during the preliminary work of the company. In 1850, a new organization was 
effected, with E. B. Taylor as President, and an act was passed authorizing the 
county and town to sell any or all stock to said company, or any other formed to 
extend the railroad from Greenville to the State line. Mr. Taylor went to New 
York, negotiated a loan of $150,000, bought iron and other necessaries to equip- 
ment. In July. 185(1. the first locomotive intended to be used for laying the track 



328 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

of the road from Dayton to Greenville, arrived at Dayton. It was brought from 
the establishment of Swinburn, Smith & Co., of Patterson, N. J., and weighed 
fourteen tons. The first installment of iron was shipped from New York for Day- 
ton on the 26th of June. The residue of the iron was then on the way from 
Liverpool to New York. It was of the T pattern, and weighed about nineteen 
pounds to the square foot. The bridge across the ."Miami River at Dayton was 
completed and intended for use by three roads, the others being the Cincinnati, 
Hamilton & Dayton, and the Dayton & Western. The contract for laying the 
track was let to A. De Graff. The depot and other buildings were placed under 
contract, and all the work systematically pushed forward. Two additional loco- 
motives, weighing eighteen tons each, wen- contracted for delivery, one in August, 
the other in October. Two passenger cars were constructed at Dayton, in the 
establishment of Thresher, Packard & Co. The ''burthen" cars were manufact- 
ured at the Greenville foundry and machine-shops of Messrs. Edmonson & Evans, 
and Taylor Brothers. The grain crop of 1851 was unprecedented ly large, and the 
road was expected to highly benefit all interests, whether farming, mechanical, 
mercantile or commercial. It was stated at the time that this event " was an 
important epoch in Darke County history," and such it has since proved to have 
been. It enhanced values and facilitated communication. It was noted that 
" the running time between Greenville and Dayton will be less than one hour and a 
half, and the distance may be performed with perfect safety in less than one hour" 
On February 19, 1851, De Graff started out from Dayton with a train to be used 
for track laying. The train was platform cars with houses built on them — three 
for sleeping-rooms, one for dining and one for a kitchen. The job of laying the 
iron was in charge of John Horrien. On May 25, the main track of the road 
was finished to the depot buildings, and a meeting was called to arrange for a 
celebration of the event. The event duly honored, was marked by a large crowd, 
and made memorable by an emeute at Greenville, on part of the roughs. The Board 
of Directors, at a meeting held at Dayton August 30, 1853, declared a 10 per 
cent dividend from the earnings of the road, from January 1 to September 1. 
This dividend was declared after deducting expense of repairs, running, interest 
and other expenses, and there remained a reserve fund of $5,000. The receipts for 
August were for passengers, $6,261; transportation. $4.21 5 ; mail. $333 ; total, 
nearly $11,000. The cost of the road was about $550,000. Outstanding bonds. 
$3-41.(1(11). and the liberal dividend to stockholders created an enthusiasm which 
greatly facilitated the induction and completion of the road to Union, and of 
other roads constructed through the county. Mr. Taylor continued to be Presi- 
dent of the road until Jul}-, 1855, when he resigned. Meantime, the company had 
been authorized by the Legislature to extend the railroad to the Indiana State 
line, by such route as the Directors might select, within the county of Darke." ami 
the act had been accepted by resolution of the Board of Directors as an amend- 
ment to the charter of the company. The road was built through to Union City 
three years after its completion to Greenville, that is. in 1853. When President 
Taylor resigned, the road went into the hands of the bondholders, by whom it was 
operated. At length, suit was brought for foreclosure of the mortgage August, 
1861, but a plan of re-organization and capitalization of stock and debt was 
agreed upon, and the road was sold October 30, 1S(!2, to H. C. Stimson and S. J. 
Tilden for $1,000, subject to the mortgage of $150,000. In 1855, Judge Wilson. 
Secretary, resigned, and the chief office was removed to Dayton. All control 
of the road passed from the citizens of the county that year. 

In the summer of 1854, the road was completed from Dodson to Dayton, and 
the company continued to operate the entire line from Dayton to Union City until 
April. 1863, when, in accordance with an agreement on January 19, previously, 
the joint use of the track of the Dayton & Western Railroad Company, from Day- 
ton to Dobson (fifteen miles), was secured, between which points each company had 
a line of road running nearly parallel. B} T this agreement, the company was enabled 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 329 

to take up and dispose of the iron between Dayton and Dobson. January 19, 1863, 
the company was re-organized, under the name of the Dayton & Union Railroad 
Company, "\yhen the road was opened for business, in 1850, land along its line 
might have been bought for $5 per acre ; it has since been sold for $100 per acre. 
The country was wet, and water stood in the woods and clearings along the track 
for months at a time. This is now drained, arable and valuable. Then, about 
Arcanum, houses were to be seen at long intervals ; now fine farm houses dot the 
landscape in all directions. Arrangements are now in progress to relay the old 
track, and annul the agreement for the joint use of the Dayton & Western rails. 

When the road was first opened, a single train — mixed passenger and freight 
— ran during the day. R. A. Knox was the first conductor on the road. The first 
engineer was Mr. Johnson. The first freight and passenger agent was Daniel R. 
Davis, who, on leaving Greenville, took charge of the station at Dayton. The pas- 
senger receipts for 1879, on the Dayton & Union Railroad, were $7,578.85 ; freight 
receipts, $13,165.09 ; freight forwarded, $10,882.99. Of officers, James McDaniel 
is President ; C. C. Gale, Superintendent ; John L. Miller, General Ticket Agent, 
and Charles E. Miller, General Freight Agent. 

The Columbus, /'i>jno & Indiana Rail mad, extending across the county in a 
direct line from Bradford to Union City, was begun within the limits of Darke 
County in 1852, and the grading completed, or nearly so. during that and the fol- 
lowing year. In 1854, the work ceased, the company being much embarrassed in 
regard to finances. In 1858, the enterprise was again carried forward, and track 
laying was begun. The completion of the work of laying the iron was effected 
about the middle of March, 1859. By the last of April, trains were running reg- 
ularly from Columbus to Union City, making close connections with trains from 
the west. R. Walkup was Superintendent ; L. Purcell, conductor. Judge Mitch- 
ell was President until the road was leased to the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati & St. 
Louis Railway Company, and he was succeeded by Mr. Smith. William Wilson 
and John C. Potter, of Darke County, with others from Miami. Champaign. 
Madison and Franklin Counties, were the corporators. The capital stock was 
$2,000,000. The road, running from Bradford somewhat north of west, crosses 
Adams Township, the northern part of Greenville, and crosses Jackson to the 
State Line at Union City. Intermediate stations are Bradford, Horatio, Stelvideo, 
Pikeville and Woodington. 

The Cincinnati & Mackinaw Railroad was graded but never completed ; its 
history is quite interesting in this connection. In Ma} - , 1853. the subject of build- 
ing this road began to be agitated. A large meeting was held at Van Wert on the 
27th of May. An enthusiastic meeting was held in Greenville on June 25. and a 
committee of fourteen was appointed to attend a meeting to be held at Van Wert 
July 9. Meetings were also held at New Castine and other points on the line of 
the proposed road. Survey commenced early in August, and. later in the month, 
Moses Hart, Esq., had been duly authorized to take subscriptions to the stock of 
the road, and books were opened at his store in Greenville. Later still, a meeting 
of incorporators was held at Greenville, and the project so far gained favor that. 1 ly 
October 19, $200,000 had been subscribed, and. an election being held, William 
Gunkle was chosen President, and the Directors were William Gunkle, C. G. 
Espich, J. L. Winner, I. W. Riley. I. W. Kirk. P. De Puy and R. Thisbee. The 
final report of the survey gave the distance from Greenville to the State line, on 
the route proposed, as 111 miles, with but three-fourths of a mile curved line in 
the whole distance. No grade exceeded twenty -five feet to the mile. The cost of 
building was less than $17,500 per mile. The entire line, from the Straits of 
Mackinaw to Cincinnati, was 500 miles, of which about one-fifth was completed. 
In 1853, Mr. Taylor became Director, vice Dr. Espich. A year later, the hopes of the 
company were placed in the prospeeth'e grant of land, while pressure in the money 
market delayed the prosecution of the work. The Directors did not despair, but, 
from time to time, held meetings to compare notes, view reports of engineer and 



330 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

d agent, and to determine upon the location of that portion of the line lying 
between Greenville and Celina — two lines having been run in Darke County— and 
(uragement was given by a Congressional grant of above a million acres of 
land to aid in the construction of the northern part of the line. A meeting was 
held April 21, 1858, al Greenville, to examine bids heretofore 1 for the 

work between thai city and Celina ; distance, thirty -two miles. Alfred Kitchen, 
of Darke, was appointed to superintend -nstruction, and J. W. Frizzel 

was chosen Secretary. On dune 2, the Directors held a three-days meeting, in 
the course of which fifteen miles of road were placed under contract, and the I 
tie and culvert work of the entire thirty-two miles. Mr. Pomeroy was chosen 
engineer, vice Col. Frink, resigned. The remaining seventeen miles were resur- 
veyed, with a view of important alterations. In the spring of 1859, negotiations 
were attempted in Europe for the sale of bonds, without - and the enter- 

prise was abandoned for want of means, after a large portion of the grading 
had been done, thus adding in this locality one more to the many failures of the 

The Cincinnati, Columbus & Indiana Central Railroad. — The Pittsburgh, Cin- 
cinnati & St. Louis Railroad Company operates two lines through Darke County — 
the old Columbus, Piqua A Indianapolis, and the first division of the Columbus & 
Indianapolis Central. In 1861, what was called the Richmond & Covington Rail- 
road Company was organized for the purpose of making a road through Bradford, 
on Columbus, Piqua and Indianapolis Railroad, to Richmond. End., to connect with 
the Indiana Central Railroad. It was built during the years 1862-63, and trains 
began to run in the fall of the latter year. An advantage in construction of the 
road was the grand ridges abounding in the best of material for ballasting the 
road. Money was liberally subscribed to pay for necessary surveys. The estimate 
for building the road and placing it in running order was placed at ST.tHHI per 
mile. To construct the entire route would cost about $210,000, and Darke County 
was asked for $25,000. A. Price, contractor, began work June 9. In February, 
1863, the Greenville Journal, says: "The work upon the Richmond & Covington 
Railroad is progressing very rapidly. In the hands of such men as E. Baker, the 
Careys, P. Pomeroy and Tom Waring, there is no such thing as failure." Evan 
Baker, of Greenville, was President of the road from the time of its organization, 
until near its completion, when E. B. Smith, of Columbus, was elected President 
of this road and also of the Columbus, Piqua & Indianapolis Railroad, at which 
time he perfected a running arrangement with the Indiana Central. The owners 
of that line subsequently bought the stock of the Richmond & Covington Railroad, 
got control of the stock of the Indiana. Central Railroad, which embraced the 
entire line. Subsequently, this company purchased the Chicago Air Line, and the 
name •■ Cincinnati, Columbus & Indiana Central Railroad." was adopted. This 
company is now the owner of the road, including the branch from Bradford to 
Richmond. In January. 1869, the Cincinnati. Columbus & Indiana Central Hail- 
way, made a permanent lease of its line to the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati & St. Louis Kail- 
road, by which it is now being operated. The following is an exhibit of the 
passengerr eceipts at the Greenville station, for the year 1879, $9,188. Total for 
the year of freight was $17,923.67 : total receipts. $27,011.67. 

An adjunct of the railroad, ami a convenience especially to the business man. 
is the telegraph, which is in use here as elsewhere. About 1S7<>. the Pacific & 
Atlantic Telegraph Company owned the line on the Dayton & Union road, and 
the Western Union had charge of the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati & St. Louis line ; the 
latter had its office al the lower depot. Postmaster Stevenson was at that time 
Manager of the Pacific & Atlantic, although not an operator. The two companies 
were consolidated, and the up-town office was established. This consolidation was 
perfected in December. l^Td. when Jacob F. Martin was appointed manager of the 
Western Union, which bad absorbed the Pacific & Atlantic line. He continued 
manager until duly 2, 1876. Then L. Smith, of Urbana, Ohio, was appointed 









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GERMAN TP. 










Q/aAa^ -^Z 



'^^ViZ^^t^ 



GERMAN TP. 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 335 

local manager, and held this position, until May 20. 1879, at which time 
John L. Garber, took charge, and is still in office. There are two lines on the road 
from Bradford to Richmond — one wire is exclusively used in the transaction of 
railroad business, the other transacts both railroad and commercial business. 
One line in the up-town office is for commercial transactions alone ; the other is 
used for the work of both business and railroad. The Dayton & Union Railroad 
has only one wire, which is used for both purposes. The line between Dayton and 
Union commenced working at 3 o'clock, June 28, 1854, and the office was in 
charge of Mr. Swayne. 

BANKS AND BANKERS. 

A full histoiy of banking in Ohio is not expected, yet, prefatory to the 
record of these indispensable institutions in Darke County, it will prove of interest 
to learn of the initiatory steps toward bank organization in the State. 

The bank is a help to commerce. Managed with fidelity, its notes are more 
convenient than specie, and its vaults are more secure than the receptacles of 
private dwellings. As it facilitates exchange, renders possible great undertakings 
and accomodates the necessities of business men, it has met a patronage that has 
repeatedly been used to defraud the people by dishonesty and by excessive 
circulation. 

The State endeavors to protect the people, and her Legislature, from time to 
time, frames acts regulating the conduct of banking. Several times, prior to the 
civil war, specie payments had been suspended in Ohio, but the interval from 
1861 to 1879 has been a period so protracted that the recent disbursements of gold 
and silver are a novelty to the generation accustomed to fractional currency, 
greenbacks and national bank notes. 

••Wild-cat" banks were long a feature in the Western country, and bank 
issues were held at more or less a discount, which increased in geometric propor- 
tion as the distance increased from the location of the institution that issued them. 
Bank-note reporters lay upon the counters, each bill was duly examined, and the 
fluctuations of value were noted and enforced with each new report. 

This was all changed by the war. The exigencies of the times created the 
national system, still in vogue, b} T which bonds of the Government, purchased by 
an association, are deposited with the Treasurer of the United States for security. 
and 90 per cent of their face value in national currency issued to the bank for 
circulation. The system has been very popular from the uniform equality in 
value, freedom from counterfeiting and from their absolute security ; yet there 
are many people who are opposed to the plan, and opinions as to their continu- 
ance are conflicting. Whatever ma}' be done, they tided the Government over a 
critical period and have been of incalculable good to the country. 

The earliest bank chartered in Ohio was the Miami Exporting Company, of 
Cincinnati, the bill for whose incorporation passed the Legislature in April. 1803. 
The primary object of this association was more with a view of stimulating and 
aiding business, then languishing, than to do regular banking work, and it was not 
until 1808 that the first bank devoted to commercial interests was established. It 
was located at Marietta, and bore the name of the place. At the same session 
during which this charter was given, Mr. Worthington reported upon a proposition 
to found a State bank, and, as a result of this legislation, the " Bank of Chillicothe " 
was subsequently established. 

Charters were severally granted to similar institutions till 1816, when a bank- 
ing law was passed which incorporated twelve new banks, continued existing char- 
ters, and made the State, without outlay, a party to the profits and capital thus 
created and continued. The plan was as follows : " Each new bank was, at the 
outset, to set apart one share in twenty -five for the State, without payment, and 
each bank whose charter was renewed was to create for the State stock in the 
same proportion ; each bank, new and old, was yearly to set apart out of its profits 

H 



336 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

a sum which would make, at the time the charter expired, a sum equal to one- 
twenty-fifth of the whole stock, which was to belong to the State ; and the divi- 
dends coming to the State were to be invested and re-invested until one-sixth of 
the stock was State property." This hist provision was made subject to change, if 
found desirable. The State's interest in her banks continued until 1825. when an 
amendment changed the stock into a '1 per cent tax upon all dividends up to that 
date, and 4 per cent upon those made afterward. No further change was made 
till March. 1831, when the tax was augmented to 5 per cent. In 1839, a law Mas 
enacted by which Bank Commissioners were appointed to make regular examina- 
tions of the various banks and to report upon their condition. This was unpopu- 
lar with bankers, and was opposed by some of them, and the result was consider- 
able discussion, both within and without the Legislature. A new sj^stem of banking 
was adopted in 1 845, which included the State Bank, its branches and independent 
banks. It was not until 1 853, that Darke County began to realize the benefits 
accruing from the establishment of a local banking office. Prior to this date, 
loans were frequently negotiated between persons, amounting, in the aggregate, to 
considerable sums. Two or three citizens of Greenville, whose names have ever 
since been locally prominent in financial transactions, were engaged in private 
brokerage in a limited degree, but, with the development of the country and the 
growth of the town, there was a growing demand, if not an urgent necessity, for 
regular accommodations in the interests of trade. 

The Farmers' Bank, a personal or partnership institution, was organized in 
October, 1853, by Messrs. J. W. Frizzel and J. L. Winner, with what, at that time, 
was a very respectable capital of $30,000. The bank was honored by the popular 
confidence, and was considered reliable ; and the fact that it passed easily and tri- 
umphantly through the crucial period culminating in the disasters of 1857 and 
1861, proved that the high estimation in which it was held was merited. In May. 
1865, the bank was re-organized, by the original proprietors, into a national bank. 
It may be remarked, at this time, that, previous to going into banking, Mr. Frizzel 
was clerk of the Court of Common Pleas, had practiced law T , and had taught 
school. He had at one period been the preceptor of a military school, and his 
partner. Mr. Winner, had for several years, subsequent to 1836, engaged in 
hotel-keeping, in a building which stood on the present site of the Kipp drug 
store. 

The Farmers' National Bank, originating from the Farmers', was organized 
April 3, 1865, with a capital of $84,000. Washington A. Weston was its firsl 
President, and John L. Winner its first Cashier. The first Directors were W. A. 
Weston, J. L. Winner. II. W. Emerson, G. W. Studabaker raid J. W. Frizzel. The 
following are the changes that have taken place in its officers: On the 9th of 
.January. 1866, J. Pitsenberger and J. C, McKerney were elected Directors, in 
place of (i. \V. Studabaker and J. W. Frizzel.; -J. L. Winner was Cashier, and T. 
S. Waring was Teller. On the 29th of May, 1866, Elisha Dawes was appointed 
Director, in the place of J. C. McKerney, and. January 8, 1867, Gr. W. Studabaker 
was chosen to succeed E. Dawes. T. S. Waring was made Assistant Cashier .Jan- 
uary 1(1. 1871. and was elected Cashier April' 7. 1873, and T. E. Clark. Teller, at 
the same time. .Mr. Waring superseded Mr. Winner as Director. On January 13. 

1875. George D. Farrar was appointed to succeed Mr. Clark as Teller. May 11. 

1876, ■) . L Weston was chosen Director, vice W. A. Weston, deceased, and 11. W. 
Emerson was elected President. On the 8th of January, 1878, C. Jtf. Anderson 
took position as Director, in place of 11. W. Kmerson. deceased, and Gr. W. Studa- 
baker was elected President. January II. 1879, F. McWhinney and Noah Arnold 
were chosen Director-, in place of J. Pitsenberger, deceased, and J.L.Weston. 
This old. well know n and firmly established bank has earned and receives a hearty. 
heavy support from tanners and business men. and sustains a first-class reputation 
for sterling business capacity. The office is located at No. 00. near the puH.it 
square, on Broadway, in Greenville. 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 337 

The Exchange Bank was the next one organized in Greenville, and held a 
meeting for the purpose of starting a financial institution, on the 11th of January, 
18(39. Frank McWhinney was the originator and proprietor. J. M. Landsdowne 
was appointed Cashier, and business begun. April 1, 1873, Mr. McWhinney sold 
to John L. Winner, who is the present owner. From the opening of the bank, the 
same building has been occupied — the one which stands on the southeast cor- 
ner of Broadway and the public square. Previous to entering upon banking, Mr. 
McWhinney had been a merchant at El Dorado, Ohio. From that place he had 
gone to Madison, and engaged in merchandising and dealing in grain, while acting, 
also, as railroad agent. 

The Bank of Greenville was organized February 22, 1876, b}- Messrs. Allen 
& Co., proprietors, with a capital stock of $200,000, the stockholders being held 
individually liable. The officers chosen were John Hufnagle, President ; Judge 
William Allen, Vice President, and L. L. Bell, Cashier. The Directors are John 
Hufnagle, Judge James J. Meeker, John Devor, Esq., and L. L. Bell. This bank 
always made good all its promises, and issued exchange every day, as called for, 
through the stringent times of 1877. There have been no changes in the 
officiary. Messrs. Hufnagle, Bell and Meeker are among the largest owners of 
real estate in Darke County. Mr. Hufnagle had been discounting for about forty 
years previous to the organization of the Greenville Bank, and L. L. Bell had been 
a broker and insurance agent for some years. Judge Allen was a practicing 
attorney, and had been a member of Congress four years. All the officers of the 
bank are old residents of Greenville, except Mr. Bell, and he has been here twelve 
years. The bank was first organized for three }-ears, at the expiration of which 
time the charter was renewed, and has been continued until the present time. 
The bank building is one of the best in the city, having been built for banking 
purposes expressly. It stands on the northwest corner of Broadway and Fourth 
streets. 

THE PRESS OF DARKE COUNTY. 

The publication of newspapers from insignificant beginnings has become a 
most formidable and powerful agency in forming the people, molding public opin- 
ion and exposing wrong-doing. The press lias shown constant growth in the 
number of papers issued, in their character, size and composition. Allied with 
the telegraph, it has become the myriad-tongued voice of all peoples. It has 
enlarged the field of thought, imparted intelligence and stimulated enterprise, 
whether national in the construction of mountain tunnel, isthmus canal and over- 
land railway, or local in the building of turnpikes, the drainage of land and 
improvement of towns. Preliminary to a brief history of the press of Darke 
County, a few facts of earlier record will be perused with general interest. The 
first press, we are told, was but a news bulletin. The first English newspaper was 
published in 1558, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth, and was in manuscript. 

The first paper printed, was entitled the Politicvs Mercurius or Political 
Mercury, and was started during the reign of Charles I. in 1631, and continued 
through Cromwell's time. In 1775. there were in the United States 37 papers 
published. In 1810. the number was 358. In 1840, 2,000, and in 1850,2,500. 
The latter increase has kept pace with the progress of events, and the problem of 
the greatest amount of news within the shortest time, with the minimum 
seems to have reached a solution. The history of the press of Darke County is 
not unlike that of a thousand others. Short-lived ventures have sprung up like 
mushrooms and as suddenly expired. The stanch, well-known journals of the 
present, edited by experienced journalists, are a moral, educational and political 
power to which, perhaps unconsciously, the county owes much of its reputation 
for enterprise and intelligence. 

The firsl paper in the county of Darke, was printed and published by E. 
Donnellan, and was entitled, the Western Statesman and Greenvilh Courier. The 



338 HISTORY OF DARKK COUNTY. 

initial number was issued on -June 25, 1832. Its terms in brief, were as follows: 
"The Western Statesman and Greenville Courier is printed weekly on a super-royal 
sheet. The price is $3 per year, but may be discharged by payment of $2 
in advance, or $2.50 within the year." ('(.pies of the pioneer paper are rarities, 
yet No Iti. Vol. 1. owned by M. L. Hamilton, of Greenville, furnishes an opportu- 
nity of making known the' contents of a paper of half a century ago. Extracts 
are' made from the Detroit Journal, New Hampshire Gazette, National Intelligencer 
and the Boston Patriot. The war with the Sacs and Foxes, led by Black Hawk, 
was near its close. An overwhelming force under Gen. Dodge, following the 
Indians, gave them no rest, and dead bodies found on the trail were emaciated l>\ 
starvation. Cures for cholera are given. A. Stober, tailor, advertises his place of 
business one door south of the jail, and John Briggs desires payment on the 
principle, frequent settlements make lasting friendships." and such as do not 
respond are threatened with the law. Announcements as candidates for the 
offices of Auditor. Assessor, Representative and Clerk, were made by Hiram Bell. 
Esq Col. M. J. Purviance, M. P. Baskersville and Dennis Hart, respectively. 
Wiliiam Brady calls attention to blacksmithing, John Curtis is silversmith and 
jeweler, and II. Bell is real-estate agent. 

The Greenville Journal may be regarded as a continuation of the paper above 
noted, later changed in name to Journal, since which time it has enjoyed an uninter- 
rupted publication, although changing owners and publishers many times during 
the first twenty years of its existence. The paper began to be published on April 
19 1850, under the management of E. B. Taylor and J. G. Reese. The proprie- 
tors advocated Whig principles, and had for their motto: "Liberty and Union, 
now and forever, one and inseparable." The strength of political parties m th< 
county at this time is shown by the result of the fall elections of 1840 and 1850 
In the former year, the Whig vote for Representative was 1.670. while the vote ol 
the Loco-focos was 1.519. Both parties did not come out in full strength in 1850, 
but the Whigs were the dominant party in the county by a small majority. On 
June 1, 1851, partnership was dissolved and Mr. Taylor for the time retired, hav- 
ing been connected with the paper under other names for seven years, and begin- 
ning with a list of 150 subscribers in 1844. M. B. Reese became a partner April 
29,^1 852, and the Journal was edited and published by J. G. & M. B. Reese. 
Much space was taken by the publication of laws of Ohio in many numbers. In 
politics, the Whigs were stated to be "willing to stand by the compromise meas- 
ure but no steps further." Unwilling to keep up the agitation about slavery, the 
fugitive-slave law was obeyed but disliked as unjust. The North did not want an 
influx of negroes, and acquiesced in the act, while its moral influence South was 
immense. July L, 1853, the Journal changed its name temporarily to The Marl 
Anthony, with frontier scene for heading, and taking as its motto, " Devoted to 
the propagation of truth and the elevation of the masses. 

In the earl v part of 1860, the Journal was purchased from E. 15. Taylor, to 
whom it had passed from the hands of Messrs. Reese, by Messrs. E. W. Otwell 
and .binies M. Craig, who took possession of the same on the 14th day oi March, 

1860, and published it under the firm name of E. W. Otwell & Co. V\ hen these 
gentlemen acquired the paper, they found a meager list of subscribers ; its circu- 
lation of bona ful< subscribers did not exceed one hundred and fifty. It was then 
a seven column folio. Under the new management numerous subscriptions were 
received, rapidly extending its influence, and the columns became much more 
readable and the paper increased in value as a family newspaper. The Presiden- 
tial campaign which resulted in the election of Abraham Lincoln occurred in the 
summer and fall of 1860. In this political contest, which resulted m the triumph 
of the Republican party, the Journal was a stanch party organ, and has always 
stood firm and unshaken in its advocacy of the principles of its party. In April, 

1861, when the war of the rebellion was commenced, and during the few years 
following, the times were trying for the existence of the paper. In due time, 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 339 

however, it weathered the storms incident to the times, and gained, as the years 
succeeded, in favor among the people of the county. 

On the 14th of December, 1869, the Journal again experienced a change in 
ownership, by the sale by Mr. Craig of his interest to E. W. Otwell, his partner, who 
then became the sole owner, publisher and editor, which he has continued to be 
from that time to the present. 

On the 8th day of August, 1878, the Journal was enlarged to a nine-column 
folio, making it, at that time, the largest paper published in the county. In this 
shape and size it remained until 1879, when, on August 28. it was enlarged to 
the proportions of a seven-column quarto, making it again the largest newspaper 
then published in the county, and containing the greatest quantity of reading 
matter. On the 1st of September, 1879, E. W. Otwell entered the law office of 
Judge William Allen, and turned over the publication of the Journal to his son 
Curt Otwell. In April, 1880, the paper is prosperous, influential, and has a cir- 
culation of 1,176. with prospects of a steady increase in the number of its readers. 

The Democratic Herald was started at Greenville. Ohio, in April. 1847. 
Previous to this date, the Democratic party in Darke had been without a home 
paper, the best and only paper in the interest of the part}- having been pub- 
lished about 1830, by C. B. Floyd, now of Columbus, and known widely as the 
veteran editor of the State. The Herald was published by Messrs. Mehaffey & 
Adams, and took for its motto, " The sovereignty of the people, the rights of the 
States, and a light and simple government/' Its name and motto indicate its 
principles. James Mehaffey had expected before the end of the first year to 
become sole proprietor, and to renew the publication in the second volume as the 
Union Democrat, "augmented in reading matter and sound in politics;" but the 
project failed, and instead he sold his interest to William Allen. Esq., who, in con- 
nection with Thomas Adams, conducted the paper as the Greenville Telegraph. 
Allen was then acting as Prosecuting Attornej*. Both men were high in popular 
estimation, persons of integrity and sound Democrats. They asked a fair chance, 
declaring that they " will condemn no man because he honestly possesses political 
principles differing from theirs." In June, 1851, Adams sold his interest, and 
was succeeded by Dr. J. L. Sorber, who conducted the paper until the fall of 1852. 
when Bums Putnam became the proprietor. The paper rapidly changed owner- 
ship and name, being by Putnam entitled the Mad Anthony, under which title it 
was issued until the summer of 1854. With the Know-Nothing excitement, young 
Putnam removed the press to Union City, Ind., where he started a paper in the 
interest of the American party, as it was called, in the fall of the same year. 

In the fall of 1854, leading Democrats of the county raised a small sum by 
subscription, and Messrs. William Allen and Thomas Perry went to Cincinnati, 
and having purchased new press and metal, Mr. Perry was made the publisher of 
what was entitled the Greenville Eagle. But he suffered so many indignities at 
the hands of Know-Nothings, that at the end of six months he left in disgust, 
and the office was closed for a number of months. In the spring of 1855. A. G. 
Clark came from Hamilton to Greenville, and commenced the publication of the 
Darke Count)/ Democrat. At the end of a year or more, in July, 1856, Mr. Clark 
was superseded by Henry Miller, and the office was located over Messrs. Weston 
& I Tilery's hardware store, on the corner of Broadway and Third street. Mr. Miller 
took for his motto : " Truth crushed to earth will rise again : the eternal years of 
God are hers ;" and continued steadily to edit and publish the paper until March 
20, 1861. when his connection ceased and his place was taken by Messrs. J. B. 
Price and George D. Farrar. Mr. Miller had been appointed Clerk of the 
Court of Common Pleas, in the place of Dr. W. C. Porterfield. deceased. 
The county which had been Whig till 1857. changed over during that 
year, and the Democracy succeeded in electing their entire county ticket, as 
they have done ever since. It was due to Mr. Miller that under him the Democrat 
was established on a permanent basis. Price conducted the publication until the 



340 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

winter of 1863-64, when a number of soldiers at home on furlough sacked the 

office and threw the metal into the street. Subsequently other parties procured 
an interest in what was leftof the concern, and removed the office from the Weston 
building to Mechanics' building, where the paper was once more published. In a 
short time the paper was again sold to Messrs. McKay & Kinder, who continued 
the publication until their interest was purchased by Charles Roland, who removed 
to Greenville from Lancaster in 1866. Mr. Roland became proprietor and editor, 
and has continued to publish the paper to this date, and is in receipt of good suc- 
cess and hearty support — the appreciation paid by the public to acknowledged merit. 

The Greenville Sunday Courier was started May 22, 1875, by George W. 
Calderwood, and December 10, 1876, A. R. Calderwood assumed editorial control 
and the paper was published by the firm of Calderwood & Studabaker. The office 
is in the third story of the Hart & Wilson New Block, on the corner of Third 
street and Broadway. It advocates Republican doctrines and has a growing cir- 
culation. Its prospectus opened with the following: '-The Sunday Courier lives 
a life of happiness and so will its readers. Consumptive men, on the verge of the 
grave, have recovered and are live and active men because they read it. Poverty- 
cursed individuals, almost at the door of the almshouse, have picked it up and 
saved themselves a life of wretchedness and woe. Statesmen have been brought 
from obscurity and elevated to position from casual glances over its columns." 

The American Prohibitionist was published lor a time by George Calderwood. 
and. after a few months, was removed to Columbus. Its brief career in Green- 
ville was promising. It waged an uncompromising war on saloons and gained 
rapidly in circulation. It was published at the office of the Daily Gazette, started 
in 1879 by the same publisher, Mr. Calderwood. 

It is surprising how transitory is the existence of a newspaper ; it is the crea- 
tion and has the existence of a da}'. There are no complete files of Darke County 
papers to be found, and their value is not realized till the time to use them is at 
hand. The present publishers of Darke County are men of experience, promi- 
nence and means ; they are all persons of sterling principles, and few counties can 
boast of more energetic workers. 

EDUCATIONAL Pl'BLIC AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS. 

in the early history of Darke County the schools were mainly supported by 
the individual contributions of the parents sending their children. The wages of 
teachers were low, averaging from $9 to $12 per month. The public fund received 
by each township was derived from Section 1(>. which was spoken of as the 
' ; school section." It was finally sold, the purchase money paid to the State 
Treasurer, and the interest on the same is still divided among the several school 
districts in the townships. The educational interests of the county have always 
received that attention from the people that their importance seemed to demand. 
Often, when the farmer had done his day's work, he would attend the evening 
school, organized byprivate enterprise, and not only become a student himself, but 
by his presence and influence encourage the children and youth to renewed dili- 
gence in acquiring even a limited education. Among the early teachers of the 
county we will mention Rev. Mr. Swallow, who preached in different localities, and 
at the same time taught grammar schools wherever he could collect a class. But 
grammar was :i step in advance of the requirements of the teacher of the day 
school, who was only required to teach reading, writing, and arithmetic to the - single 
rule of three." We can certainly notice a contrast between the requirements of 
the teacher then and now. Henry I >. Williams taught in 1830 and Is:;."., and after 
ward became County Treasurer. Dow Roll, Mrs. Mdntyre, .John Townsend and 
Noaii Arnold were among the pioneer teachers of the county, and did efficient 
work in the schoolroom. Schools were held about three months, and were 
supported by the income of Section Hi. tines and individual contributions, until the 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 341 

present financial school-law went into operation. But fines only yielded a small 
sum, the proceeds of Section 16 were small, when apportioned among the several 
schools of the township ; money was scarce and difficult to obtain, either by labor 
or produce, for there was but little demand for either, and had it not been for the 
low wages of teaching, schools could not have been continued for three months. 
The first schoolhouses in the county were rude structures, built of round logs, 
covered by clapboards, held in their places by poles laid upon them. The writing 
desks were generally slabs, laid upon pins driven in holes bored in the wall, while 
the seats were rude benches made of slabs, with two holes bored in each end, into 
which the legs were driven. The floors were also made of puncheon, dressed on 
one side, and the writer remembers that the second house in which he taught had 
only a part of the floor thus made, while the other part was the gi'ound leveled off 
to correspond with the puncheons, and ground-squirrels and rats would frequently 
come out of their holes, during school hours, and run across the floor, to the no 
small amusement of the pupils. 

In many of the schools, pupils were required to study in a loud tone, and 
hence called a loud school, the object being to let the teacher know they were 
engaged upon their lessons, and not in mischief. Classes in arithmetic and writing 
were never formed, but each pupil " ciphered away at will," and received personal 
assistance from the teacher when the same was needed. Writing was taught by 
the teacher " setting the copy.'' and the pupil trying to imitate the same. The 
"quill pen " was used by the pupil, and the "master" was expected to make the 
pen, and mend the same when the pupil thought it unfit for use. The custom of 
" barring out" the teacher, and compelling him to "treat," about the holidays, was 
indulged in by the pupils as a general custom, and sanctioned b}' the parents ; but 
this relic of barbarism has almost entirely disappeared from our schools. Until 
the present school law went into operation, there were two County School Exam- 
iners, who examined applicants for certificates to teach school, at any time they 
were called upon, the fee being fifty cents, and the grade of qualification necessarily 
low, compared with the qualifications during the past twenty years. Among the 
early Examiners, we may mention John Beers, Dr. J. Briggs, C. F. Dempsey. J. 
R. Knox and A. L. Northrop ; the latter also taught school in 1844, and claims 
that he first taught mental arithmetic in the schools under his charge. He after- 
ward became County Auditor, and has ever been a warm friend of education, 
and a firm supporter of our common-school system. John Beers, John Wharry. 
J. R. Knox and William Allen were, respectively, members of the Board of Exam- 
iners until the year 1856, when C. G. Matchett, E. B. Putnam and ^G. H. Martz 
constituted the board. This board required mental arithmetic to be taught, and 
made it a grade of qualification for the teacher. Many applicants for certificates 
were rejected for incompetency ; the standard of teaching was raised, and the 
schools necessarily took a higher standing in education and usefulness. A 
vacancy occurred in the board, by the death of E. B. Putnam, and A. T. Bodle 
was appointed a member of the same. At the breaking-out of the rebellion, C. 
G. Matchett raised a company of the Fortieth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, served 
with honor and distinction during the war, and, at its close, located, as a lawyer. 
in Greenville, Ohio, filled the office of Prosecuting Attorney with fidelity, and is 
now a prominent member of the Greenville liar. G. II. Martz followed teaching 
for a number of years, served four years as Treasurer of Darke County, and is now 
serving his third term as County School Superintendent of Greenwood County. 
Kan. A. T. Bodle followed the profession of teaching for a number of years, 
and is now a prominent member of the Greenville bar. The first meeting of 
teachers was held about the year 1856, the object being the mutual exchange of 
views relative to the duties and responsibities of teachers. In 1859, A. T. Bodle. 
L. S. B. Otwell and J. T. Martz, being then School Examiners, in connection with 
other teachers organized the Darke County Teachers' Association, which was 
kept alive for some time ; and, after the enactment of the law creating a teachers 



342 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

institute fund Avas passed, the association was re-organized, and has been kept in 
existence from thai time to the present. J. T. Martz has been President of 
this association for a number of years, and. previous to March. 1879. was member 
<»f the Board of School Examiners for more than twenty successive years. He 
has taught a number of normal schools for teachers, in different parts of the 
county. With Prof, bang, of Gambier, Ohio. A. -J. Backoff, Superintendent of the 
public schools of Cleveland, Ohio, and Rev. A. L. McKinney, of Troy. Ohio, he 
held the first teachers' institute in the county. He has been one of the instruct- 
ors of the Darke Count}" Teachers' Institute for a number of 3'ears, and has 
just completed his ninth successive year as Superintendent of the Greenville 
Union School. The last teachers' institute enrolled 150 members, and was one 
of the most successful held in the county. Hon. T. W. Harvey. John Hancock, 
Rev. J. F. Reinmund, and other distinguished educators of the State, have been 
teachers and lecturers at our institutes, and they have taken front rank with like 
institutes in the State. 

Education in the county seems to be progressive. The public schools are 
generally well attended, and there seems to be a desire on the part of both teacher 
and pupil to make all possible progress in the acquisition of knowledge. Teach- 
ers make themselves acquainted with the modern methods of teaching, and adopt 
the same when preferred. Graded schools have been established at the following 
places, and under the control of the following Superintendents : At Bradford, 
D. S. Myers ; at Gettysburg, Rev. C. W. Shoate ; at Versailles, J. E. Polly ; at 
Dallas, J. S. Royer, who is also a member of the Board of Examiners at Union 
City, Ohio side. B. F. Landis is Superintendent at New Madison ; Thomas 
Eubank, who is also a member of the Board of Examiners, at Arcanum. A 
goodly showing this, of nine graded schools in the county, together with 200 
schoolhouses, requiring 250 teachers. It will be well in this connection to review 
somewhat the history of education in the State in order to understand how it has 
been possible to reach the present system of education in the county of Darke. 

Ohio, educationally, has been a favored state. When, nearly a century ago. the 
Confederate Congress passed an act for the survey of Western lands, one section 
of each township was reserved " for the maintenance of public schools within said 
township." In the act for governing the Northwest Territory, passed July 13, 
1787, it was provided: "Religion, morality and knowledge being necessary to 
good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of educa- 
tion shall forever be encouraged." Later, one-thirty-sixth of the entire land of 
the State was given to the State in trust for the support of schools. The State 
constitution of 1802 provided: "Religion, morality and knowledge being essen- 
tially necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and 
the means of educal ion shall forever be encouraged by legislative provision, not 
inconsistent with the rights of conscience." Despite these provisions for educa- 
tion, the schools of Darke, as intimated in earlier chapters, were for many years 
of little moment. The law of 1821 left it to the vote of each township whether 
school districts should be formed. Four years Inter, action in this regard was 
changed, and Township Trustees were required to divide the township into dis- 
tricts. A tax for schools was levied by the county ami provided a fund of about 
$10 for one ordinary country district. 

In 1838, the first efficient law was adopted by the General Assembly. It pro- 
vided that School Directors " may determine the studies to be pursued in each 
school, so that reading, writing and arithmetic may lie taught in the English lan- 
guage." In 1849, teachers, in addition to examination in spelling, reading, writ- 
ing and arithmetic, were required to show qualifications in geography and gram- 
mar. The present cost, condition and value of Darke County schools may be 
ascertained by a consideration of the following statistics for the year 1879 : 

The balance of school money on hand September 1. 1877, was $71,082. S8; 
the State tax gave $19,899. the* irreducible school fund added $4,553.69; the 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 343 

local tax for school and sehoolhouse purposes gave $68,333.56 ; the amount 
received on sale of bonds was $940: from other sources, $1,611.49 — thus mak- 
ing the total receipts $167,320.62. The following were the disbursements during 
the same year : The amount paid teachers was— primary, $58,276.99 ; high school. 
$6,095 — total $64,371.99 ; managing and superintending, $675 ; sites and build- 
ings, $10,892.79 ; bond interest, $8,205.66 ; fuel and other expenses, $18,925.53 : 
a total expenditure of $103,070.97— leaving a balance, September 1, 1878, of 
$64,249.65. The State received, during the fiscial year ending November 15. 1878. 
from the county, of common-school fund, $18,586.15, and paid to the county 
$19,899. or an excess of $1,312.86. The number of youths between six and 
twenty-one was 13,175. The Section 16 school fund amounted to $5,135.92. 

Darke has 20 townships. 177 subdivisions, 9 separate districts and 9 subdi- 
visions, included in separate districts. During the year, 5 primary schoolhouses 
were erected in the townships, at a cost of $5,000. The value of school property 
is about $200,000 in townships and $130,000 in separate districts, or a total of 
about $330,000. There were 230 schoolrooms, requiring 231 teachers. There 
were employed, within the year, 186 gentlemen and 71 ladies, in primary schools : 
22 gentlemen and 24 ladies, in separate districts, or a total of 303 teachers. The 
number of teachers who taught the entire time the schools were in session were 
154. The average wages of gentlemen, in primary township schools, was $38: 
ladies, $26. In separate districts— primary, $49 ; ladies, $32 ; high, gentlemen. 
$61. The average number of weeks' schools were in session, was 28, 31 and 33^ 
The local tax of townships, 1878-79, was 3.4 ; separate districts, 7. The number 
of pupils enrolled within the year was : of boys, 4,973 ; girls, 4,161— total, 9,124 ; 
in primary, in townships : separate districts— primary, boys, 1.050 ; girls, 958 ; high! 
ooys, 201 ; girls, 197— total, 2,406 ; grand total, 11,530. The average daily attend- 
ance was 6,918, the per cent, in townships, being 76, and in separate districts, 82. 

The number in each branch of study is thus given : Alphabet, 1,767 ; read- 
ing, 8.988 ; spelling, 9,832 : writing, 7,826 ; arithmetic, 6,775 ; geography, 2,750 ; 
grammar, 1,830 ; oral lessons, 2,271 : composition, 1,054 ; drawing, 436 ; vocal 
music, 1,395 ; map drawing. 373 : history. 283 ; physiology, 28 ; physical geogra- 
phy, 13 ; natural philosophy, 23, and German, 145 ; algebra, 336 ; geometry, 26 : 
trigonometry. 11 ; surveying, 2 ; chemistrv. 11 ; geology, 11 ; botany, 10 ; astron- 
omy, 1 ; book-keeping. 22. 

The School Examiners of Darke, in 1879, were E. B. Leitz, J. T. Martz and 
E. Lockett, the last named resident of Gettysburg. Eighteen meetings were held 
for examination of teachers ; 368 gentlemen made application for license and 187 
ladies — total. 555 ; of these 205 were rejected. Fourteen persons, all gentlemen, 
received license for two years ; 46 for eighteen months ; 226 for a year, the 
remainder for six months ; entire number licensed, 350 ; 37 per cent were rejected. 
The institute, held at Greenville, commenced August 19. 1878, was in session eleven 
days, and 160 persons were in attendance. 

Thus briefly we learn of the large sums annually paid for education, the full 
supply of teachers, the fair wages and the increasing exactions of the people for 
better qualifications. The institute, the high schools and the common schools 
provide means for acquiring that knowledge so indispensable to the control and 
instruction of the young. The schools are by no means perfect, but they are pro- 
gressive, and, as compared with the past, have shown surprising advance. 

SOCIETIES. 

The local historian nowhere finds a more interesting field for research, or one 
more fruitful, than that which embraces the experience of the pioneers of Darke 
—the men who literally hewed out the county from the sturdy and unbroken for- 
est, wherein the ax of the woodman had never before resounded ; who conquered 
a scanty subsistence from the unused soil which the plowshares of civilization 



344 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

had never disturbed ; who not only were hindered by these primitive and inert 
conditions, but positively opposed by the rigors of the climate, the malarial 
influences of the atmosphere, and the depredations of wild animals; whose crops 
were even preyed upon by the birds of the forest and the smaller predatory animals. 
But '• peace hath her victories," and adversity and savagery combined withstood not 
the constant onward march of the vanguard of the grand army of civilization, 
whose pioneers, discharging their daily routine of duty, unwittingly recorded their 
deeds in history. 

Desirous of the benefits of association, the following-named pioneers met in 
Hart's Grove, July 4, 1870. and there organized the first pioneer association ot 
Darke County, viz.: Henry Arnold, Aaron Hiller, Israel Cox, John S. Hiller, 
David Studabaker. John YVharry, Josiah D. Elston. James Cloyd, John Martin, 
Robert Martin, Henry W. Emerson, John Stahl and William F. Bishop, in all thirteen. 
< >n motion, James Cloyd was elected President ; John S. Hiller. Vice President ; 
Henry W. Emerson, Second Vice President; John Wharry, Secretary, and II. 
Arnold, Treasurer. The following was the preamble to the constitution and 
by-laws: "We, the undersigned, citizens of Darke County, Ohio, believing it 
commendable to collect and preserve all the incidents and reminiscences as con- 
nected with the early settlement of our county, and to preserve them, that those 
who follow us will, in some degree, be made acquainted with the manners, ens 
toms, difficulties, hardships and trials incident to the settlement of a wilderness 
county, do establish this our constitution, etc." Again, in a year and a day, the 
pioneers met at the same place. There was singing b}' Greenville people, prayer 
by Rev. Levi Purviance, music by Arcanum Band, address by Hon. G. V. Dorsey, 
of Piqua, on " Pioneers and Pioneer History," and other music by band and choir, 
when '' there was served just such a dinner as pioneers are capable of getting ; 
an overwhelming abundance of the best the land affords, prepared with a culinary 
skill and neatness peculiar to our pioneer mothers." In the afternoon, G. B. 
Holt and others gave voluntary addresses, then with due and appropriate ceremo- 
nies, the remains of the two Wilson girls, who had been slain by the Indians, were 
disinterred, buried in the Greenville Cemetery, and a suitable monument erected 
to commemorate them. The semi-annual meeting was held at the court house in 
Greenville, January 1, 1872. An address was delivered by Dr. I. N. G-ard, and it 
abounded in historical allusions to events in the early day. It is a subject of 
deep regret that the addresses delivered before the association had not been writ- 
ten and the papers filed with the Secretary, as the subject matter, however interest- 
ing, was lost in its utterance so far as there was any benefit to posterity. A 
dinner was concluded by a dessert of corn-bread and milk. In the afternoon there 
was an -'experience meeting," greatly enjoyed. Israel Cox presented the society 
with a cabin door made in 1810, of clapboards pinned together by wooden pins 
and hung on wooden hinges. The annual meeting was held at the fair grounds. 
The death of James Cloyd was formally announced, suitable resolutions were 
passed, the constitution was amended, and II. K. McConnell chosen Corresponding 
Secretary. This gentleman then delivered an address on " The Early History of 
the County." followed by II. W. Emerson, Dr. Card. J. S. Hiller and others, when 
the roll was signed by quite a number of persons. On duly t. 1ST.'!, the associa- 
tion met at Morning-Star Grove, Greenville, President Hiller in the chair; Will- 
iam Allen read the Declaration of Independence, when rain threatened and the 
meeting was adjourned to the court house, where addresses were delivered by 
Abner Haines, of Eaton, <!. D. Hendricks and others. Again. .January 1, 1874, 
the association met at Greenville and listened to a well-prepared, interesting 
address upon ■■ The growth of the country, its resources, and future possibilities." 
A vote of thanks was tendered the Judge therefor. Aaron Hiller was chosen 
Secretary, vice Wharn resigned. A Bible presented by .Mrs. J. W. Frizzell was 
placed in the care of the Corresponding Secretary. The constitution was 
amended to admit pioneer women as members, and true to the gallantry of "ye 



HISTORY OF D\RKE COUNTY. 



345 



olden times," the membership fee was remitted. At a semi-annual session, New 
Year's Da} r , 1874, the constitution was amended to require five in place of three 
Vice Presidents, whereupon William Arnold and Lemuel Rush were unanimously 
chosen. Death was busy before the assembly on July 4, 1874, and H. Arnold, 
Mrs. Jane Arnold and Mrs. Nancy Gilbert were appointed a committee to draft 
and report suitable resolutions of condolence on the death of Mrs. Delilah A. 
Harper. The record at this point contains the following 



ROLL OF PIONEERS. 



Henry Arnold, 

Aaron Hiller, 

Israel Cox, 

John S. Hiller, 

David Studabaker, 

John W harry, 

Josiah D. Elston, 

James Cloyd, 

Robert Martin, 

John Martin, 

Samuel Hine, 

Joseph Cole, Jr., 

J. G. Gilbert, 

John King, 

Harry House, 

Henry Tillman, 

John R. Knox, 

Chas. G. Matchett, 

JohnM. McNeil, 

Lucy L. Ladd, 

Jane Rush, 

Samuel Bechtolt, 

A. T. Bodle, 

Mrs. C. M. H. Bodle, 

James R. Brandon, 

S. C. Baker, 
Hannah Baker, 

Nancy Gilbert, 

Samuel Hahn, 
Martha Larrimore, 

Geo. D. Miller, 
Elizabeth Miller, 
W. H. Mornings tar, 
H. W. Emerson, 
John Stahl, 
William F. Bishop, 
William Arnold, 
W. S. Harper, 
Delilah A. Harper, 
Margaret B. Pixler, 
Dr. I. N. Gard, 
H. Zimmerman, 
F. T. Hamilton, 
Enos C. Shade, 
T. H. McCune, 
John Stephenson, 
Eliza S. Stephenson, 
Tracy House, 



Allen La Mott, 
Mary Ann La Mott, 
John Ketring, 
Jane Hart, 
Sarah Jane Scribner, 
J. W. Frizzell, 
Adam Beam, 
G. W. Beam, 
Dilman Mote, 
C. M. Sharp, 
David Craig, 
Asa Rush, 
Lemuel Rush, 
S. H. Robison, 
Dr. E. Lynch, 
James Garver, 
Geo. C. Lecklider, 
Judson J aqua, 
Mrs. Jaqua, 
Franklin Scribner, 
David Riffle, 
Mrs. Mary Riffle, 
Mrs. Robert Martin, 
Mrs. Dilman Mote, 
David Harter, 
Win. Scott Piqua, 
Robert S. Ross, 
Jane Wintermote, 
Lewis Byram, 
J. M. Brady. 
A. L. Wortley, 
Wash. G. McGee, 
John L. Johns, 
John Hagerman, 
John McClure, 
Rebecca McClure, 
Morris Bryson, 
Mary A. C. Bryson, 
Mrs. Ellen Hiller, 2d, 
Mrs. Sarah Stokely, 
Thomas Stokely, 
William R. Young, 
Jane House 
Maria Bishop, 
Ruhamer Craig, 
Phoebe Hamilton, 
Alice House, 
Maria Lecklider, 



John G. Horner, 
Daniel Drill, 
John Mark, 
Noah Arnold, 
Mrs. Sarah Hall, 
William Lecklider, 
Reynolds Morton, 
S. T. Mendenhall, 
J. W. Hall, 
John V. Hiller, 
H. R. Calderwood, 
Ezra Lecklider, 
G. W. Earhart, 
Mary Lynch, 
Gideon Martin, 
0. C. Perry, 
T. F. Chenoweth, 
T. H. McCune, 
John Westfall, 
William Allen, 
Asa Brady, 
George Arnold, 
John C. Arnold, 
Dennis Hart, 
Peter Weaver, 
Elias Ross, 
Isaac Funk, 
H. C. Kerr, 
Lucinda M. Y T oung, 
David Brown, 
Joseph Phillips, 
Mary Jane Craig, 
Lydia Brown, 
David F. Harter, 
T. 11. Hamer, 
Philip Albright, 
Henry Snell, 
Mary Snell, 
Aaron Fleming, 
Rachel Fleming, 
Aaron Clawson, 
Rachel Clawson, 
Elizabeth Fisher, 
Sarah Scribner, 
R. M. Brown, 
Jeremiah John, 
Christena Chenoweth, 
Josiah Harter, 



Rebecca Harter, 
William S. Turpen, 
T. P. Turpen, 
Michael Ritenour, 
Catharine Ritenour, 
Christopher Briney, 
Mrs. Rebecca Ross, 
Tabitha Oliver, 
Eleanor Bechtolt, 
Lewis Wintermote, 
J. R. Calderwood, 
Catharine Funk, 
Mrs. E. A. Funk, 
Sarah Culbertson, 
Alanson Brown, 
Cyrus Boyer, 
Turnice Denice, 
Hannah Hunter, 
D. D. Hunter, 
Wesley Jay, 
Laurinda Jay, 
H. J. Sturgley, 
John L. Winner, 
Harrod Mills, 
Louisa S. Mills, 
Louis B. Lott, 
David P. Judy, 
Catharine B. Mark, 
Joseph Bryson, 
John Bruce, 
Nancy Starn, 
William Martin, 
Charles Calkins, 
Jane Studabaker, 
George Arnold, 
Mary Arnold, 
William Parent, 
Hannah Parent, 
Phoebe Brady, 
James Marquith, 
W. H. Matchett, 
Jason Downing, 
Daniel Reigel, 
Lydia A. Reigel, 
Mahlon Martin, 
Philip Froebe, 
Elizabeth Froebe, 
Jesse Woods —211. 



On January 1. 1875, the association met in the jury -rooms of the new court 
house. President in the chair. Meeting was opened with prayer by L. B. Lott. 
The roll was completed as just given. Mr. Lott was elected Assistant Secretary. 
D. D. Hunter, N. Arnold and David Craig, appointed as a committee to secure a 
speaker, recommended the Hon. William Allen, of Greenville. 



346 HISTORY OF DAKKE COUNTY. 

In consequence of recent rains, the place of the next meeting, on July 5. 
1875, was changed from the new fair grounds to the court house, Vice President 
Emerson in the chair. The thanks of the association were tendered the Hon. 
Allen for his anniversary address. 

It was ascertained that Jane Hart. Lemuel Rush, Aaron Hiller and Lewis 
Byram had resided in the county sixty years ; and 11. \Y. Emerson. J. M. Brady. 
David Craig, Mrs. House. R. L. Ross. Peter Weaver. George Arnold and James B. 
Brandon each not less than fifty-five years. 

II. W. Emmerson was advanced to the presidency to fill vacancy caused by 
death of John S. Hiller. Two Vice Presidents. William Arnold and Asa Rush. 
having also died, there were three vacancies in the office of Vice President, which 
were filled by the appointment of Dennis Hart, David Studabaker and Jame9 B. 
Brandon. 

On motion, Rev. T. A. Brandon was appointed to prepare a paper for the next 
meeting, on "Recollections of Early Life in Darke County." 

August 3, 1876, the association met on the fair grounds, President in the 
chair. Prayer by Elder C. M. Sharp. Reports of committees received. At the 
afternoon session, W. 8. Harper presented the " Constitution of the Darke County 
Library Association,'' which was accepted and filed. W. S. Harper read a poem 
entitled. " A Hundred Years Ago." George Arnold was elected Vice President, 
vice J. li. Brandon, deceased. 

The association met in the Probate Court room July 11, 1877, and listened to 
an address by Emerson, relative to early settlement, and others spoke of the same 
subject, among them David Brown, eighty-six years of age. 

A session was held August 3, 1877, at the city hall, Greenville. Speeches 
were made, and the committee on deceased members reported the demise of James 
R. Brandon, Hannah Hunter, L. N. Byram, Sarah Stokely, Aaron Fleming, John 
McClure, Adam Beam, Isaac Cox. D. P. Judy and J. Mendenhall, a heavy mor- 
tality calling away so man}-. 

The session of July 5, 1879, was held in the Probate Court room, with Pres- 
ident F. L. Hamilton in the chair. Following prayer, by Chaplain C. M. Sharp, 
Samuel Hahn and William F. Bishop were elected Vice Presidents, and Joseph 
Cole, Jr., Secretary. An address was delivered by G. V. Dorsey, of Piqua Thanks 
were tendered and the meeting adjourned. 

On June 2, 1879, the pioneers, headed by the silver cornet band, met at the 
city hall in Greenville, whence they proceeded with, C. G. Matchett as Marshal, to 
the fair ground. The association was called to order by the President. Lemuel 
Rush. The exercises began by reading the thirtieth Psalm and prayer by Elder T. 
A. Brandon, of Union City. The death of F. L. Hamilton was reported, and the 
election of Thomas P. Turpen to fill vacancy caused by promotion of Mr. Rush to 
the presidency. A speech was made in the afternoon by A. B. Calderwood ; he 
was followed by Norman Sumner, of Atlanta. 111. Mr. Sumner had settled in 
Darke in 1817. and had moved away about 1850. Other speeches were made. 
when the society adjourned. 

The following are present officers : Lemuel Bush. President : David Studa- 
baker. First Vice President; George Arnold. Second Vice President: Samuel 
Halm. Third Vice President : W. F. Bishop. Fourth Vice President : Thomas B. 
Turpen. Fifth Vice President; Henry Arnold, Treasurer ; W. S. Harper. Corre- 
sponding Secretary ; Joseph Cole. Jr.." Secretary ; L. B. Scott. Assistant Secretary. 
On October 28, 1879, Mr. Cole tendered his resignation as Secretary of the 
association. It is hoped that the future of the society may be marked by care in 
securing and filing reminiscences and addresses for the benefit of coming 
generations. 

The Darke County Medical Society supplies a part of an interesting chapter. 
It could do more were it to have engrossed the story of labors performed, fatigue 
endured and unselfish efforts made to relieve suffering. Too often sacrifices were 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 347 

coupled with slight prospect of remuneration, but to the honor of the profession 
be it said that humanitarian considerations have ever outweighed the thoughts of 
personal profit. Even in the fee bill of 1867, exceptions were made " in cases 
where charit}' may induce a departure therefrom." At a meeting held July 15, 
1848, the physicians of Darke County assembled, called Dr. I. N. (lard to the 
Chair, and Dr. J. E. Matchett was chosen Secretary. It was made known that the 
organization of a County Medical Society was the object of the meeting and Drs. 
Otwell, Baskerville. Koogler, Stiles and Dorwin were appointed a committee to draft 
constitution and by-laws. Drs. Hostetter, Aj r res, Harter, Larrirnore and Matchett 
were chosen to draft and report a bill of prices ; and Drs. Gilpatrick, Potts, Howe 
and Evans a committee to report a code of laws and medical ethics. The consti- 
tution was adopted by articles seriatim., following which the constitutions and 
b} r -laws were agreed to by a unanimous vote. I. N. Gard was chosen President for 
the ensuing year ; R, Gilpatrick, Vice President ; A. Koogler, Recording Secre- 
tary : 0. G. Potts, Corresponding Secretary, and Alfred Ayers, Treasurer. Drs. 
C. Otwell, J. M. Baskerville and R. Gilpatrick were chosen Censors. Other reports 
were referred back to their committees. They assembled next at Temperance 
Hall. Greenville. July 29, 1848. disposed of sundry matters and ordered 200 copies 
of the constitution printed. Twelve physicians were present. A regular meeting- 
was held October 7, at which President Gard read his " inaugural address." Dr. 
Otwell read a dissertation on quackery, following which he offered the following : 
"Resolved, That the members of this Society discountenance the making and vend- 
ing or recommending the use of any patent medicines for curing intermittent 
fevers." It was referred to a special committee. 

Dissertations were read on April 9, 1849, by different members and placed on 
file. Dr. Harter was received as a member, and essayists appointed for the next 
session. Meetings were held at intervals and, finally, discontinued to be renewed 
May 16, 1855. when Dr. Gard. President. A. Ayres, Treasurer, W. H. Matchett. 
Secretary pro tem., and J. E. Matchett, E. Lynch, Hostetter, S. D. Hager and I. I. 
Larrirnore were present. An election was held resulting in the choice of J. E. 
Matchett for President ; Hostetter. Vice President ; A. Ayres, Treasurer ; E. 
Lynch, Recording Secretaiy. and I. N. Gard, Corresponding Secretary. Drs. 
Hager and Matchett were presented and recorded as members. Two months later, 
twelve members were present at a session, at which Dr. Jobes, Blunt, McCandless. 
Carey. Williamson and Lecklider were unanimously received into the society. A 
break occurring here extended to April 16, 1863, when the society convened at 
the office of Dr. J. E. Matchett for re-organization. Drs. John Ford, Francis Kus- 
wick. S. K. Sour. J. P. Gordon and A. Koogler were received as members, and an 
election held with the result following : E. Otwell, President ; J. C. Williamson. 
Vice President ; E. Lynch, Secretaiy ; J. A. Jobes, Corresponding Secretary, and 
A. Koogler, Treasurer. At the next meeting, held in Smith & Ullery's Hall, May 
14. 1863, nineteen members were present. An address was read by the President. 
entitled "Union, in its application to the .Medical Profession." Drs. C. T. Evans, 
W. E. Hoover. James Ruby and H. W. Dorwin were received as members. Vari- 
ous meetings were held at which the experience of members was given, unusual 
is noted, and, on July 7. 1864. Dr. Theo Luff was admitted a member. Feb- 
ruary, 9. 1865, J. E. Packler and <). E. Lucas became members, and Dr. Otwell 
resigned. From this period forward, the sessions were profitable to members, 
affording opportunity for comparing modes and illustrating cases. Meetings con- 
tinued regularly until 1880. On May 20, 1869, E. Lynch, President, read an 
inaugural address. On October 6, an interesting meeting was held at which 
twenty-two members were present. 

Personal of the Profession. — Among the early pioneers in the practice, were 
two men of culture and refinement — Drs. Briggs and Perrine. The former was a 
YiTmonter ; came to Darke in 1S17 ; settled in Greenville, where, in 1847. he died. 
The latter practiced in Greenville, and the range of his professional calls extended 



348 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

from the Whitewater to remote parts of the county, and even into Jay and Ran- 
dolph, in Indiana. There "were no county infirmaries, in many cases noteven Township 
Trustees, to provide for the poor, and the Doctor had often a labor of love. Dr. 
Baskerville was an ornament to his profession. Among veterans, are Drs. Gard, 

Otwell. Lynch and the Drs. Matchett. From 1848 to 1869, fifty -four physicians 
were enrolled as members of the association, and seventeen of these fell before the 
enemy whose advance they might retard but not prevent. 

The Darke County Bar Association was established in 1854, principally for 
the purpose of constructing and adopting a fee bill. Judge John Beers was Pres- 
ident, The association did not continue long in existence, but the fee bill has been 
substantially adhered to up to this time, being recognized by the courts and the 
profession in the county. The spirit that led to the scale of prices was much to protect 
clients, as is proved by the unvaried scale of remuneration during the inflation of 
war times. 

The Greenville Bar. — Greenville is the home of a number of good lawyers, 
men generally good in intention, pleadings and ability. To write the history of 
the bar would require a knowledge of the days of Judges Beers and Crane, Will- 
iam Crane. Luther Montfort. Dempsey and the like, but the brief sketches which 
follow will inform the reader who and what compose the bar of to-day. 

In the spring of 1868, Charles Anderson, of Pennsylvania, came to Green- 
ville. He had served during the war, taught school, read law, and being admitted 
to practice, demonstrated fine ability, promises well, and has one of the finest 
libraries in town. 

William Allen was born in Butler County August 13, 1827, admitted 1849. 
and commenced practice in Greenville. He served two terms as Prosecuting 
Attorney, and published a newspaper ; was a member of Thirty-sixth and Thirty- 
seventh Congresses, and was, by appointment. Judge of Common Pleas Court. 
declined a nomination for Congress, from ill health, in 1878 ; controls a large 
practice, and is peer to any member of the bar. He is impressive in speech at 
the forum, and sociable at private life. 

Matthew T. Allen, of Butler County, attended Otterbein University ; began 
study of law in 1866, was admitted in 186!). and appointed Prosecuting Attorney 
for the Ninth Judicial Circuit of Indiana. He removed to ibis city in 1872. 

Theodore Beers was born in Darke County in 1826; began practice at the 
age of twenty-six ; has of late years acted as Justice of the Peace, and is well read 
in law. valuable in council, and quite popular. 

David Beers, also a native of the county, has practiced since 1843. At the 
age of sixty-three, he has the esteem of the entire bar. and is faithful to clients. 
litigating orJy from good cause shown. 

Henry Calkins, now filling the office of Prosecuting Attorney for a second 
term, was born in Bradford County, Penn., in 1832 ; was Captain of Compan} C. 
Eighty-seventh Indiana Volunteers. He read law in Jersey County, ill., in 1868 ; 
came to Greenville in 1-71. 

Judge A. T. Bodle came to Darke in 1843, and for some years was a school 
teacher: he was appointed Probate Judge, resumed practice of law on retiring 
from office, and is precise, scholarly, and a good reasoner. 

M. C. Benhani. of Warren County, was admitted February I. 1ST * > ; his pre- 
vious life having been in commercial pursuits, he makes that branch a specialty. 

L. E. Chenoweth, of Darke, served in the Sixty-ninth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, 
and was admitted December, 1S7<I. 

J. E. Braden was born in June. lsr>L': common education, attended law 
school at Cincinnati, and. having read law. was admitted in January. 1879. 

Jacob Baker was horn in 1840; was student at Salem College, was admitted 
in January, 1864 : was elected to the Legislature ; returning, he resumed practice 

John C. Clark Henry M. Cole. J. C Elliott, Charles Frizzell, R. S. Frizzell, D. 
1*. Irwin and S. Judy are : il! of them lawyers who have practiced, or are in practice, 
the bar of this county. 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 349 

Charles Calkins, native of Pennsylvania, where he was born February 11. 
1 827 ; was in the lumber trade nine years ; went to California in 1849, returned, 
read law, and is in practice. 

John and Elijah Devor are natives of Greenville — sons of one of the original 
proprietors of the town. The former was admitted at Troy, in 1853 ; has served as 
Register in Bankruptcy, and is a man of means and enterprise. The latter has 
been practicing since 1871 ; has been City Solicitor ; is Secretary of the Gas 
Company, and partner in practice with Judge Bodle. 

Richard S. Dills is thirty-two years of age ; is a linguist, and has given much 
attention to scientific investigation ; began practice in Greenville in 1876, as part- 
ner of D. P. Bowman, deceased ; since officed with Hon. J. Baker. 

Barnabas Collins was born in Preble County May 26, 1836 ; his father, Will- 
iam Collins, was a lawyer and clergyman of good standing. His early life was an 
example of industry ; he was an indefatigable student. When fifteen years of 
age, Mr. Kirkham, author of a once well-known Grammar, visited Williamsport, 
selling his work, and. noticing Collins, sold him a book at half price. He con- 
tinued as he had begun, and ultimately became one of the best-educated men of 
•his day ; he was well informed in theology, as well as law, and was acquainted 
with other subjects outside of these professions. He settled in Randolph County, 
Ind., in 1831, when he married. About 1845, he located at Euphemia, Preble 
County. In the spring of 1849, he moved to Greenville, and while officiating in 
the pulpit, built up an extensive law practice. His death was September 5, 1855. 
Barnabas was the second son in a family of six children ; he passed his youth as 
practical printer ; supplemented a brief common-school education by a tutelage 
under Calvin Parker, a term at Delaware College, and an extended course in sci- 
ence and literature ; was admitted in 1858. In the spring of 1862, he was nomi- 
nated State Senator on the Union ticket, but entered the army as First Lieutenant 
in the Eighty-sixth Indiana ; returned, settled in Greenville, and, later, moved to 
California. 

A. R. Calderwood was born in Montgomery County September 4, 1818 ; he 
removed, with his parents to Darke in 1832 ; was carpenter, teacher, student at 
law, and admitted in 1851 ; elected Probate Judge in 1854 ; Captain of Company 
I, Fortieth Ohio Volunteers ; a recruiting officer at home, and has been three 
times elected Mayor of Greenville, besides holding a number of local offices of 
trust. 

Ira Lecklider, L. F. Limbert and M. F. M} T ers are members recently admitted. 

L. B. Lott is about fifty years of age ; represented Darke County one term in 
the Legislature ; finally engaged in farming, in which pursuit he continues. 

J. T. Martz was born in Darke County September 14, 1833, and has an early 
experience of hard work. When a boy, he chopped and hauled cordwood to earn 
money to pay his school tuition. When of age. he had saved from his labor and by 
teaching $250. He graduated in the scientific course, at Delaware, in 1856, and 
had $2.50 remaining. From this time till 1861 he taught school and read law. was 
admitted, had brief practice, when elected Superintendent of Union Schools, 
which position he filled till 1865, when he was appointed receiver of the Mack- 
inaw Railroad. Was again chosen Superintendent of Public Schools in Green- 
ville, in 1871. and continues to hold and to fill the position. In Mr. Martz are 
combined the essential elements of tact, ability, energy, honesty and true man- 
hood, qualities certain to win their possessors success, whatever their vocation. 

C. G. Matchett was born in Darke County May (i. 1832. He began the study 
of law in May, 1853, graduated in the class of 1855-66 at the Cincinnati Law 
College, from which he received the degree of LL. B. April 15, 1856. he was 
admitted to the bar and began practice a few months later. In 1860, his health fail- 
ing, he sought by travel to find a more congenial location, but finding a warlike spirit 
prevailing in the South while there, returned home November 1. 1860. and devoted 
his time to military studies. He entered the service immediately alter the firing on 



350 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

Sumter, and remained till the close of the war. In 1865, he resumed practice in 
Greenville, and stands prominent in the profession. 

J. T. Meeker was horn in Darke in 1831 ; was a school teacher ; was admitted 
in 1873 ; was Probate Judge seven years. Retiring-, he entered upon practice, 
and is connected with other interests. 

E. W. Otwell was born in North Carolina in 1831 : graduated at Delaware, 
Ohio ; read law, and was admitted in 1856. Entered upon profession of journalist 
in 1860, and continues in that work as proprietor of the Greenville Journal. 

Temperance efforts were made by individuals at an early date, but it was not 
till 1837 or 1838 that our record shows anything like an organized or co-operative 
effort. About the time stated. Samuel Cole. Peter Kimber and Father Murphy, 
all residents near Ooleville, agreed that intemperance was a dangerous evil where - 
ever prevalent, and set themselves not to supply intoxicating liquors thereafter in 
harvest, at raisings and other occasions. They experienced some trouble in 
securing help, but held to their compact. 

In 1842. the Washingtonians sprang up in Greenville and all the adjacent 
country. A temperance revival was effected at Fort Jefferson by Porter, a shoe 
maker by trade, and a hard drinker, from Cincinnati. After a prolonged debauch 
this man's life had been saved by Dr. Muzzey, who. finding him more than ordi- 
narily intelligent and resolved on reform, encouraged him to enter the lecture 
field, and in a tour that embraced a large part of the State, he came to Darke 
County. Prominent men, such as Dr. 1. N. Card. Gen. Hiram Bell. Judge Beers 
and Dr. Gilpatrick lent their co-operation, and the Washingtonians not only 
increased rapidly in numbers in Greenville, but organizations sprang up in every 
village in the county. The three last-named persons systematically canvassed the 
count}', and held frequent discussions. Abstinence was a novel idea, and it met 
earnest opposition by some very good, well-meaning men. Judge Beers treated 
the subject ironically, and attracted large audiences. He argued that " if no one 
became drunk, all would become respectable and there would be none to do 
menial service ; that the doctors would soon starve, the lawyers would have 
to share the same fate, and the ministers would gather all the sinners into the 
fold and find their occupation gone." Sometimes a drunken man was sent in to 
break up the meeting. The temperance men held on well, did much good, but 
gradually gave way to other organizations. 

From 1855 to 1858 inclusive, the Sons of Temperance flourished, and the 
membership in Greenville was over two hundred. A decadence finally took place 
after the society had established a footing in every village and wrought marked 
and beneficial changes in public sentiment touching this great topic. 

In January. 1S0S. under a dispensation from the Grand Lodge of the 9 
Greenville Lodge. No. 52 1. I. 0. G. T., was organized. Mr. Macomber, then Prin- 
cipal of the Greenville schools, was the first Worthy Chief Templar: .Mrs. |). R. 
Adams. W. X .. and Dr. Iv Lynd, W. C. The order has ceased to exist, and its 
records are inaccessible. The organization was effected over the store of George 
W. Moore, in his hall, on the corner of Third street and Broadway. After a few 
meetings, the order removed to the hall over what was then the store of Nathani< 
Webb (now .Mr. Leer's). Meetings were held at the residence of Mrs. Deborah 
Gerard, and finally in the present Masonic Hall. At the close of the first year, 
the order numbered sixty-five: its maximum strength was reached in 18tii>-7<». 
when there were nearly two hundred members. From this time, interest declined. 
The Young Templars were organized August 17, 1870. under the title, Greenville 
Commandery, No. 3. They met in Hart's Hall. Among the leaders were Dr. 
Sharp, E. Matehett. Mrs. Keen and Mis. D. Adams. There was at one time forty 
members. It had an existence of but two years. 

The Women's Christian Temperana /'///"//was formed at Greenville February 
19, 1880. and numbers about forty members. The officers are Mrs. May Ferguson, 
President : Mesdames Martin. Adams. Webb, Eastman, Frances Clark, Gross, Vice 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 351 

Presidents ; Mrs. Ella Matchett, Secretaiy, and Mrs. Bowman, Corresponding 
Secretary. 

The Cm m<l<- began in Greenville in February, 1874. About seventy ladies 
met at a previously designated place to begin the work. Rain required the use 
of umbrellas, and the novel procession, as it moved along from one saloon to 
another, presented a somewhat grotesque appearance. But the work was resolutely 
continued until the July following. At one time, all saloons were closed and 
remained so until after spring elections. 

The temperance movement again assumed new interest in 1877. Among early 
converts was George Calderwood, who has acquired reputation as an earnest 
worker in the cause. Many of the oldest professional and other citizens are either 
lifelong teetotallers or are from principle strictly abstinent. Temperance was the 
issue in the spring election of 1880. Papers were published, the Gazette and the 
American Prohibitionist, in the interest of the cause and candidates, with general 
success. 

The Young Men's Christian Association of Greenville, auxiliary to the State 
Association, was organized February, 1878. The first meeting was held in Allen's 
Hall, corner of Broadway and Fourth street, the use of which has been ever since 
generously donated by William Allen its proprietor. The officers during the first 
year were : R .T. Johnson. President ; George A. Harter, Vice President ; J. Arnold, 
Secretaiy ; Albert Miller. Treasurer. Second year : George Harter, President ; 
A. N. Brewer, Vice President ; C. M. Ensmiger, Secretary : the latter remained 
in office a brief time, resigned and Alpha Miller was chosen to fill the vacancy. 
The first year, thirteen meetings were held in the hall, twelve in the infirmary and 
eight in the band park ; total, thirty -three. Meetings have also been held in vari- 
ous schoolhouses and churches in various parts of the county. 

The Darke County Bible Society. — At a union meeting of the various churches, 
held in the M. E. Church, at Greenville, December 22, 1861, for the purpose of 
reviving this society, which was first organized in July, 1835, following the deliv- 
ering of a sermon by Rev. W. Herr, General Agent of the American Bible Society, 
Judge Wilson was called to the chair and George H. Martz appointed Secretaiy. 
whereupon a constitution was adopted and officers chosen, viz.: W. Wilson, Pres- 
ident ; John Wharry, Vice President ; G. H. Martz, Secretaiy ; H. C. Angel, 
Depositaiy ; Executive Committee — John H. Martin, Thomas Adams, T. H. Mc- 
Cune, J. A. Schmermand. J. N. Biddle, C. Kline and H. H. Rush. On January 7. 
1S62, eight ladies were appointed to canvass the town for subscriptions. May 11, 
Rev. Herr preached an anniversarv sermon. Contributions by the churches were 
si'.']. 79 ; 1,920 families had been visited by the county agent, Rev. J. Scott ; 191 
families had no Bible, 6-4 were partially supplied, and 297 children had no Testa- 
ments, and 64 meetings had been held. May 17, 1863, the Sabbath schools had 
contributed $55.22. The Bible Depositor}* was then located at the depot of the 
Dayton & Union Railway. The progress of the society financially and in exten- 
sion of interest was satisfactory, and thanks were tendered pastors, churches and 
Sabbath schools for aid given. The depositor}' was placed at Adams & Snyder's 
store. On January 28, 1866, a jubilee meeting was held, addresses were made and 
collection taken. Rev. A. Miller was chosen to canvass the county in 1 867, to organize 
township branch societies, but no work was done. Rev. S. B. Sheeks, in 1868, can- 
vassed the county, visited 1.943 families, sold many Bibles and Testaments, 
appointed 8 township societies, 30 social agents. There were forty Protestant 
churches in the field, of which twenty-four were co-operative ; traveled 1.050 miles, 
held 9 Bible meetings and delivered 30 addresses. On August 8, 1870, there were 
$311.23 worth of books on hand. In July, 1871, $330.50. Rev. C. L. Carter was 
canvasser of Greenville and vicinity. June. 1873, there were 740 volumes on 
hand, 430 sold during the year and 83 donated. At the thirty -ninth anniversary, 
Rev. W. Herr read as follows : " Darke County Bible Society was recognized as 
an auxiliarvof the American Bible Societv. Julv. 1835. since which time it donated 

i 



352 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

the parent society $78.69 ; expended for books, $1,818.13, and circulated about 
3,794 volumes. On December 22, 1875, Rev. Samuel Scott reported visits to 3,306 
families ; traveled 1,529 miles in 76 days, in the work, and preached 52 sermons, 
besides other work, receiving from the society a hearty vote of thanks. On March 
16, 1879, officers elected were William M. Matchett, "President ; J. W. Ault. Vice 
President : E. A. Tilery, Depositary, and A. J. Arnold, Treasurer. The following 
June, at a called meeting, the Depositaiy reported the books belonging to the soci- 
ety nearly all destnyyed by lire, and such as were of value sufficient were sent 
to New York for re-binding. On motion, the Gettysburg Soeiet} T was permitted to 
organize independently. Aside from the calamity of fire, the history of the soci- 
ety is a record of successful religious home missionary work. 

There are members of the various benevolent societies in the county, some of 
which have local organizations, others none. There are forty-five members of the 
order of Knights Templar in Darke County, who belong to Coleman Commander \\ 
No. 17, of Troy, and Reed Commandery, No. 6, of Dayton. Of these, twenty-seven 
reside in Greenville. 

A lodge of the Improved Order of Red Men was organized in October, 1870, 
under a dispensation of the Great Council of State of Ohio, and at one time there 
was a membership of over eighty. It flourished for a period, and finally the char- 
ter was surrendered in May, 1875. 

The Patrons of Husbandry spread like a wave all over the country, and in 
Darke County the societies flourished for a time extensively, and there are still 
several well-sustained granges. The Greenville Grange was organized April, 1874 ; 
Arthur Reard, Master ; Everly Otwell, Secretary. Meetings were held in McCon- 
nell's Hall, on Rroadway. Shortly afterward, a grange store was established on 
Rroadway, but did not prove a success. In various localities, organizations are 
preserved and are successfully managed with manifest advantages to the members. 

We close the chapter by brief allusion to an organization known as the " Darke 
County Self-Protection Association," designed to secure the arrest, conviction and 
punishment of horse-thieves and other depredators. It was formed in March, 
1845, with a score of members, which number was soon increased to forty. James 
Devor was the first President ; John Wharry, Secretary, and David Stamm, Treasurer. 
Over a quarter of a century elapsed when a like society was formed and held quar- 
terly meetings. The first President under the late organization was Thomas Leck- 
lider ; Arthur Raird, Secretary. 

DARKE COUNTY DURING THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. 

Telegrams from Charleston, S. C, read as follows: "April 13. The cannon- 
ading is going on fiercely from all points, from the vessels outside and all along 
the coast. It is reported that Fort Sumter is on fire. The batteries on Sullivan's 
Island, Cummings' Point and Steven's Battery, are pouring shot and shell into 
Sumter, and Maj. Anderson does not return the fire. Fort Sumter is still on fire."' 
Then came another dispatch : "Fort Sumter has unconditionally surrendered The 
people are wild with joy. Two thousand shots were fired altogether. Anderson 
and men were conveyed to Morris Island under guard."' Finally, the people read : 
" Maj. Anderson with command will evacuate in the morning and embark on the 
war vessels now off the harbor." 

President Lincoln issued the following proclamation on April 16 : 

Whereas, the laws of the United States have been and are now opposed in several of the 
.States by combinations too powerful to be suppressed in the ordinary way, I, therefore, call 
forth the militia of the several States of the Union, to the aggregate number of 75,000, to sup- 
press said combinations and execute the laws. I appeal to all loyal citizens to facilitate and aid 
this effort to maintain the laws, the integrity of the National Union, and the perpetuity of popu- 
lar government, and redress wrongs that have long been endured. The first service assigned to 
the forces will be to repossess the forts, places and property that have been seized from the 
Union. The utmost care will be taken, consistent with the object, to avoid devastation and 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 353 

destruction, or interference with property of peaceful citizens, in any part of the country, and I 
hereby command persons composing the aforesaid combinations to disperse within twenty days 
from date. I hereby convene both houses of Congress for the Fourth of July next, to determine 
upon measures which the public safety and interest demand. 

The response from Darke County was prompt, determined and practical. 
Union meetings were held at Greenville, Union, Hill Grove. Speeches, fervent 
and patriotic, were delivered, and within a few days, three full companies of volun- 
teers had been raised. On Wednesday afternoon of April 24, three companies had 
left the county — two from Greenville, led by Capts. Frizell and Newkirk, and one 
from Union, under Capt. Cranor, aggregating full three hundred men. These 
troops were mustered into the United States service as Companies C, I and K, of 
the Eleventh Ohio, and on April 29 went into Camp Dennison, where they rapidly 
learned the discomforts and expedients of military life, shouting and cheering as 
they marked the arrival of fresh bodies of improvised troops. At home, the peo- 
ple manifested their zeal by generous contributions for the support of soldiers' 
families. One hundred and sixty citizens of Darke are named in the Greenville 
Journal of May 8, for a sum subscribed to that end of $2,500. The mothers, 
daughters and sisters sent to camp boxes of provisions ; the men freely contrib- 
uted of their means to aid the loyal cause. Bull Run was fought, and soon three 
months had gone by and the volunteers returning to Greenville were discharged 
only to re-enter the service for a longer term. Two companies were soon ready 
for the field. As the magnitude of the struggle developed, the people of Darke 
County became yet more resolute in their desire to assist in restoring the union of 
the States. Meetings continued to be held ; addresses full of fervid appeals were 
uttered, and a continuous stream of men gathered into camps, were organized and 
moved southward. The enlistments in the fall of 18G1 were for three years. The 
Fortieth Regiment contained about two hundred men from Darke. In the Thirty- 
fourth was a company of eighty-four men who were sent with their regiment to West- 
ern Virginia. In the Forty-fourth, a company went out under Capt. J. M. Newkirk. 
On October 28, the ladies of Greenville met at the court house and organized as " The 
Ladies' Association of Greenville for the relief of the Darke County Volunteers." 
The} 7 appointed as officers, President, Mrs. A. G. Putnam ; Secretary. Mrs. J. N. Beedle, 
and Treasurer, Mrs. J. L. Winner, and formed a committee to solicit donations of 
money and clothing. Public meetings continued to be held at various points ; 
recruiting was stimulated, and on November 6, it was reported that the count}- had 
turned out 200 volunteers within twenty days. Letters came from men in the field 
descriptive of arms, tents, rations, incidents and marches. Novelty excited close 
observation, and there were reports of duties, health, and all too soon came back 
the news of death. Heavy tidings is always that of death, and a sad duty to the 
comrade to tell it to the one watching and waiting at home. This was often done 
with a tact, a kindness, a language that honored the soldier writer, and tended to 
assuage the grief of the recipient. Such was the letter penned by Thomas R. 
Smiley, of the Thirty-fourth, from Camp Red House, West Virginia, to Mrs. Swartz, 
telling of her son's death, by fever, and closing with these words : " Hoping and 
praying that God will sustain you in your grief, I most respectfully subscribe myself 
your friend in sorrow." No wonder the right triumphed, upheld by men of such 
Christian and manly principles. 

The families of soldiers began in midwinter to suffer, and the following 
extract from the letter of a wife to her husband, a volunteer from Darke Count}-, 
will show a trial among others borne by the soldier in the sense of helplessness to 
aid his loved ones. It is commended to the perusal of any who think war a 
pastime. She wrote : " I have so far been able to support myself and our dear 
children, with the help that the relief committee gave me ; but I am now unable 
to work, and the committee has ceased to l'elieve me. I am warned that I will 
have to leave the comfortable home which you left us in, and I will have to 
scatter the children. Where will I go and what will become of me ? Don't leave 



354 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY 



without permission, us it would only be giving your life for mine. I will trust in 
God and live in hope, although things look very discouraging. Do the best you 
can, and send some money as soon as possible." During the earlier part of the 
war. letters told of minor matters, but later accounts were brief and freighted 
heavily with tidings of buttles, wounds and deaths. 

In July. 1862, tin- clouds of war hung heavy with disaster. East and West, 
terrible battles were fought, and the Southerners, with a desperate, honorable 
courage, forced their way into .Maryland and Kentucky. New troops volunteered 
by thousands, and joined the veterans to roll back the tide of invasion. At this 
time. John L. Winner was Chairman of the Military Committee of Darke, whose 
proportion of the call for 40,000 men from the State was 350 men for three years. 
The following shows by townships the number of electors, volunteers and those 
to raise : 



Greenville ... 

German 

Washington. 

Harrison 

Butler 

Neave 

Richland 

Wayne 

Twin 

Adams 

Brown 



Electors. 


Volunteers. 


To Raise 


'.'■J.', 


175 


10 


265 


27 


27 


255 


38 


13 


370 


40 


:,i 


310 


21 


43 


200 


17 


23 


193 


12 


•J 7 


325 


65 


00 


350 


32 


38 


320 


37 


27 


215 


27 


16 



Jackson 

Monroe 

York 

Van Bur en 

Allen 

Mississinewa. 

Franklin 

Patterson 

Wabash. 



Total. 



Electors. 


Volunta ra. 


260 


31 


175 


24 


12i> 


9 ' 


200 


32 


'.'5 


in 


130 


15 


170 


29 


125 


32 


110 


12 


5105 


685 



21 
11 
15 

8 

11 
5 


It) 



148 



This table, while creditable to all, is especially so to Wayne and Patter-' n 
Mass meetings were called, volunteers urged to come forward, bounties were 
offered, and. responding to call by Gov. Tod, the militia was ordered enrolled. 
Along in August, recruiting proceeded rapidly ; young and middle-aged nocked 
to the camps, and soon four companies were off to the camp at Piqua. On Si 
tember 3, 1862, eight townships had exceeded their quota. There were 4,903 
men enrolled, and 201 to lie raised by draft. Successive calls found hearty 
responses. In May, 1864, three townships had filled their quotas, and the draft 
called for 186 men. 

The services of the military committee of Darke deserving of honorable 
record is herebv acknowledged by a list as it was at the close of 1863: Daniel 
R. Davis, ('apt. 'Charles Calkins. Capt. B. B. Allen and W. 31. "Wilson, Secretary. 

How well Darke County stood at the close of the war may lie learned from 
the following statistics: The quota of the county in December, 1864, was 455. 
Of these, 384 volunteered. 24 were drafted, and 408 furnished. Over 1,500 vol- 
unteers were out from the county. It is a pleasing duty to briefly place upon the 
pages of home history a record of those regiments wherein Darke County men 
rendered service to their country. Brief though it be. it is a worthy meed of 
honor. 

The Eleventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry 
in May. 1861, and mustered into the service 
from Darke was lettered C, and commanded by 

and Thomas McDowell, Lieutenants. The regiment was ordered east, and camped 
in Virginia. It was re-organized June 20, and mustered in for three years, and 
sen), in July, on a scout up the Kanawha. The Colonel, incautiously exposing 
himself, was captured, and the command devolved upon Lieut, Col. Frizell, who. 
July 20, set out with the regiment on a march to Charleston. Moving at mid- 
night some miles, they halted for other troops, and. during the ensuing day. came 
upon works of the enemy at Tyler Mound. The rebels tied at their approach, but 

amboat on the river, unable I g< ' away, was tired into and blown up. The 



was organized at Camp Dennison 
for three months. The company 
('apt. B. A. Knox, with C. Calkins 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 355 

night was passed in the works of the enemy, and the next day advance was 
resumed. Wise, on his retreat, had burned the floor of the suspension bridge over 
the river, and had tried, with partial success, to sever the cable. The bridge was 
at once repaired, to permit the passage of wagons, and pursuit was made to Gau- 
ley Bridge and there ceased. In August, the command was twice engaged near 
New River. In the first skirmish, several men were wounded, and in the second, 
one man was killed. Early in October, the regiment was encamped on one of the 
peaks of Sewell Mountain, from which commanding position they could look down 
upon the camps of the enemy, whose works were one and one-half miles distant, 
and see them at work or lounging about. It was claimed, at this time, .that the 
Eleventh had done as good service as airy other in Western Virginia. They had 
lain out in the weather sixteen nights, without blankets or shelter, and had not 
lain in camp four weeks altogether during their stay in the State. October 20, the 
regiment was ordered to prepare to march at midnight. The vexations and tire- 
some delays so well understood by old soldiers were experienced, and as the neces- 
sity for celerity increased, so did the confusion, and by 7 A. M. they had proceeded 
but three and a half miles from camp, and were moving at a snail's pace, in the 
rear of an immense wagon train, drawn by poor, half-starved beasts. Gen. Rose- 
crans, in command, ordered Gen. Cox, in command of the division, to burn the 
baggage of the Eleventh, to lighten the wagons. The regiment desired to form 
the rear guard and save their baggage, but were refused, and a part of this hin- 
drance was destroyed ; thereafter, a comparatively eas} T march succeeded. They 
went into winter quarters at Point Pleasant early in December, and nothing 
occurred to vary the routine of camp life until April 16. 1862, when an advance 
was made, via Winfield, to Gaule}- Bridge. Having proceeded with the division 
as far as Raleigh, in the campaign of the Kanawha, they were then detached and 
ordered on post duty — always irksome and subject of reproach. Retreating from 
Cotton Mountain along the road from Shady Springs to Pack's Ferry, on New 
River, Floyd thoroughly blockaded the route for sixteen miles. Companies G and 
K, of the Eleventh, were sent to remove obstructions and guard the road. While 
one part of the detail was busy with spade and ax, another stood to arms ; and so 
they labored for five da}'s, when the road was clear to the ferry. They then 
demolished a barn near by, and from the timbers constructed two boats. There 
they joined, and so formed a feny-boat 140 feet in length, whereby the wings of 
the Kanawha arm}' were brought into communication. The regiment returned 
to Gauley Bridge late in July, when Company C was sent to Summerville, where 
it remained some time. About the middle of August, the Eleventh was moved 
to Parkersburg, and transported thence by rail to Washington, D. C, and camped 
near Alexandria. It was sent, August 27, to Manassas Junction, but, arriving at 
Fairfax Station, it was ascertained that the enemy were in force at Manassas, 
and troops posted there were retreating. The enemy, advancing upon the flank, 
were checked b}' the regiment, which forded Bull Run and formed line of battle 
near the railroad. Companies E and F were detailed to guard the ford and the 
railroad, while the rest of the Eleventh assisted in the futile effort to stay the rebel 
advance. Orders came at 3 P. M. to fall back to Fairfax, and the Eleventh per- 
formed their duty as rear guard and insured the safe retreat of the column. At 
the station the wounded were placed, while the command, about three thousand 
strong, formed in line outside. Late at night, oixlers came to fall in, and by noon 
the next da}- the column was safe within the defenses at Washington. The 
Kanawha division moved next day, and the Eleventh was posted within works on 
Munson's Hill. 

September 6, the Eleventh moved toward Maryland, and by the 12th had 
encountered the rebel pickets near Frederick City. The enemy held the bridge 
over the Monocacy, and were strongly posted along its banks. The Union forces 
were formed in three columns, the central column being opposite the bridge and 
the Eleventh at its head. The advance began and the enemy were driven from 



356 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

the bridge. Following a charge, the Union line became disorganized and the 
enemy rallying captured the section of a battery. Gen. Cox called upon Col. 
Coleman to retake the guns. He led the Eleventh in a charge which not only 
recovered the artillery, but drove the enemy through the city in a complete rout. 
By evening of the next day. the Kanawha Division was posted near Middletovvn. 
ami the Eleventh was near the bridge over Catoctin Creek. Early on the following 
morning, the creek was crossed, and the division marched toward Turner's G-ap, in 
South Mountain. They were now near the enemy, and turning to the left entered 
the old Sharpsburg road, and in a narrow ravine covered by forest trees and 
underwood, the Eleventh prepared for battle. As the order came to advance, the 
men moved along the skirts of a strip of woods and frustrated an effort 
of the enemy to flank our lines. Sharpshooters kept up their deadly practice, but 
there was no recreancy. About mid-day there was one of those ominous lulls, 
which are forerunners of the crash of battle, and about 3 P. M.. amid hard fighting, 
the Union lines were seen advancing. The Eleventh advanced over an open field 
upon the enemy sheltered by a stone wall. Reaching the wall, the soldiers fought 
with clubbed guns and bayonets, in an almost hand-to-hand fight. The rebels 
finally fell back toward Sharpsburg. and again, as morning came, the Union 
columns were in pursuit. The army now gathered for the struggle at Antietam, 
and the Kanawha Division, under Gen. Cook, was posted near the lower bridge 
over Antietam Creek, the Eleventh being in line upon a slope of ground above 
the bridge. The battle of September 17 had raged furiously with varying fortune, 
until 10 A. M.j when an attempt was made to carry the bridge, but so heavy a fire 
was encountered from the heights opposite that the column was driven back. 
Just at this moment came orders .from the Commander-in-Chief to " carry the 
bridge at all hazards." The Eleventh was placed at the head of the charging 
column, and began a steady, determined advance. Col. Coleman fell mortally 
wounded. There was momentary irresolution ; then the men closed up firmly, 
moved over the bridge, up the heights and dislodged the enemy. Col. Coleman 
was succeeded in command by P. P. Lane. 

A severe march was endured by the division in a march begun on the morn- 
ing of Oct. 8, to Hagerstown, Md. They reached the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad 
and were transported to Clarksburg, and as the November storms came on, the 
Eleventh, without tents, blankets or adequate clothing, suffered from exposure, but 
in the distribution of the troops they were sent to Summerville. an outpost of the 
troops in the Kanawha Valley, and there, erecting good winter quarters, soon sur- 
rounded themselves with the protection needed to recover health and spirits. 
While apart of the regiment held the post, another part was mounted and guarded 
the Gauley fords. A foray was made into the county during the winter, and the 
men suffered materially from the severity of the weather. 

In January, 1863, the command under Gen. Cook was embarked at Gallipolis, 
and proceeded via Ohio and Cumberland to Nashville, Tenn., whence they moved 
to Carthage on the Tennessee, and fortified their position. March 24. the Eleventh 
went on a scout to Rome and captured a captain, a number of soldiers, a wagon 
train and a number of teams belonging to the command of Gen. Forrest. 

April 13, the Eleventh took part in a reconnaissance toward McMinnville, and 
found the enemy with artillery and cavalry prepared to dispute advance. Col. 
Lane, in command, sent for cannon and his troops repelled attacks made upon 
them. The command was ordered to return to Carthage. Another march was 
made ten days later with no results, and May 27. the Eleventh marched to Mur- 
freesboro. and was placed in Third Division. Fourteenth Army Corps, under Glen. 
George II. Thomas, dune 24. the division under Gen. Reynolds, moving along the 
Manchester pike, engaged the enemy at Hoover's Gap. The Eleventh stood to arms 
during the night, and. following up the repulse of the enemy, led the advance into 
Manchester, and captured a number of rebels. The Eleventh in advance of the 
brigade moved, on the 29th, upon the Tullahoma road. The enemy was encountered 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 357 

at noon and driven. On July 1, Cook's brigade entered Tullahoma. The Eleventh 
followed the enemy to the immediate vicinity of Decherd Station, on the Nashville 
& Chattanooga Railroad, and August 2, moved to University, Jasper, and, Septem- 
ber 1, crossed the Tennessee at Shell Mound ; moved to Trenton, thence through 
Cooper's Gap, and on the 17th repulsed a rebel attack at Catlett's Gap. The 
Eleventh changed position during the next day several times, marched by night, 
and b} T daylight of the 19th, was in line of battle near Gordon's Mill, on a wooded 
rise of ground east of the Rowville road. At this point, Chaplain Lyle rode to 
the center of the line and, briefly exhorting the men, asked them to join him in 
prayer. At once, eveiy hat was removed, the colors were dropped, and amid the 
crashes of musketry the voice of the minister was heard. Gen. Reynolds passing, 
halted, and as the prayer ceased, expressed satisfaction at being present, as he 
shook the chaplain's hand. 

Following this impressive ceremony, the Eleventh was at once marched to the 
support of other regiments, holding their ground under a deadly fire, and within a 
short time was advanced to the front line. The balls from sharpshooters were 
annoying the men to such a degree that an advance was ordered and the enemy 
dislodged. During the afternoon, the fights continued and finally a charge cleared 
the division front. Next day, the regiment erected a low breastwork of logs and 
stones upon a rise of ground, and encountered a fire so severe that in thirty min- 
utes Compaivy D had lost half its men, killed or wounded. Twice the breastwork 
took fire ; the third time it became necessary to extinguish the flames, and this 
was done by volunteers from Company B. As the afternoon wore awa}', the 
enemy, pouring through a gap in the lines, opened a telling cross-fire upon the 
Eleventh. Turchin's brigade, charging, drove them, breaking their ranks, and 
capturing men and guns. With night came retreat, via Rowville to Chattanooga. 
Several days later, a force was sent out, and in this the Eleventh engaged in a 
sharp skirmish with the rebels, and was then marched to occupy the line of pits to 
the left of Fort Negley. Later, the Eleventh moved down to Brown's Ferry, to 
arrest a movement to gain a position on Lookout Mountain. 

November 23, the Eleventh advanced in the line on Mission Ridge, charging, 
it captured a battle-flag and cannon. Sergt. Bell, color-bearer, was repeatedly 
struck, and, finally, unable to rise, resigned the colors to Lieut. Peck, who had but 
planted them on the rebel works, when he fell, mortally wounded. The regiment 
was severely engaged at Ringgold Gap. whence it marched back to Chattanooga. 
On February 17, 1864, Chaplain Lyle presented the Eleventh with a stand of colors 
— the gift of the ladies of Troy, Ohio. The regiment took part in a reconnaissance 
toward Rocky Face Ridge and found the enemy in a strong position at Buzzard's 
Roost. Here a most unfortunate mistake involved the regiment in a heavy loss. 
It was ordered to charge up a hill strongly defended by infantry and artilleiy ; as 
a result, the regiment was finalby compelled to retire with a loss of one-sixth of its 
force. The command returned to Ringgold, and March 26. the veterans, 200 strong, 
returned home to recruit. They were assigned garrison duty till June 10, when 
they set out for home and were mustered out on the 20th at Camp Dennison, two 
companies having longer to serve : and the veterans were designated as the Eleventh 
Ohio Detachment, and placed in Baird's division, of the Fourteenth Army Corps, 
with which the}" accompanied Sherman upon his marches. 

The Thirty-Fourth Regiment. — A fine company of eighty-four men was enlisted 
by Capt. Thomas R. Smiley, from Darke County, and regularly mustered into serv- 
ice at Camp Dennison, September 10, 1861, as Company K of the Thirty-fourth 
Ohio Volunteer Infantry. The regiment was ordered into Western Virginia, and 
posted at Gauley Bridge. It took part in the battle of Princeton, May 17 and 18, 
losing several men. Again, on September 10, while it and the Thirty-seventh were 
holding the outpost at Fayetteville, they were attacked by Gen. Loring, with a 
force of 10,000 men. Behind works, and aided by a battery, they held their 
ground till night, when they retreated. At times the Thirty-fourth fought uncovered, 



358 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

and, of six companies engaged, one-third of the men were killed or wounded, 
and one-half the officers. In .May. L863, the regiment was supplied with horses 
and became known as "Mounted Rifles." On July 13, 1860, the Rifles, with nine 
companies of cavalry, moved upon the Virginia & Tennessee Railroad, and encoun- 
tered the enemy on the 18th, at Wytheville. The enemy were well posted under 
cover of houses and on high ground, and the fighting was desperate. About sun- 
down, the rebels were routed and their guns captured. The Colonel was shot from 
his horse, and Lieut. Col. Franklin ordered a retreat. The roads were blockaded, 
and they returned with difficulty. In January, 1864, a majority of the men veter- 
anized. The regiment was divided in April — the mounted men being under Averill, 
the others, in Crook's division. Following active service, and engagements more 
or less important, we find the regiment, on June 8, at Staunton, ready to take 
part in Hunter's raid to Lynchburg. Shots were exchanged with rebels who had 
been driven from Lexington, at Buckhannon, on the James. The Blue Ridge was 
crossed and a skirmish took place at Liberty. A partially successful attack was 
made on the afternoon of June 18, upon Lynchburg, but the place was not occu- 
pied, and during the night heav}" re-enforcements came up from Richmond, and the 
national forces were put upon their defense. The enemy crowded closely upon the 
retiring column, and a skirmish took place at Libert}'. At Salem, on the 21st inst., 
the rebels struck Hunter's artillery in a pass, and were rapidly destroying the cais- 
sons and rendering the guns useless, when the " Rifles " came up, and after a sharp 
fight, regained the guns. The discomfited army reached Charleston, July 1. Nine 
days later, the regiment once more united as infantry, embarked on transports for 
Parkersburg ; moved thence to Martinsburg, in the Shenandoah Valley, and on 
July 20, formed part of a force that attacked Early near Winchester, routed him, 
took his guns and inflicted a severe blow. On the 24th, the battle of Winchester 
was fought, where, later, Sheridan restored the day. Devol's brigade, in which 
which was the Thirty-fourth, brought up the rear. The regiment lost Lieut. Col. 
Shaw and many men. Next da} T , a stand was made at Martinsburg, and from this 
field the Thirty-fourth was the last to retire, under a heav} 7 fire. Various marches 
occupied the regiment with occasional heavy skirmishing, until early in September, 
when the non-veterans set out for home. Notwithstanding the loss occasioned by 
the discharge of the men, the regiment, augmented by recruits, numbered over four 
hundred men. They were engaged, September 3, at Berryville, and at Winchester 
on September 19, then, again, at Fisher's Hill, on the 22d. The loss to the Thirty- 
fourth in the last two actions was sixty-one killed. On the evening of October 
18, the regiment was on picket, and Earby's men surprised them, capturing the 
Colonel and eighteen men, killing two and wounding twelve. January 11, 1865, 
300 men of the Thirty-fourth, with a part of the Eighth Ohio Cavalry (dismounted), 
were surprised at Beverly, and only through the excitement and darkness were 
mairy enabled to escape. February 22, 1865, the remnant of the Thirt}--fourth 
was consolidated with the Thirty-sixth, as the Thirty-sixth Veteran Volunteer 
Infantry. 

The Fortieth Regiment Ohio Infantry. — This regiment was organized at Camp 
Chase, Ohio, in September, October and November, 1861. All of Companies E and 
G, the greater portion of Compairy I, and parts of F and K of said regiment were 
recruited from Darke County. 

The following is a complete roster of the officers who served in said regiment 
from this county during its term of service : 

Jonathan Cranor, Colonel; resigned. 

• lames B. Creviston, Adjutant; resigned. 

Harrison E. McClure, Adjutant ; mustered out. 

William 11. Matcliett, Assistant Surgeon: mustered out. 

John D. Gennett, Captain of Company E: resigned. 

Charles G. Matchett, Captain of Company G : mustered out. 

Andrew R. ( ilderwood, Captain of Company I; resigned. 

William C. Osgood, First Lieutenant of Company E, promoted to Captain; resigned. 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 359 

James Allen, promoted to Captain from Sergeant. ; mustered out. 

Clement Snodgrass, promoted to Captain from Sergeant ; killed at Peach Tree Creek July 
2,1, 1864. 

Benjamin F. Snodgrass, promoted to First Lieutenant from Sergeant ; killed at Chicka- 
mauga September 20, 1864. 

Cyrenius Van Mater, First Lieutenant of Company G; killed at Chickamauga. 

John T. Ward, Second Lieutenant of Company E; resigned. 

William Bonner, Second Lieutenant of Company G ; resigned. 

J. W. Smith, Second Lieutenant of Company I, promoted to First Lieutenant, then to Cap- 
tain ; mustered out. 

John P. Frederick, First Lieutenant of Company F ; resigned. 

John M. Wasson, promoted to Second Lieutenant ; mustered out. 

David Krouse, Second Lieutenant of Company F, promoted to First Lieutenant ; mustered 
out. 

Isaac N. Edwards, Sergeant, promoted to Lieutenant ; mustered out. 
James A. Fisher, Sergeant, promoted to Lieutenant ; mustered out. 

On the 17th day of December. 1861, the regiment left Camp Chase for Ken- 
tucky, spending Christmas on the farm of Brutus Clay, five miles east of Paris, 
Ky. On the next day, December 26, the regiment started for the Sandy Valley, via 
Mount Sterling and McCormick's Gap, and arrived at Paintsville, Ky., January 8, 
1862. On the 9th, 300 picked men (thirty from each company), a Colonel, two 
Captains, two First and two Second Lieutenants were detailed as the regiment's 
proportion of the 1,000 picked men from the brigade with which Col. J. A. Gar- 
field compelled the rebel force under Gen. Humphrey Marshall, amounting to over 
four thousand men, to evacuate Eastern Kentucky. The battle of Middle Creek, 
Kentucky, occurred between these forces on the 10th day of January, 1862. In 
that battle, the 300 men of the Fortieth Ohio were divided into two companies 
of 150 men each. One company, under the immediate command of Col. Cranor, 
attacked the enemy on the right, while the" other company, under Capt. Matchett, 
were placed on our extreme left, with instructions to protect our left. Col. Gar- 
field, in his report of the battle, shows that the field was hotly contested, and that 
the heaviest fighting was on the left. Capt. Matchett states, however, that 
" although the enemy sought to displace him from his position, yet his advantages 
over them were such that he was in no actual danger, having the advantage both 
in position and arms. The enemy, being principally armed with squirrel rifles and 
shot-guns, could not hope to be effective except on close range, while the Prussian 
rifles with which his men were armed, were effective from 1,500 yards down to the 
point of the bayonet. The rebels advanced upon his position two or three times, 
but were each time repulsed before they had come within 200 yards of it, and 
although the firing was quite heavy on our left, and some dead rebels were found 
in front of the left next morning, yet he had none killed nor wounded on the left." 

Capt. Matchett further states that the " severest fighting was on the right 
where Col. Cranor was, but that the whole fight did not amount to a respectable 
skirmish, as we afterward learned on the Atlanta campaign." 

On the 16th of March, the regiment participated in another skirmish at 
Pound Gap and drove the rebels from that stronghold, and thereby relieved East- 
ern Kentucky of the presence of an armed rebel force. 

Soon after that, Garfield left Eastern Kentucky, and the command of the 
brigade devolved on Col. Cranor, who continued in command until February 1863 
when he resigned. On the 21st of February, 1863, the regiment left Eastern Ken- 
tucky, and joined the Army of the Cumberland at Nashville, Teun., on the 28th 
of the same month. 

On March 5, the regiment joined the Army of Kentucky, under Maj. Gen. 
Gordon Granger, at Franklin, Tenn. From that time, they remained with that 
army— afterward known as the Reserve Army Corps— until after the battle of 
Chickamauga. 

On the 10th of April, 1863, the regiment was placed on picket duty in front of 
the town, with Capt. Matchett in command. At that time, the rebel forces, under 



360 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

Gen. Van Dorn, were stationed at Spring Hill, Terra., nine miles south of Frank- 
lin. Soon after 12 o'clock >!., the rebels commenced an attack on seven com- 
panies of the Fortieth, which had been stationed on and between the Columbia 
Pike and the Big Earpeth River (a distance of about five hundred yards), 
but were handsomely repulsed. The attack was renewed with re-enforcements, 
and again repulsed. By this time, the enemy were preparing to charge in force, 
and the situation of the Fortieth was precarious. Behind them, for the distance 
of more than half a mile, lay an open field without an obstacle or a shelter on it ; 
but, momentarily expecting re-enforcements, they held their ground, and repulsed 
charge after charge, for two hours. 

Van Dorn then formed his entire force for a charge, and the Fortieth fell back 
in good order to the town, where, taking advantage of hedges, fences, houses, etc., 
they repulsed the enemy and drove them out of town. and. at 4 o'clock P. M., 
resumed their former position on picket duty. 

The Fortieth's loss was three killed, four wounded and ten missing, who were 
taken prisoners, and all afterward were exchanged and rejoined the command. 
The enemy's entire loss is not known. Two Captains and fifteen men killed, one 
Major and twelve men wounded, and thirteen prisoners fell into the hands of the 
Fortieth. The enemy's entire force was cavalry and two batteries of artillery. 
Over one hundred horses, equipped, escaped within the Union lines and were 
captured by other commands. The prisoners, when exchanged reported Van Dorn's 
entire loss in killed and wounded to be one hundred and fifty men and one hundred 
and twenty horses. 

An incident connected with this fight is worth relating. Among the prison- 
ers captured from the Fortieth that day was Jesse N. Orin, a Sergeant of Com- 
pany B, afterward a distinguished representative for many years in the Ohio 
Legislature from Clinton County. The prisoners were taken before Van Dorn, 
and questioned by him. Sergt. Orin answered in behalf of the captives. 

" What commands do you belong to, boys ? " said the rebel chieftain. 

" Fortieth Ohio, sir,'' answered Orin. 

" You don't all belong to the same regiment, do you ? " 

" Yes, sir." 

" What officer was that in the command of the forces you had in to-day's 
fight ? " 

" Capt. Matchett, of the Fortieth, sir." 

•' Have you got down so low that captains must command your brigades ? " 

t; Brigades ? There was no other regiment fought against you to-day but tfie 
Fortieth, and only seven companies of that, for one company was in the town as 
provost guard, and two companies were on the west of town, and neither of them 
were engaged." 

• Then why in the name of thunder did not your Captain quietly surrender 
when my brigade of cavalry attacked them ? " 

• I presume, sir, the Captain's orders were to defend the picket line, as long 
as he could, and not to surrender." 

• But. why were you not re-enforced ?" 

•• I do not know, sir ; just before we began to fall back, the Captain rode along 
our lines and told each company that it was evident that we were not to be re-en- 
forced, and we could not successfully retreat over that cotton field, unless each 
company implicitly obeyed his commands. "\Ye all understood this ; and he con- 
centrated and retired us in the manner you saw." 

• How did 3 T ou boys come to be captured ? " 

"When our regiment had retreated about half the distance between the 
picket-line and the town, a column of your cavalry threatened to pass by our left, 
and get between us and the town, and ' gobble us all up,' and Capt. .Matchett ordered 
me and another Sergeant, with about twenty men. to a position about three hun- 
dred yards to the left and rear of our regiment, in order to oppose that threatened 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 361 

movement, with orders to hold that position at all hazards, until the regiment had 
retired beyond the cotton-gin. and then make our way back to town as best we 
could. We stayed there as ordered, but when your forces in front of the regiment 
were repulsed, they swept around to our position, on their retreat, and took us all 
in, except a few who started to run the gantlet back to town." 

At this, a fine-looking officer, who was present, broke out in a loud laugh, and 
said : " Gen. Van Dorn. the joke is on you ; you promised to show us how neatly 
you could take in the Yankees at Franklin, and it seems that you have been very 
cleverly repulsed by seven companies of infantry, commanded by a captain, with 
his left protected by a sergeant's squad." 

At this Sergeant Orin said : " General, I would like to be permitted to say 
one word in your defense ; that is — there is not a private in the Fortieth Ohio who 
would not make a good colonel, and not a non-commissioned officer who would not 
make a good brigadier, and as to the Captain who commanded us to-day, he could 
handle an arm}* equal to Bonaparte." 

" Thank you," said Van Dorn, and then, turning to the officer referred to 
above, he said : " How could 3*011 expect me, with my division of cavalry, to 
overcome a Bonaparte, his field-marshals, his sixty generals and 500 colonels ? " 

Gen. Van Dorn then asked Sergt. Orin, " How many men have you at Frank- 
lin ? " 

••I do not know, sir, and if I did I should decline to answer your question." 

••What is the nature and extent of your fortifications there?" 

- General, possibly you had better obtain that information by another recon- 
naissance." 

"Well, Sergeant," said the General, "you'll do. When you rejoin the regi- 
ment, give my compliments to your brave comrades and the Captain, and Bay to 
him that I hope he may never be promoted." 

"Captain," said he, addressing an aid, "see that these men are treated with 
that courtesy and respect due to brave men." 

The men were then taken back and remained as prisoners only about three 
weeks, when they were exchanged. Their prison life was made far more agreea- 
ble to them than the}' expected. 

In 1878, a Major of the Confederate arm}' stopped for a few days at Green- 
ville, Ohio, and called on Capt. Matchett, and said that he had belonged to the 

staff of Gen. , Inspector General of the Confederate army ; that they had 

come west to look after Bragg's army, and went to Spring Hill Run about the 8th 
of April, 1863. and found Gen. Van Dorn a very genial and social fellow, who 
induced the Inspector General to go with him that day (April 10) and see how 
nicely he would take in the Yankees at Franklin. 

The Major said that all the officers agreed that they had never seen " such a 
fighting regiment " as the Fortieth was ; and that he was free to say, that he never 
met with such coolness and determined bravery since. He detailed the conversa- 
tion between Gen. Van Dorn and the captured Sergeant, substantially as given 
above, which, in the mind of the writer, confirmed the statements made by Ser- 
geant Orin and his captured comrades, on their return from captivity. 

About the 1st of May, 1863, the regiment exchanged their Prussian rifles 
for Springfield and Enfield rifles, which they carried until the war closed. 

During the summer of 1863, the regiment were at Triune, Shelbyville. War- 
trace and Tullahoma, Tenn., and participated in many skirmishes before the enemy 
were persuaded to give up Tullahoma and return beyond the mountains to Georgia. 

On September 19. 1863. the reserve army corps of Gen. Gordon Granger (of 
which the Fortieth constituted a part), was stationed on the Ringgold road, to the 
left of the army of the Cumberland. They were attacked by a large force about 
the middle of the day. The Fortieth with some other regiments had been thrown 
forward to support the picket line. The}' held their position until the other regi- 
ments had retired on the main force, when they also fell back. The fight then 



362 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

kept up until night. In the morning there was no cnemj' immediately in front ot 
the reserve corps, and they were on the look-out with nothing to do, until the 
afternoon about 3 o'clock. Meantime. (Jon. Granger and many of his leading offi- 
cers had been drinking "commissary" to the success of all the officers and 
divisions of the Army of the Cumberland generally, and to the success of Gen. 
Gordon Granger particularly. What the result of all this might have been may 
be better imagined than written, had it not been for Capt. William C. Russel, 
Assistant Adjutant General on Gen. Granger's staff, and the hero of Chickamauga. 
This gallant officer, from the clouds of dust and the noise of battle from the field 
of Chickamauga. became satisfied that the enemy were gaining advantage over 
Rosecrans' forces, and that the presence of the reserve corps was required on 
thai field. He urged his chief to give the order at once to move the corps to the 
field of battle, but his "chief" was as hilarious and jovial as Belshazzar was at 
the l'east of Babylon, just before the invisible handwriting flashed upon the walls 
of the banquet hall, and proposed only to obey orders, defend his front and — 
enjoy himself. 

From 12 o'clock, Capt. Russel had been noticed, on that memorable day. in a 
of silent excitement, listening and looking at the signs from the battle-field. 
Sometimes on horseback, sometimes on foot, one minute on an elevation or in the 
; >p of a tree, anxiously looking with his glass in the direction of the battle, and 
the next minute in the valley, with his face to the ground, trying to detect with 
the sense of hearing the progress of the conflict. He was confirmed in the belief 
that our troops were being beaten. His chief, alwa} T s egotistical, never success- 
ful, was now useless. At 2:30 o'clock, Capt. Russel went hurriedly into the pres- 
ence of his chief to again urge him to order the corps removed to the assist- 
ance of the Army of the Cumberland, but the military knowledge of the man, 
whatever it may have been, had given place to the joys produced by the " com- 
missary " of the department. Capt. Russel, on leaving the presence of his chief, 
was heard to say : " Well, I'll do it any how ; I will take the responsibility, even 
though they cashier me for it. - ' In a moment, two orders were written, signed. " By 
order of Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger, W. C. Russel, Acting Adjutant General." one 
of which was delivered to Gen. Steadman and the other to Gen. Brannan. res- 
pectively commanding divisions in the reserve corps. 

These divisions were immediately put in motion, with Steadman in the lead, 
on - double-quick," for the battle-field, a distance of four miles. 

They passed immediately in front of the position occupied by rebel Gen. For- 
rest with his cavalry, then by the right wing of rebel Gen. Longstreet's force : then 
left and center of Gen. Thomas' command, and halted and fought on the extreme 
right of Gen. Thomas as they found it at 4 o'clock P. 31.. of that da}-. 

For a clear understanding of that field at that time, lay a horseshoe in front 
of you, with the heels of the shoe next to you, and add one-fifth of the length of 
the shoe in projection of the right heel. The horseshoe, thus extended, is a semi- 
circular ridge, and on the apex the last battle-line of Chickamauga ; inside the 
horseshoe. Gen. Thomas, his four divisions in line of battle along the inside slope 
of the ridge. On the outside of the horseshoe thus made is the rebel army. Long- 
street extending from center to our left, and Bishop Gen. Polk from center to our right. 
Etossville is seven miles to the rear of Gen. Thomas. The position of the Fortieth 
in the morning was four miles to the left of the left heel of the horseshoe : now it 
is on the extreme right heel of the horseshoe. Two and three miles in front of 
our (the Fortieth's) present position arc Gordon's Mills and Crawfish Springs. 

There was the position of McCook and Crittenden's Corps this morning : now 
they are beaten and scattered from the held, and the rebel regiments, flushed with 
an easy victory over them, are now charging and recharging our right to overturn 
the last obstacle — the "Rock of Chickamauga." 

Here Thomas and every man under him distinguished themselves. Here 
Capt. Russel, ifu hero of Chickamauga^ died in a noble discharge of his duty, and, 



HISTORY OF DA.RKE COUNTY. 363 

though his name and exploits of that day are uninentioned in history, yet they 
live bright in the memory of his surviving comrades. Here Lieuts. Van Mater, of 
Company Gr, and B. F. Snodgrass, of Company A. both Darke County boys, were 
killed and left on the field of battle. Here Lieuts. Allen Smith and Topping were 
wounded, also Darke County boys ; and here were left two officers and twenty-nine 
men, killed. The regiment also suffered the loss of five officers and one hundred 
and ten men wounded, and two officers and forty -three men captured. 

Our captured men were taken at near Rossville on the following Tuesday 
morning (Chickamauga was fought Saturday and Sunday). Company H had been 
placed on picket-line, and were not ordered to withdraw, through some neglect at 
brigade headquarters, and, earl}" on Tuesday morning, the enemy surrounded them 
and took them prisoners. Among those prisoners was Second Lieut. John M. 
Wasson, promoted from Compan}' G. This officer did good service at Chicka- 
mauga. He was kept in prison and at Andersonville, and suffered all the horrors 
of prison-life until the close of the year 1864, when he was exchanged. He twice 
escaped from prison, but both times was recaptured — once by the blood-hounds, 
and another time by a wild tribe of Indians in the western part of North Carolina, 
about two days' march from Knoxville, Tenn. 

On the night of the 20th, our army fell back behind Missionary Ridge, at near 
Rossville, and on the night of the 21st. they fell back to Chattanooga, the objective 
point of the campaign, and the " Iron Brigade."' as it was afterward known, was 
for a few week stationed at Mockeson Point. In a few weeks thereafter, they wei'e 
sent to Shell Mound, Tenn., the Fortieth being stationed at Nickajack Cave, Ga., 
about two miles south of Shell Mound. 

On the 23d day of November, 1863, at break of day, the regiment (except a 
small detail to guard the quarters and property of the regiment at Nickojack), 
started with the brigade for Chattanooga, for the purpose of rejoining the division. 
They traveled until 9 o'clock P. M. of that day, and were then four miles from the 
division. The brigade received orders to report to Maj. Gen. Geary, whose divi- 
sion as camped near where the Fortieth were at that time. The}" accordingly 
turned aside and encamped within the lines of Gen. Geary's Division. The next 
morning the whole command of Geary was put in " battle array," and through the 
mist and fog of a damp morning, was hurled against the rugged sides and rocky 
heights of Lookout Mountain. 

In attacking Lookout Mountain, Gen. Geary was directed to silently pass up 
Lookout Creek for a distance of four miles above the point opposite Chattanooga, 
thence to cross the creek, and push the head of the column up the side of the 
mountain until it halted against the perpendicular rock that caps the summit of 
the mountain, and then move in line of battle by the left flank, along the side of 
the mountain toward Chattanooga. Two and sometimes three regiments were all 
that could stand in line of battle between the summit of the mountain and Look- 
out Creek. As fast as the line of battle was formed it would be thrown forward 
toward the enemy. 

The Fortieth Ohio and Ninety-sixth Illinois constituted the third line of 
battle at the commencement of this fight, and continued so until about three- 
fourths of the side of the mountain had been captured. Gen. Geary's whole 
division (except Whittaker's brigade) belonged to Hooker's army, and had never 
1 tefore met the enemy in battle in the West. "Whittaker's brigade were all Western 
men, and had learned battle at Fort Donelson, Pittsburg Landing, Perryville, 
Stone River and Chickamauga. 

The two lines of battle in front of the Fortieth Ohio and Ninety-sixth Illinois 
had faltered, and were pressing the enemy rather carefully. 

The " Iron Brigade " of Whittaker demanded its officers to lead them to the 
enemy. This demand became so urgent that the officers, regimental and line, were 
compelled to place themselves in front of their companies to keep the Fortieth 
and Ninety-sixth from running over Geary's men in front of them. The men 



364 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

I km ■arae more and more frantic when Capt. Matchett, in front of the left of the 
Fortieth, spoke to Col. Taylor in a loud voice. •Colonel ! the Fortieth is spoiling 
for a fight ; can't you let them have it ?" Col. Taylor spoke to Col. Champion, of 
the Ninety-sixth Illinois, and said, "Colonel, I can't keep my regiment back any 
longer: will the Ninety -sixth go with us ?" The men of the Ninety-sixth made 
answer. "Go in. Granny*^ we'll lie with you.'' Then the Eastern troops were taken 
by surprise. The battle yell of the old -Iron Brigade'' drowned the rattle of 
musketry in front, and reverberated in echo over Lookout Valley. 

The Fortieth and Ninety-sixth, followed by the other regiments of the brigade, 
dashed madly past the two lines of battle and skirmish line in front of them, and 
charged desperately upon the foe. That charge was irresistible. The bright new 
flag of the Fortieth, which had been sent them by the ladies of the Episcopal 
Church of Greenville, Ohio, but a few days before, was seen and cheered by 
thousands of soldiers of the Army of the Cumberland, who lay in the valley below T 
as it advanced on and on, for its baptism of blood, on the rugged sides of Lookout 
Mountain. Gen. Grant had anxiously watched the progress of the charge through 
his field-glass, from Chattanooga, and was heard to say, " Magnificent ;" ; - How 
that flag presses on ;" u Will it never stop ?" " That flag'ds invincible.'' But soon 
a cloud passed over the General and the valley ; its ragged edges dragging along 
the sides of the mouniain, and that bright flag and its gallant defenders were 
• above the clouds," sorely pressing the enemy and driving them from rock to rifle- 
pit, from rifle-pit to breastwork, and from breastworks back to our rear, as prison- 
ers of war. After the face of Lookout Mountain fronting Chattanooga had been 
gained, Gen. Whittaker and his staff with difficulty halted the brigade, and what 
had been gained was held, although the enemy, by successive charges of a fresh 
division, vainly strove to regain their lost stronghold. 

All that evening and night, a heavy firing was kept up, by strong skirmish 
lines of either army. Meanwhile, Gen. Grant sent a division from the Fourteenth 
Corps, and the other two brigades from the reserve corps, to the position occupied 
by Gen. Geary, on the face of Lookout Mountain, for the purpose of making a 
final assault upon the enemy the next morning ; but at 4 o'clock on the morning 
of the 25th, the enemy ceased firing, and our skirmish lines advanced without 
opposition. Bragg had evacuated Lookout Mountain, and the bright flag of the 
Fortieth was taken to its summit. " Jocund day stood tiptoe on the misty 
mountain top." Ere the shades of night were dispelled from the valley of the 
beautiful Tennessee, and as the first rays of that morning's sun fell aslant the sum- 
mit of old Lookout, they were reflected back by the bright folds of the regimental 
flag of the Fortieth Ohio, and that grand sight on that morning was the roll-call of 
Grant's whole army. Though not heard by any, and only seen by soldiers then 
upon the sides and top of the mountain, yet their cheers and shouts of victory, as 
their eyes beheld that grand sight were taken up and repeated by every division 
of that grand army. 

While the cloud of fog was dense upon the valley, the division from the Four- 
teenth Arm}- Corps was withdrawn from Lookout Mountain, and secreted with 
the other divisions of that corps, in the trenches at the foot of Orchard Knob, 
where we will leave them for the present. 

Among the Fortieth's loss on Lookout Mountain was the brave Maj. Acton. 

On the morning of the 24th of November, Bragg' s army extended from Look- 
out Mountain, where his extreme left rested across the valley of Chattanooga to 
Rossville — a town without houses in the gap at Missionary Ridge — thence, on Mis- 
sionary Ridge, for a distance of about six miles, where his right rested. After his 
defeat at Lookout .Mountain, he withdrew his line from that point to Rossville. and 
strengthened his line on Missionary Ridge. 

The Army of the Tennessee, under Gen. W. T. Sherman, had been pressing 
the enemy's right for two days. On the 25th, Sherman attacked with increased 

■ •• ft dier in the brigade called Col. Taylor, "f ihe Fortieth Ohio, granny. 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 365 

severity, and threatened a general engagement. In the afternoon, when the day 
was bright and clear, the Eleventh and Twelfth Corps, and the Reserve Corps, 
under Gen. Hooker, marched in solid divisions across Lookout Valley to Rossville. 
During this movement, Bragg withdrew a large force from his center to re-enforce 
his right and left. Just before Hooker arrived at Rossville, the cannons boomed 
the signal, which was the order to the Fourteenth Army Corps to charge the ene- 
my's center. This grand army corps exceeded even its orders ; the enenry's cen- 
ter was broken, and the battle of Missionary Ridge was gained. The enemy were 
followed, on the 26th and 27th, to Ringgold, Ga., where the campaign for 1863 
ended and the army returned to winter quarters, the Fortieth returning to Nicka- 
jack Cave, Ga., where they remained until February, and where, in December and 
January, 135 of the Darke County bo}*s re-enlisted as veterans, as shown by the 
reports in the Adjutant General's office of Ohio, as follows : Company E, 32 ; 
Company F, 27 ; Company G, 45 ; Company K, 31 — Company G being the first 
company in the brigade to re-enlist. 

Some time in the winter of 1864, the Army of the Cumberland was re-organ- 
ized, and was composed of the Fourth, Fourteenth and Twentieth Army Corps, 
the Fortieth being a part of the Second Brigade, of the First Division of the Fourth 
Corps. 

In February, 1864, the brigade went to Cleveland, Tenn., and encamped near 
Blue Springs. They were engaged in that reconnaissance in force against Dalton 
by Gen. Palmer, about the 22d of February, and sustained a loss of a few men 
wounded. On their return to Blue Springs, Companies E and G started home on 
veteran furlough. They returned to the command at Blue Springs April 10, 1864. 
Companies F and K did not leave on veteran furlough until the latter part of 
March. The}' returned to the regiment May 16, after the battle at Resaca, Ga. 

The wonderful campaign against Atlanta was begun May 6 and ended Sep- 
tember 5, 1864. During all this time, there was not a day passed that the Fortieth 
Regiment did not hear the whizzing of rebel bullets. In the early part of that 
campaign, while the regiment was commanded by Col. Taylor, Company G did 
distinguished service on the skirmish-line. The official report of Col. Taylor, con- 
taining the military action of the regiment from the beginning of that campaign 
up to July 1, 1864, is before the writer, and he is now surprised to learn of the 
distinguished services performed b}' this company, as appears from that report. 
The following are quotations : 

■'* * * On the 11th (May), three companies on the left, B, G and E, were 
sent, under command of Capt. Matchett, to Mill Creek Gap (along the railroad), 
with orders to build breastworks along the crest of the hill, and hold the place at 
every hazard. * * * In the action on the 15th, the regiment lay with the 
brigade, only Company G, Capt. Matchett, being deployed as skirmishers. * * 
On the evening of the 17th, the regiment were ordered into position at Adair- 
ville. Companies B and G were deployed as skirmishers. They readily cleared 
the hill in front of them of all rebel incumbrances, and we quietly bivouacked 
there for the night."' In addition to this, the report shows that, a large portion of 
the time, the entire regiment was engaged as skirmishers. 

Col. Taylor describes the Fortieth's operations at Resaca in the following 
words : 

" On the 14th, I was ordered forward, being on the right of the brigade, my 
right conforming to the movements of Col. Gross' brigade (Third). Skirmishers 
were deployed, and the line moved to the crest of the hill, in front of the enemy's 
works. At 3 o'clock P. M., the enemy made an attack on Gen. Craft's brigade 
(on left of Second Brigade), and, after considerable fighting, succeeded in flank- 
ing that brigade, and even turning the left of the Second Brigade. The enem}- 
rapidly followed up his advantages, and, with hideous yells, pursued our routed 
force, even to the right and rear of our brigade, to the distance of half a mile. 
The enemy's front lines of battle were rapidly followed up by his formidable 



366 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

reserve of three lines. At this critical time, the Fortieth was ordered to the 
rescue. I quickly changed front to the rear and ' right in front." and ordered the 
charge. We passed the Left and rear of the enemy's front line of battle, confront- 
ing and charging the three lines of reserves that were following up. Though his 
numbers must have been at least four times that of ours, yet he disorderly broke 
back to his intrenchments, leaving his front line to take care of itself, which line 
was entertained in a very chivalrous manner by the Fourth Indiana Battery and a 
brigade from Hooker's (Twentieth) corps. Gen. Craft here directed me to form on 
the main Resaca road — both for the purpose of holding the road and capturing as 
many of the enemy as possible. Soon after, however, I was ordered to the hill. 
where our brigade was collecting. I respectfully ask that the importance of the 
above charge be not lightly passed over, as it undoubtedly saved the entire 
division." 

An unfortunate affair on June 20, at Kenesaw, is described by Col. Taylor in 
his report, as follows : 

" Late in the evening of the 20th, while the men were at supper (it being after 
dark). I received an order to re-enforce the Thirty-fifth Indiana Volunteer Infantry. 
With the left wing of the regiment (the right wing, at the time, being in the works 
to the rear), I moved forward for that purpose, passing by the flank to the rear of 
the position occupied by the Thirty-fifth Indiana. I was surprised, here, to find 
my regiment exposed to a severe fire from both front and rear. I ordered the 
men to open fire to the front, but many of them executed this order under protest, 
saying that the Thirty-fifth Indiana was in front of them. These men. having 
been detailed on the skirmiskdine a few minutes before, and afterward ordered 
back to the regiment, had just left the Thirty-fifth in possession of the works. I 
ordered the regiment forward to the works, and was surprised to find them in the 
possession of the enemy. Their presence could not be detected until we got close 
to them. They then opened upon us with such warmth that the men fell back, 
and, momentarily, scattered. Though they fell back, many of them kept up a 
severe fire on the enemy, while others rejoined the remainder of the regiment in 
the works. I then brought up the right wing, but this time with a perfect under- 
standing of the works before me, and, re-enforced as we were by nearly all of the 
left wing, we charged the works. A hand-to-hand conflict ensued* for a few minutes, 
but we took the works and held them. Next morning, the green earth in front of 
us was gray with the enemy's dead. We took one officer and twenty men prison- 
ers. My loss, however, was severe — nine killed and thirty-one wounded, and we 
lost in prisoners Lieut. Col. Watson and twenty men." 

The Fortieth Ohio was attached to the left of Harker's brigade in that disas- 
trous assault upon Kenesaw, June 29. 1864, in which Cols. Harker and McCook. 
each leading brigades, were killed. Col. Taylor, in his report, describes the action 
of the Fortieth on that occasion in the following words : 

" On the 29th, when, in the general assault on Kenesaw, the Fortieth Regiment 
was ordered to the left of Harker's brigade, with directions to conform my move 
ments to the movements of that brigade. We moved forward, exposed to the 
galling fire of the enemy, but moved with accuracy and precision. Harker's 
brigade having come to a halt, my line extended its right, adjoining Harker. and 
my left resting on the little brook, or Run Hollow. Within half an hour, I was, 
ordered to the front line of works. The Fortieth Ohio was the only regiment of 
this brigade that covered the front line of works. My loss was ten men wounded. 
one mortally." 

Col. Taylor closes his report as follows : 

• In the sanguinary struggles and hardships endured by our army in Georgia 
up to this date in the campaign, 1 am proud to know that the Fortieth Ohio Infan- 
try has fully sustained her pari ; ever willing, she has done all she was ordered to 
do. without hesitation or grumbling. She has not been without the sound of hos- 
tile guns since we first met the enemy on Tunnel Hill. and. with the exception of 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 367 

four days during that time, we have been under fire. We have been in the trenches 
on the front lines more than thirty days and nights. We have built on the front 
line thirteen lines of breastworks, and we have lost, in all, one officer (Capt. Con- 
verse) and eleven men killed ; one officer and sixty men wounded, and Lieut. Col. 
James Watson and twenty-one men captured." 

On the 1st of July, Col. Taylor was ordered to the command of the brigade, 
and Capt. Matchett to the command of the regiment. These officers continued in 
their commands respectively, until after the fall of Atlanta. 

The Fortieth at Peach Tree Creek.— The 18th and 19th days of July had been 
severe on the Fortieth. They had been constantly in front of the brigade as 
skirmishers. The rebels were slowly falling back from Kenesaw, and the Fortieth 
had been contending on our advance with their rear guard, from eveiy hill 
and stream. On the morning of the 20th, the Fortieth were permitted to march 
in the rear of the brigade and expected to have an easy time, but how often are 
we doomed to disappointment. That was a day of the hardest fighting the 
Fortieth ever experienced. 

On the morning of the 20th, Gen. Stanley ordered Gen. Craft, commanding 
the First Brigade, to press forward to find the enemy. At Peach Tree Creek, he 
found a skirmish line of the enemy who disputed his crossing. The bridge in the 
road crossing the creek had been fired by the enemy, and Craft's brigade had been 
held at bay by the enemy for some time. Gen. Stanley rode up to the" front and told 
Craft he ought to effect a crossing without delay, that the enenry were not strong on 
the opposite side. Craft replied, that he was not sure of the enemy's strength, but 
that they were advantageously posted, and he could not cross without severe loss. 
Stanley then in his peculiar way of using the English language when excited, said 
that he had one regiment in the Second Brigade, commanded by a Captain, who 
could effect a crossing and he should order that regiment up, unless Craft moved 
forward promptly. Craft told him to bring on his regiment and try it. Stanley 
turned to Col. Taylor, who was standing by, and said : ' ; Go send me Capt. 
Matchett and the Fortieth. 

Col. Taylor came back and related to Capt. Matchett and some of the men 
what had taken place, and delivered Stanley's order. Capt. Matchett, with the 
Fortieth, immediately reported to Gen. Stanley, who was sitting on his horse at 
the head of the halted column, speaking in loud and unfavorable terms, and with 
many emphatic adjectives, about the First Brigade. Capt. Matchett said : " Gen- 
eral, I am ordered to report to you with the Fortieth." i; Yes. sir," said the Gen- 
eral ; ; ' I want you to cross that stream and move those d — d rebels." "Have you 
any directions. General, as to how I shall go about that ? " said the Captain. "No, 
sir ; use your own judgment, but don't fail doing it." " Then I'll first recon- 
noiter," said the Captain, and immediately started and did so. 

Peach Tree Creek, or that branch of it in front of the Fourth Army Corps, 
was a deep, still, sluggish stream, about fifteen feet wide. The First Brigade had 
made several unsuccessful attempts to cross the bridge, and were deployed to the 
left of the bridge for some distance, but had no forces on the right. In front of 
the First Brigade to the enemy the ground lay in its natural state and unfenced, 
and mostly covered with grass, alder brush and weeds. To the right of the 
bridge, the ground was fenced, and marshy to some extent, and covered with tall 
prairie grass ; and, a short distance from the right of the bridge, the creek had 
been ditched by a deep ditch about twelve feet wide. On the bank of this ditch 
was a fence, and the fence now grown up thickly with bushes. Across that ditch 
for a distance of eighty yards was a meadow stubble freshly mown ; across the 
meadow a corn-field in tassel, extending up to the top of the ridge and to a thick 
woods. 

Capt. Matchett decided to make the attempt in that direction, that is, by the 
right of the bridge and via the corn-field. On returning from his reconnaissance, 
he said to Gen. Stanley, " All right, General, I will do my best." " But will you 



368 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

succeed ? " said the General, sharply. "We will satisfy you, General," replied the 
Captain. He then moved the regiment to the rear far enough to place a hill on 
the right of the road between him and the enemy in front of the First Brigade in 
order to hide his movements from the enemy. At the foot of that hill he found 
the bed of the old stream, dry. and with gravel bottom, leading to the ditch 
before spoken of. with grass along its banks high enough to conceal the movement 
from the enemy. The Fortieth moved in this channel until they reached the ditch 
bank, and then filed off in line of battle behind the bushes growing on the ditch 
bank. On the right of each company, a passage-wa}* was hastily cut through the 
" fence-row bushes," and these cut bushes cast into the bottom of the ditch, and 
on their top sufficient rails were thrown in to enable the men to cross. Each 
company was enabled to cross the ditch at the same time by " right flank file 
left." This brought them to the meadow stubble each company in column, and 
the whole regiment in line of battle by "company into line." The regiment 
charged up through the corn-field up the side of the ridge until they gained the 
wood. Then the left of the regiment was wheeled to the left, the right act- 
ing as flankers, and in this manner they charged on the flank of the enemy who 
had resisted the First Brigade, and killed, captured and routed them, taking them 
completely by surprise. The number of prisoners captured by this movement 
must have nearly equaled the number of men in the Fortieth. Gen. Stanley 
asked Gen. Graft if he thought his brigade was strong enough to guard the pris- 
oners that the Fortieth Regiment had captured. Stanley's division then crossed 
the stream, and the Fortieth was again thrown forward, and, in a short time, found 
the enemy in force before them. The wdiole Fourth Corps was then placed in line 
of battle on the left of the Fortieth, for the final charge. 

The enemy had been found to be in force opposite the left of the Fourth 
Corps, and Gen. Howard, who was in command of the Fourth Corps, directed that 
the advance of the corps should be in the nature of a left wheel, and thinking 
that no serious obstacle would be found in front of the right, that part of the com- 
mand was directed to advance in heavy skirmish line. 

Immediately in front of the Fortieth was a low swale, 200 yards in width and 
one-half a mile long, and covered with a growth of low alder bushes. To the 
right of this was a ridge of cleared land, extending along the side of this swale, 
and encircling the upper end of it, in the shape of an inverted letter £. Two 
hundred yards in front of this ridge, and corresponding to its shape, was another ridge, 
fortified by the enemy and hidden from view b}* a pine thicket. On the ridge, at 
the upper end of the swale, the enemy also had a line of breastworks, hidden 
from view. 

Capt. Matchett, who had examined the ground, informed Gen. Stanley as to 
the true state of the enemy, but Stanley thought Matchett was mistaken. They. 
however, made a personal reconnaissance together, but nothing whatever could be 
seen to indicate the presence of an enemy, as indicated by Capt. Matchett. Gen. 
Stanley ordered Capt. Matchett to deploy his regiment in a heavy skirmish line, 
and await the signal for advancing. The Captain asked permission to throw the 
four companies on the right in column, to act as flankers, from the fact that every 
man who crossed the ridge would be sacrificed. Stanley said : " You have your 
orders, and you had better obe}' them ; extend your right, and with your left con- 
form to the movements of the right of the Twenty -first Kentucky. Stanley then 
rode away, and soon the signal for advancing was given, and the movement com- 
menced. Gen. Howard, who was near the right, seeing that the line of the Forti- 
eth, though irregular, was as heavy as a line of battle, and protected by a column 
of flankers, directed Gen. Stanleys attention to it, and ordered it to be immedi- 
ately corrected, without halting the advance. When an aid delivered this order 
order to Capt. Matchett, he returned for answer : " Give my compliments to the 
General, and say that I am acting on the evidences of my own senses, and that I 
assume all responsibility. If I don't develop the presence of the enemy before I 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 369 

reach the woods, I will then deploy the regiment, but to do so now would be to 
wipe it out of existence.'' 

The Twenty-first Kentucky had gained the outskirts of a deep wood, and the 
Fortieth, in conforming its movements to the Twenty-first Kentucky, had passed 
up the swale, and within 200 yards of the upper end, when that familiar rebel 
yell greeted their ears, and a line of battle arose from the bed of the little stream 
at the edge of the woods and commenced firing. This line of battle extended in 
front of the whole corps. The Twenty-first Kentucky, and, in fact, the whole 
brigade, halted. The Fortieth could not halt on the level ground without being 
destroyed, nor retreat without subjecting themselves to a murderous fire from the 
enemy. Capt. Matchett, believing their only hope was in charging the enemy's 
first line of breastworks, gave that command, and the Fortieth executed it, 
though at a greater loss in killed than the regiment suffered in the two days' fight 
at Chickamauga. The enemy charged and re-charged, in front and left flank, but 
the order was, ' : Boys, we must hold this position or die right here." In this 
engagement, Capt. C. F. Snodgrass and Capt. J. W. Smith, both Darke County 
boys, distinguished themselves. The enemy, in charging down upon our left flank, 
were enfilading four companies on the left and gaining an advantage over them, 
when Capt. Smith was ordered to charge the enemy in his front, and. if possible, 
to close in with them ; if not, to drive them back to their works. At the same 
time, Capt. Snodgrass was directed to face his four companies of flankers to the 
left, and enfilade the rebel line in front of the Twenty-first Kentucky. Capt. 
Smith drove the enemy back to their next line of breastworks, and Capt. Snod- 
grass, by his enfilading fire, cleared the line in front of the Twenty-first Kentucky. 
The commanding officer of the Twenty-first Kentucky, at the request of, and by 
the assistance of. Capt. Matchett. then advanced the right of his regiment to the 
left of the Fortieth Ohio. The regiment was then ordered to keep up an incess- 
ant firing. 

At 5 o'clock, the regiment was relieved, with permission to bury their dead — 
twenty-nine killed ; none captured and none wounded. On their way back to the 
spot where the charge began, they met Gen. Stanley and staff, and Capt. Match- 
ett. pointing to the alders on the swale, which were completely mown down by the 
enemy's fire, said : " General, is not that a beautiful stubble-field '?"' The Gen- 
eral, after viewing the field with' wonder, said : " The Fortieth has distinguished 
itself to-day. No men could have done better, and I very much doubt whether 
any other regiment could have done so well. I wonder that so many of }'ou are 
left alive. Capt. Matchett, Gen. Howard directs me to say to you that he is 
pleased with your action and judgment, and he is now satisfied that, had you not 
taken the responsibility and acted as you did, his best regiment would have been 
destroyed. The General witnessed your charge with interest, and applauded your 
success. For my part, I am proud of you and the Fortieth." 

The regiment then buried their dead — their noble dead ; comrades who had 
stood with us on many a hard-contested field, and here nobly fell, fighting in 
response to the command, " Men, we must hold this position or die right here." 
When we have said of our comrades. " They died whilst charging with their regi- 
ment," we cannot add to their praise ; and the writer has not language to describe 
the sorrow we all felt in parting with these brave men. Thank God, their death 
was not in vain. 

The next morning at 5 o'clock, the regiment was again ordered to relieve the 
regiment that had relieved us the evening before, and we were instructed to keep 
up a constant firing and a sharp lookout for the enemy. That morning, Capt. C. 
F. Snodgrass was mortally wounded while observing the movements of the 
enemy. His last words were, " The rebels are preparing to charge ; don't carry me 
back, boys, until you have repulsed them." Capt. Snodgrass was shot in the thigh, 
the ball severing the right femoral artery ; he died within five minutes after he 
was struck. He enlisted in 1861, as private. On the organization of the 



370 HISTOKV OF DARKE COUNTY. 

regiment, he was appointed Sergeant of Company I, and from that position was 
promoted to Lieutenant and then to Captain, after which he was assigned to 
Company A. 

When the charge of the enemy was repulsed, he was carried back and buried 
with military honors, on the same mound where his comrades were buried who 
had fallen in battle the day before. 

Thai day, after 111 o'clock, A. M.. the Fortieth Regiment tired 28,000 rounds of 
cartridge at the enemy : the fire was kept up constantly in order to prevent the 
enemy if possible, from charging. Every tree for sixty yards in front of the 
Fortieth was cut down by bullets. At night the position was so exposed that 
they could not be relieved, and they continued to defend their position during the 
night, keeping up a constant fire. At 2 o'clock the next morning, Capt. Matchett 
directed Company E to cease firing, and, with two volunteers, passed out in front 
of that company to within thirty steps of the enemy's line of works and over- 
heard the enemy say that they were falling back. At 4 o'clock A. M., the firing 
having gradually ceased, the Fortieth advanced without serious opposition to the 
enemy's works and found them vacated. 

That day, in order that the Fortieth might have a day of rest, it was placed 
on the extreme left of the Army of the Cumberland, and we advanced to the outer 
works which the rebels had built around Atlanta. Our position being on an eleva- 
tion, with a low prairie of half a mile wide between us and the right of the Army 
of the Tennessee, from which position, with comparative safety, we anxiously 
looked down on the fight between Gens. Hood and McPherson, which resulted in 
the defeat of the former and the death of the latter. 

The Fortieth lay at Atlanta during the siege, doing duty as any other regi- 
ment ; swung around with Sherman, and fought at Jonesboro and Lovejoy. suffer- 
ing a loss of three killed, seven wounded and two captured at the two places. 
Among the wounded was Capt. Matchett, at Levejov. He did not leave the 
regiment, however, although being unable to walk for several days thereafter. 

On the evening of the 5th of September, 1864, the army was ordered back to 
Atlanta, the objective point of the campaign being won. For a few weeks they 
enjoyed quiet and comfort. 

When October came with her balmy days, the rebel General, Hood, tried the 
experiment of his wonderful flank movement toward the North, and Sherman fol- 
lowed as far as Gaylesville. Ala., when he determined on his " march to the sea." 
leaving Gen. Thomas with the Fourth Corps and the Army gf Ohio to look after 
Hood. Considerable maneuvering was had and much marching done, when the 
Fourth Corps, about the 1st of November, halted at Pulaski, Tenn. 

In the mean time. Lieut. Col. Watson had returned from captivity, and Maj. 
J. L. Reeves had gained strength sufficient to leave the field hospital, where he had 
tarried since June 22. and rejoined the regiment. 

The three years for which the regiment was enlisted having expired, all the 
companies which had not re-enlisted as veterans, were mustered out. except such 
recruits as had from time to time been added to them. Col. Taylor. Surgeon J. 
N. Beech and Assistant Surgeon W. II. Matchett were mustered out about the 
20th of October, and the Lieutenant Colonel and Major both declared their inten- 
tion of being mustered out as soon as an opportunity could lie afforded them to 
make up their final reports and returns as such officers. 

The term of Capt. .Matchett expired October 7. 1864, bu1 the Fortieth being a 
favorite regiment with (Jen. Stanley, he requested that officer to remain with it. 
and take command, promising to use his influence to have it filled by recruits and 
officered by its experienced men, or consolidated into a battalion of four com- 
panies. 

While at Pulaski, thinking the regiment had gone into winter quarters, Mai. 
Reeves signified his determination to remain with the regiment, if Capt, Matchett 
did, or to be mustered out if Capt. Matchett was. This course would not only have 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 371 

prevented the promotion of Capt. Matchett, but also that of several other worthy 
officers and men ; and therefore Capt. Matchett, on his own demand, was mustered 
out on the 24th of November, 1864— after having served three years one month 
and seventeen days with the rank of Captain. 

The rebel General, Hood, having discovered that he could do nothing to pre- 
vent Sherman's march to the sea, concluded to strike our Government a counterhit 
by marching his army to the lakes. The Fourth Corps was marched rapidly for- 
ward and gave him battle at Franklin, Tenn., November 30, inflicting terri- 
ble punishment upon him. Here the rebel General, Pat Cleberne, was killed 
while charging our lines. The writer has reason to believe that Clebern's division 
fought the First Division of the Fourth Corps every day during the Atlanta cam- 
paign. 

The Fortieth was not severely engaged in this battle, and suffered no loss. 
Gen. Stanley was severely wounded in the neck in this engagement, but did not 
quit the field until the enemy fell back. 

That 'night the Fourth Corps fell back to Nashville. Here the Lieutenant 
Colonel and Major were mustered out, and Gen. Stanley being absent on account 
of wounds received at Franklin, the Fortieth was consolidated with the Fifty-first 
Ohio Infantry, against the protest of every officer and man in the regiment. Capt. 
Allen, and Lieuts. Fisher and Toner were placed under arrest by the Colonel of 
the Fifty-first for the manner in which they had objected to the consolidation. The 
Colonel of the Fifty-first ordered the regimental flag of the Fortieth to be thrown 
away or sent back to Ohio, but the veterans of the Fortieth signified their deter- 
mination to die by that flag if necessary, but to never part with it while they 
remained in the service. The Colonel of the Fifty-first wisely took this hint, and 
after threatening and swearing much, he, like all other " men of words," did 
nothing. A former sutler of the Fortieth, who was then a citizen of Nashville, 
told the Colonel of the Fifty-first that he did not believe a single regimental officer 
would survive the fight unless the officers of the Fortieth were released from 
arrest. They were accordingly released. 

On the morning of the 15th of December, 1864, Col. Wood of the Fifty-first 
told the veterans of the Fortieth that he should hold them accountable for their 
action during the coming fight ; that he had borne with their insults and insubor- 
dination as long as he intended to, and that he hoped he would have no more 
trouble with them. Lieut, William Potter, who had been promoted to First 
Lieutenant from Orderly Sergeant of Company G, Fortieth Regiment, replied in these 
words : " Colonel, the only trouble you will have with us in this fight is to keep 
your old regimental flag and flax pullers* up even with us." Then turning to the 
veterans of the Fortieth, he said : " Boys, Col. Taylor is not here, and neither is 
Capt. Matchett with you to lead you in this fight, but let us preserve the reputa- 
tion of the old Fortieth, by showing these flax pullers how to go in a fight." 

In the consolidation of the two regiments, the veterans of the Fortieth were 
made Companies E, K and H of the Fifty-first, and some recruits of the Fortieth 
and Fifty-first were consolidated in Company G, of the Fifty-first. This placed the 
Fortieth all in the left wing of the Fifty-first. The two days' fighting at Nash- 
ville demonstrated the truthfulness of Lieut. Potter's suggestion to Col. Wood, 
that the flax pullers would have trouble to go as far in the fight as the 
Fortieth. At one time. Col. Wood led the regiment in a charge on a rebel battery 
m such a way as to bring the left of his regiment squarely in front of the cannon's 
mouth, but without a moment's hesitation they charged and took it ; meanwhile 
the right of the regiment had become stuck because'of the warm reception they 
received from the rebel support to that battery. In the Fortieth there were several 
veterans who had been drilled in a battery, while on detached duty in that service, 
m 1862, and they seized upon the rebel guns and in a moment were enfilading the 
rebel l ines right and left, and calling out to Col. Wood to bring up his " d— d^flax 

The hoys of the Fortieth called the Fifty-first Regi men X flcu pullers. 



372 HISTORV OF DARKE COUN1V 

pullers " in a Line with them, and saying, " see where the flag of the Fortieth 
waves." 

When Gen. Stanley returned to the Fourth Corps, he asked Col. Wood how 
he liked the veterans' of the Fortieth. Col. Wood replied: " Oh, well, I never 
saw such devils to fight, but they are saucy and insubordinate." They were never 
insubordinate while the regiment existed as the Fortieth. 

After the battle at Nashville, the Fifty-first pursued after the enemy, as far as 
Huntsville, Ala., thence to East Tennessee, and from there returned to Nashville, 
where they remained until the close of the war. In June. 1865. the regiment was 
ordered to Texas, the Fifty-first going as far as Victoria, and being stationed, for 
several weeks, at Indianola. 

In October, 1865. they were mustered out and returned home, the veterans 
of the Fortieth bringing the flag with them, and on the 17th of November, 1865, 
pursuant to previous notice, they returned the flag to the ladies of Greenville. 
Not as they had received it. bright and beautiful to the eye. but battle-worn, bullet- 
riddled, the spear broken, the shaft shattered, and with many bullet rents through 
its colors. The orator of the day, Dr. W. C. Otwell, the Regimental Steward of 
the Fortieth, closed his presentation address in the following language : 

" To you then, ladies, we return these colors, riddled with bullets and stained 
with patriots' blood, who died that we might live to enjoy the rich boon of free- 
dom, purchased with the price of rivers of gore. With this banner, we also return 
the thanks of its noble defenders to those patriotic women from whose hands it 
came to the Fortieth." 

The flag is now in the possession of Mrs. I. N. Gard, of Greenville, Ohio. 

There were many noble deeds and acts of bravery done by other companies in 
this glorious regiment, from other counties outside of" Darke County, well worthy 
a place in history, and which are not within the purview and scope of this work, 
and are, therefore, necessarily omitted, and in fact, everything here found has been 
too briefly stated : but we bear witness to what we have written and had it placed 
here ; in order that the present and future generations may know that although 
Darke County furnished no distinguished Generals in the war to command armies, 
yet the deeds of valor, the acts of personal bravery of her soldiers, and the honor, 
ability and integrity with which they discharged their duties in many a hard- 
fought battle, are unsurpassed by any and second to none. 

The Forty-fourth Ohio Volunteer Infantry was organized and mustered into 
United States service at Camp Clark, Springfield, Ohio, in October, 1851. On the 
14th, it moved via Cincinnati to West Virginia, and Company G, Capt. John M. 
Newkirk, were soon in active service on picket and on detail. After several expedi- 
tions, the regiment built winter quarters, provided comfortable shelter, drilled 
daily, and so'passed five months. On May, 1, 1862, the command moved up to 
Gauley Bridge, and was brigaded with the Thirty-sixth and Forty-seventh, under 
Col. Crook. The brigade moved to Lewisburg.'and from there the Forty-fourth 
and another regiment advanced to Dublin Station, on the railroad, destroying part 
of the track. Returning to Lewisburg, the brigade was attacked May 23, and 
turning upon the enemy routed them, captured three guns, many prisoners, and 
had the rebel dead to bury, their wounded to care for. They fell back to Meadow 
Bluff, and threw up works, and, August 15, set off toward the Kanawha. It was 
learned that a heavy body of the enemy was moving against the brigade, which 
had two regiments on each bank of the river. On September 9, the Forty-fourth 
and its associate regiment, being assailed, fell back on Gauley, and having made a 
stand to secure safety of the train, began their retreat. The Forty-fourth marched 
in the rear a day and the greater part of the night, and covered the retreat to 
Charleston, where the persistent foe again attacked on the 13th. The Union 
soldiers, greatly outnumbered, disputed the ground firmly, and finally crossing an 
affluent of the Kanawha, cut down the suspension bridge and cut off the pursuit. 
The regiment was now sent to Kentucky, and encamped for some time at Covington. 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 373 

Moving to Lexington, it was placed in the Second Brigade. Second Division, of the 
Army of Kentucky, under Gen. Granger, and took part in various scouts ana 
marches until December 20. when, moving to Frankfort, it was there mounted and 
thence saw constant duty, advancing, retreating and skirmishing, and almost living 
in the saddle. The regiment dismounted, accompanied Burnside on his advance 
into Tennessee, and shared in the rigors of the campaign ; working in fortifications 
at Knoxville, and occupying the wet ditches day and night. The enemy were 
pursued eastward, and returning, the men went into camp at Strawberry Plains. 
January 1, it was proposed that the command re-enlist, under promise that the men 
would be armed and mounted as cavalry. Within four da} r s. 550 of 600 men had 
accepted the proposal. Their arrival at home was an occasion of enthusiastic and 
joyous greeting. On March 28, 1864, the veterans with numerous recruits were 
organized at Camp Dennison, as the 

Eighth Ohio Volunteer Cavalry. — Delayed in the receipt of arms and accouter- 
ments. six companies, not mounted, were ordered to West Virginia on April 26, 
and on May 8 the rest of the regiment was ordered to Cincinnati, to be transported 
to Charleston. Early on the 10th, without saddles or bridles, the men, each lead- 
ing two or three horses, set out for the city, which was reached in a heavy rain, 
but by dark the}' had embarked and were on their way. At Charleston, they were 
supplied with carbines and saddles, and, the last of May, sent to Lewisburg over 
a familiar road. They were assigned to Gen. Duffle's brigade, and started with 
Averill on the raid to Lynchburg. On the night of the third day, camp was made 
in Warm Springs Valley. At Staunton, a junction was made with Hunter's com- 
mand. A futile attempt was made to surprise the rebels at Buckhannon, where the 
Eighth remained till the 15th, when it crossed the ridge toward Lynchburg. Two 
companies skirmished with the enemy near Otter Creek Bridge, and, at noon next 
day, the enemy was met in force. The ground was disputed with uncertain result, 
and the rebels were forming for a charge, when infantry came up and secured the 
position. The night brought aid to the eneni}', and by dark next day the Union 
army was retreating rapidly, followed closely b}' the rebels. At Liberty, the 
Eighth was ordered to re-enforce the rear guard, and, in an action with a far 
superior force, lost seventy-one in killed, wounded and prisoners. Subsequently, 
the enemy having attacked and partially despoiled the train of artillery, the 
Eighth dismounted and recovered the guns: They retired to White Sulphur 
Springs, where the regiment was divided — the Colonel proceeding with the foot- 
men to Charleston, while the mounted men, under the Lieutenant Colonel, went to 
Beverly. A march of 600 miles, occupying thirty-three davs, brought the mounted 
men temporaiy rest. Twice ordered to the Shenandoah, they each time returned, 
under counter orders, to Beverly. Four companies — A, C, H and K — were 
captured in August. On the morning of October 29, a body of rebels rode 
into camp, just as the men were falling in for roll-call. As the shots were heard 
at the picket line, the men formed, carbine in hand, behind the horse racks, and 
held the enemy temporarily in check, A hand-to-hand fight occurred, the men bat- 
tling singly and in groups, and, in some cases, without weapons. Finally the 
rebels were routed, with a loss of seventeen killed, twenty-seven wounded and 
ninety-two prisoners, while the Eighth lost eight killed, twenty-five wounded and 
thirteen prisoners. 

Scouting and skirmishing kept the men busily employed till December 1, 
when Col. Moore rejoined the regiment with his force. They had been in the cav- 
alry charge at Winchester, had fought at Fisher's Hill, barely escaped capture at 
Cedar Creek, and followed Early on his retreat. Things put on a new aspect at 
this time. Five companies were well mounted, and four of these were ordered to 
Philippi, and 300 men of the Thirty-fourth came to replace them. On January 
11, 1865, about 3 A. M., the camp was surprised; a few escaped, twenty-five were 
killed and wounded, most were captured. In seven days, they were hurried 163 
miles, wading through streams, traveling through snow, and' half starved. At 



374 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

Staunton, seventy men were placed in each of a train of stock cars and conveyed 
to Richmond. They suffered much in Libby and Pemberton till paroled, Feb- 
ruary 15. Some returned to Clarksburg, and some were mustered out as prisoners 
of war in June, and in August the regiment was mustered out at Clarksburg, Va., 
and was paid off' and discharged at Camp Dennison, Ohio. 

History of the Sixty-ninth Ohio Volunteer Infantry. — This regiment contained 
two companies of men from Darke County, under Capts. Eli Hickox and David 
Putnam. It was about the close of April, 1862, when the organization reported 
for duty at Nashville, Tenn.; was reviewed by Andrew Johnson, then Military 
Governor of the State, and, April 29, detailed to guard forty-two miles of the 
Nashville & Columbia Railroad. The companies were stationed at bridges within 
that distance. June 6, the regiment was ordered to report at Franklin, then to 
Nashville, and was then transported to Murfreesboro, where it joined three other 
regiments, two batteries and a bod}^ of cavalr}*, all under Gen. Dumont, in an expe- 
dition to McMinnville. The head of the column entered that town in twenty-eight 
hours after leaving Murfreesboro, and in twenty hours accomplished the feat of 
traveling fifty-two miles. They marched across the Cumberland Mountains to 
Pikeville. The ascent of the mountains is very steep, and the distance to the top 
shelf is three miles. The artillery doubled teams, as did the baggage trains. The 
road is covered with sharp stones, tying loose ; at the top of the road, it is cov- 
ered with fine sand to the depth of four inches. Water was scarce ; trains were 
far to the rear ; haversacks were empty, and everybody was hungry. There was 
a small farm where the troops camped, and among the stock was a flock of fifty 
sheep, which fell victims to their necessities. There was no salt, and the mutton 
was roasted on sticks for supper and breakfast. On Sunday morning, the column 
had advanced but two miles, when scouts reported the rebels at Pikeville, and 
nothing to eat ; thereupon the column about-faced and set out on their return. 
Returning to Nashville, the Sixty-ninth was assigned to provost and guard duty 
until the close of July. Col. L. D. Campbell was appointed Provost Marshal of 
Nashville, and held the position till his resignation, in August. Morgan made a 
raid on Gallatin, and the Sixty-ninth Ohio and Eleventh Michigan, marching 
thither, drove out the enemy. While Bragg was engaged in his movement on 
Louisville, the Sixty-ninth, with other regiments, garrisoned Nashville. Duty was 
severe, and skirmishes were frequent. The army gathering at Nashville, the regi- 
ment moved out into camp, about five miles from the city. It was placed in Neg- 
ley's division of the Fourteenth Army Corps, and advanced with the army, on 
December 26, upon the Franklin Pike. The vicinity of the enemy was reached on 
the evening of the 29th, and skirmishing was constant. On the next day, Negley 
marched to the right center, and, while a part of the Sixty-ninth lay in the cedars, 
the others were upon the skirmish line. On the 31st, it went to the front early in 
the morning. Companies A and D were sent out to skirmish with the rebel pick- 
ets, while the others lay upon the ground to avoid the exploding shells, and 
reserving»their fire for infantry. About 10 A. M., the crisis approached, and the 
Sixty-ninth fell back some thirty rods to an open field, and fell into line with the 
division. The rebel lines advanced, well supported, and maintaining a heavy, 
deadly fire. Col. Cassily was dismounted, and Maj. Hickox took command. The 
men were confused, and, being exposed to the leaden sleet without returning the 
fire, showed unmistakable symptoms of disorganization. The Major partially 
restored confidence, and the line was rapidly recovering, when a shot, striking 
his horse, threw him heavily ; and now the men stood without command, under a 
murderous rain of balls. They were becoming demoralized, when Col. Stanley, 
discovering their trouble, placed himself at their front, and, advancing them to 
support the other regiments, was called elsewhere. The men went in and placed 
themselves among the soldiers of other regiments, without regard to order. In a 
few minutes, Capt. Putnam began to re-form Company E, and the movement was 
immediately imitated by other companies. They fell back a short distance, 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 375 

halted, chose Putnam to command, and then, when nearly cut off, made their way 
out, with little time to spare, and the division marched to the rear of the left 
center. 

The men felt chagrin at the part taken by them. They had been under fire 
for hours and hardly a man had fired a half-dozen rounds. January 1, the division 
was held in reserve. About 3 P. M., Friday, the enemy made a desperate attack 
upon the Union left wing. Negley's division was then tying behind a hill, hidden 
from their view. The foe came on in dense lines, driving before them a part of Crit- 
tenden's corps, and had almost reached the river when the Eighth Division was 
ordered forward in a counter charge. The line arose, delivered their fire and began 
their advance. As regiment upon regiment came in sight, the enemy, astonished, 
halted, wavered and then began to fall back. The Sixty-ninth, now well led, 
pushed forward and captured a section of the celebrated New Orleans Washington 
Battery ; Sergt. Wilson, of Company E, captured the flag. The fight ended some 
time after night set in, and the next day the regiment, with the division, entered 
Murfreesboro. Albright and Stopher, of Company E, were killed in this charge, 
and there were many wounded. 

After the battle of Stone River, the Army of the Cumberland lay some time 
in camp, collecting new strength, accumulating supplies and re- organizing regi- 
ments preparatory to another advance. Re-enforcements had nearly doubled the 
strength of the army. Three corps were formed — the Twentieth under McCook, 
the Fourteenth, Thomas, and the Twenty-first, Crittenden. Negley's division was 
increased by the addition of a brigade of six East Tennessee regiments, and the 
Sixty-ninth Ohio now belonged to the Second Brigade, Second Division, Fourteenth 
Army Corps. The Tullahoma campaign began on June 24, and the Sixty-ninth 
advanced southward along the Manchester pike, and, having finally reached 
Cowan's Station, was detached as guard to the general hospital and halted at this 
place until September 28, when it was sent as guard to an ammunition train of 
450 wagons, en route to Bridgeport, on the Tennessee, whence it marched to Chat- 
tanooga. In the various movements of the troops, the Sixty-ninth Ohio, with the 
reserve corps of Gen. Granger, moved from Rossville to Chickamauga Creek, 
whence, under orders of Col. D. McCook, brigade commander, it marched to 
Reed's Bridge, which it burned, thereby securing the rear of the army from 
attack. After this service, the regiment marched to Rossville and was placed in 
charge of the division trains, thus denied a part in the battle of Chickamauga. 
In the afternoon of the 20th, the command was sent to the front, near Rossville, 
and assisted to cover the retreat of the Fourteenth Army Corps to Chattanooga. 
When Mission Ridge was fought, the regiment was among the first to scale the 
mountain, under the efficient leadership of Maj. J. J. Hanna. In this action, 
Lieut. J. S. Scott, Color Sergt. Jacob Wetzell, Color Corps. D. W. Leach 
and John Meredith, Corp. E. J. Manche, and Privates Kluger, Elsom, Sewers, 
Vankirk and Helling were killed, and many wounded, a number mortally. Next 
morning, the command moved down to the Ringgold road and advanced along it 
until night ; were dela} r ed at the Little Chickamauga and another stream, await- 
ing the building of bridges. A number of rebel camp-fires were seen on a ridge 
ahead, whereupon the troops moved cautiously, and, about 8 P. M., made an 
attack, in which Ferguson's Battery was captured complete, without the loss of a 
man, and, on the 29th of December, returned to Chattanooga. The regiment vet- 
eranized March 16, 1864, and set out for Ohio on a furlough of thirtj* days. 
Most of the two Darke County companies re-entered the service, and came home 
looking well and hearty. Their short furlough ended, the men promptly reported 
at Camp Dennison, and, April 22, again started for the field, marching, for want of 
transportation, from Nashville to Cowan's Station, and joined the army before Buz- 
zard's Roost on May 11. Three days later, it marched with the arm}' through 
Snake Creek Gap and bivouacked for the night. The regiment marched about 3 
A. M., and soon arrived in sight of the enemy's position on a range of hills, half a 



376 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

mile distant. Looking across the valley, the rebels were seen busily working on 
their lines. Near nightfall, then' was heavy skirmishing for some time. 

About 5 P. M., a battery opened briskly; there were heard occasional volleys 
of musketry, anil as night came the Sixty-ninth Ohio moved half a mile to the 
left and bivouacked. Skirmishing began at daylight, and shortly before 9 A. M. 
the command moved forward to the left oblique to the rear of a skirmish line, 
and at the corner of a field formed in front of this line and close upon the enemy. 
Two companies were deployed in advance, and shortly became actively engaged. 
The regiment then advanced and succeeded in driving the enemy within their 
works across the valley. On being relieved at 2 P. M., the men fell back into the 
second line. At this place. Color Sergt. John A. Compton. of K. and four others 
were killed, and twenty-one wounded. The enemy evacuating during the night, 
the regiment entered Etesacca at 2 P. M.. observing many rebel dead lying where 
the}' had fallen. Soon a bridge was thrown over the Oostanoula. and the troops 
rapidly crossing pushed on in hot pursuit through Calhoun. Adairsville. Kingston, 
and halted by the railroad a few days. On the morning of the 23d. the advance 
was renewed, and the troops halted at the banks of the Etowah, here three hun- 
dred yards wide and three feet deep. Next day. this stream was forded and the 
march continued till the 25th. when a spur of Altona Mountains was reached, and 
here the regiment remained all day. helping trains up the ascent. A march of 
twelve miles on the 26th brought us to the scene of Hooker's action of the pre- 
vious day. The wounded lay in a house used as a hospital, and surgeons were 
busy amputating limbs on a table near by. Farther on. skirmishing showed the 
enemy near, as the men bivouacked in a wheat field where grass grew rank and 
luxuriant and the wheat was sparse and straggling. Moved next morning a half- 
mile to the left, and at noon advanced nearly a mile upon an open field and 
halted. About 5 P. M., two brigades directly in front engaged, and from then on 
till dark the firing was steady and heavy. Stragglers came back in squads, and 
there were indications of a repulse, while the force suffered severely. This action 
was denominated New Hope 'Church. The regiment moved up and threw up 
breastworks about one hundred and fifty yards in rear of the front line, which 
kept up a constant fire. During the night, the regiment occupied the front line, 
and made the works stronger while exchanging shots at 300 yards with the 
enemy. The enemy was engaged at Pumpkin-vine Creek and Dallas, losing five 
killed and nineteen wounded. Night and day the contest continued, one day in 
the front line, another in the second; marching forward as the rebels gave 
ground, and moving right or left as the swaying lines were influenced by obstacles. 
Awakened at dark hour of night by the crackle of the musketry and called to 
the lines, peering into the obscurity, awaiting a probable attack, working for hours 
building huge earthworks with head log and cover, the one to protect from 
balls, the other from the hot sun. Accustomed to the roar of artillery, the 
hum of balls : indifferent to the death or wound of a comrade ; cooking where 
bullets struck in the Are, and holding their lives in their hands, such was the 
experience of the Sixty-ninth for a hundred days of skirmish, fortification, march 
and battle. Kenesaw Mountain was reached in the evening of June 14, an eleva- 
tion unknown before, but soon familiar to all the country. A glass showed men 
and horses, guns and tents upon the mountain four miles distant. The journal of 
a member of the regiment furnishes the following at this point : 

"Late in the evening, we advanced half a mile and found ourselves near Big 
Shanty, on the railroad. The Fourteenth advanced one mile ; lay two nights here ; 
labored much of the last night throwing up breastworks, which we occupied next 
day. Our side opened with cannon, but received no reply. Part of the regiment 
was on the skirmish line and one man was killed. Moved back to second line at 
2 P. M. A fight of two hours' duration occurred. A part of our line charged 
and drove the enemy from their rifle pits. A battle began on the 18th. and lasted 
till 9 P. M.. though rainy. Advanced the line a half-mile, swiiio-ino; right around 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 



377 



and bringing us in line north and south. The rebels contested the ground fiercely, 
but were forced back, and next morning found they had fallen back to another 
position. In the evening, a locomotive ran down to the skirmish line, and drew 
several shots from cannon on the mountain. At 3:20 A. M. next day, we moved 
out to support the front line, which advanced upon the rebels, who obstinately 
held their own. Next day, firing was heavy till dark, and this continued until the 
27th, when unsuccessful attacks were made with heavy loss. On July 3, the 
enemy retired and the regiment followed to the Chattahoochee. The next stand 
was made at the river, where no loss was sustained. On July 21, in the skirmish- 
ing near Atlanta, one man was killed and ten wounded, and next da}' the men 
began works for the siege of the Gate City. On the last days of summer, the 
regiment moved away to the right, and on the 1st of September was heavily 
engaged at Jonesboro, losing Lieuts. Jacob S. Pierson and Martin V. Bailey, 
Color Sergt. Allen L. Jobes, of D, and five men killed and thirty-six wounded, a 
number of them mortally, who died shortly after the fight. 

The Sixty-ninth joined in the pursuit of Hood to the north, and returning to 
Atlanta, accompanied the corps in its march to Savannah, losing four taken pris- 
oners and one by disease. On the lines near the city, the regiment was at the 
front. In the Carolina campaign the regiment was in action near Groldsboro, on 
March 19, 1865, in which, its last battle, the Sixty -ninth lost two killed and eight 
wounded. It moved to Raleigh, thence to and through Richmond, took part in 
the grand review at Washington, were conveyed to Louisville, Ky., and finally 
came the muster-out, and the final discharge at Camp Dennison of 536 men, vet- 
erans in truth, with long service upon the inarch, with the rifle and with the 
spade and soldier's awl. 

Eighty-seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry. — The former of these two organ- 
izations was recruited for three months, from various parts of the State, and 
Darke County supplied one company under Capt. Charles Calkins. It was 
mustered in at Camp Chase, and reported read}' for duty earl}' in June, 1862. 
Orders came on the 12th, to report at Baltimore to Maj. Gen. Wool, commanding 
post. Three days later, the men reached that city, and the regiment, 1,024 strong, 
was sent into camp near by, and drill and discipline occupied their time for some 
weeks. Late in July, it was ordered to report at Harper's Ferry to Col. Miles, and 
on arrival, was stationed on Bolivar Heights, and placed under severe drill. Its 
time had expired, when the enemy under Jackson compelled a surrender of Har- 
per's Ferry, and the Eighty-Seventh was included in the forces captured. When 
the fact became known, the men were released from parole, and were transported 
home from Annapolis, Md., and September 20, 1862, mustered out of service. 

The Ninety-fourth Ohio Volunteers was organized at Camp Piqua, Miami 
County, under the following staff and line officers : Colonel, Joseph W. Frizell, of 
Greenville ; Lieutenant Colonel, Stephen A. Bassford, Xenia ; Major, David King, 
Springfield ; Quartermaster, Joshua C. Horton, Piqua ; B. F. Cooledge, Troy. The 
officers were appointed July 22, 1S62, and in one month, 1,010 men had enlisted 
and were mustered into service. Their camp was at Upper Piqua on the farm of 
the late Col. John Johnson, an historic spot. Three companies from Darke County 
were enrolled in this regiment, of which we give the following roster : 



Company. 


County. 


Captain. 


First Lieutenant. 


Second Lieutenant 


A, 


Clarke. 


Perry Stewart. 


Hezekiah Kelshner. 


A. Winger. 


B, 


Miami. 


John C. Drury. 


D. J. McLaughlin. 


F. B. McNeal. 


C 


Miami. 


Frank W. Walton. 


James A. Petticrews. 


Frank A. Hardy. 


D, 


Miami. 


R. P. Hutchins. 


John W. Ford. 


Andrew Wiggins. 


E, 


Greene. 


David Steele. 


Jobn A. Beale. 


Samuel Walton. 


F, 


Darke. 


Thos. H. Workman. 


W. II. Snyder. 


H. A. Tomlinson. 


G, 


Clarke. 


Chas. C. Gibson. 


N. G. McCoukey. 


George W. Wilson. 


H, 


Greene. 


James Kyle. 


A L. Trader. 


D. P. Davidson. 


I, 


Darke. 


Wesley Gorsuck. 


G. D. Farrar. 


Charles R. M>>->s. 


K, 


Darke. 


Chauncey Riffle. 


Samuel T. Arnold. 


M. G. Maddox. 



378 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

On the 28th of August, before being uniformed or supplied with camp equip- 
age, and before a single regimental drill, the regiment was hurried to Covington, 
Ky.. and, on their arrival immediately dispatched to Lexington. The}' had been 
armed with Enfield rifles of improved pattern, and the Colonel, by energy, had 
succeeded in obtaining sufficient ammunition to supply each man with three 
rounds, when the command took the cars for Lexington, where it arrived at 9 P. 
M. Saturday night, and heard of the disaster of Richmond and the peril of the hour. 
Col. Frizell sought for the officer to whom he was to report, and found him incom- 
petent, from drunkenness, to give instructions. Aided by citizens, quarters were 
found for the men, who bivouacked for the first time. Sunday morning found the 
town swarming with stragglers from the Richmond rout, each relating to whoever 
would hearken wild stories of death and defeat. These tales, the gloonry uncer- 
tainty, the lack of discipline in the town, all conspired to chill the ardor of the 
new troops and call out their fortitude. The regiment was ordered to march to 
Yates' Ford, on the Kentucky, fifteen miles east, on the Richmond pike, and at 
once began their first march over a dusty road, under a hot sun, with a limited 
supply along the way of water. Their destination was reached at dark, and while 
the Colonel was endeavoring to find a good position for defense, the men. being 
greatly wearied, lay down in and by the road to rest. A sudden volley fired by a 
rebel scouting party from the thicket skirting the road struck momentary conster- 
nation into the command, thus terribly awakening from deep slumber in the dark- 
ness ; but the men were soon in line, and withdrawn to a more secure and advan- 
tageous position, having by this attack lost two men killed and six wounded. Col. 
Frizzell remained with his vidette near the regiment, to which he had communica- 
tion by Maj. King, Capt. Drury and the Adjutant posted at intermediate distances. 
Aware that an enemy was near, it was little surmised that the entire arm} 7 of Kirby 
Smith was encamped but two miles north of the ford, with the intention of cross- 
ing in the morning. Night went slowly by, and at daylight the hungry men sur- 
rounded some wagons which had arrived from Lexington, in hopes of rations which 
had been promised. The wagons were found loaded with ammunition. 125 rounds 
to a man, and three sacks of green coffee. While the coffee was being issued, 
parched, and breakfast was being prepared from this scanty source, the vidette 
reported the advance of the enemy in sight, and presently a shell plunged into the 
earth near by ; a brief interval and then came another, and soon the}" fell more 
frequently as the battery over the stream in the woods found the position of the 
regiment. Col. Frizzell, from observation of the rebel movements, saw an intention 
to cut off his retreat, and gave orders to his Adjutant for the men to fall in and 
march back past a road by which they might be intercepted. The command was 
promptly executed, and as the rear cleared the road the enemy came trooping from 
it upon the pike, and opened fire upon the Miami company, under Capt. Drury, 
which had been detailed as rear-guard. The fire was returned and the rebels held 
in check, while the regiment, moving to a designated point, formed line of battle. 
The orders had been to " contest every foot of ground back to Lexington." and 
this was just what the Colonel intended to do. when orders, dated the previous 
evening, were brought from Gen. G. C. Smith, for the regiment to fall back to Lex- 
ington as rapidly as possible. 

Their situation was critical, being twelve miles from possible support, new to 
the service, and an army close upon them ; yet the Colonel was not wanting in 
energy, nor his men in confidence and courage. As the regiment moved, one after 
another exhausted men fell by the way and were captured by the enemy. In this 
way. despite the efforts of the officers, quite a number of men were taken. The 
regiment reached Lexington at 4 P. M., and found that the troops, beaten at Rich- 
mond, had passed through the place, on their way toward Louisville, and that all 
stores left behind had beeD destroyed. The Ninety-fourth were hungry, tired and 
foot-sore, in poor condition for another more trying march. It was said that the 
line officers deemed it best to surrender, but Col. Frizzell declared in opposition. 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 379 

and obeyed the orders to continue the retreat. At daylight, a halt was made, at 
Versailles, for breakfast, but the men had hardly got their coffee to boil when " fall 
in " was passed to the commanders of companies, and the disheartening journej' 
was resumed. There was a prevailing drouth, and water, of poor quality even, was 
scarce. The urgency of thirst may be gathered from the fact that the soldiers 
paid $5 for a canteen full of muddy water, $1 for a drink, and man}- drank from 
the slimy pools where horses would not. The sun shone hot from a cloudless sky. 
and the hard pike was deep with a dust which enveloped the person and entered 
the nostrils, aggravating thirst, while the blistered feet at each step seemed as if 
pressed upon a sheet of needles, so painful was the pressure. The march lasted 
from 3 A. M. till late at night. For food, the men gathered green corn from the 
fields near the bivouac, and partook of a few crackers issued. These discourage- 
ments caused many to straggle, and these were picked up by the pursuing enemy. 
Upon arriving at Louisville, they went into camp without tents, in the woods, hav- 
ing lost on the march 317 men, and so worn were the men that the greatest want 
was the opportunity to rest. The men presented a pitiable appearance, as well 
they might, after seven days of an initiation into military life which fell to few 
organizations. The command soon recovered health and spirits, the paroled men 
came back, and they were again read}* for service. As Buell was driven in, the 
regiment was set to work building breastworks, and when Bragg began to fall back, 
it followed after as a part of Russeau's division of McCook's corps. It took a 
conspicuous part in the battle of Perryville, where Col. Frizzell was wounded, 
and the command devolved upon Lieut. Col. Bassford. In general orders, the 
Ninety-fourth received honorable mention, and took their accredited position as a 
regiment to be relied upon. 

The movement upon Murfreesboro began December 26, 1862, at which date 
the Ninety-fourth was in the advance from Nashville, and in the battle of the 30th 
and 31st acted as a partial reserve. The regiment was again in the advance on 
Tullahoma, and was in action at Hoover's Gap ; skirmished at Dug Gap. and 
engaged the enemy on September 19 and 20, losing two killed, twenty-two 
wounded, and a like number missing. At Lookout Mountain and Mission Ridge, 
the regiment again took a notable part, and was one of the many that made the 
historic charge upon the ridge. In the spring of 1864, the regiment was sent on a 
scout toward Dalton, to ascertain the situation of the enemy. They met and drove 
him through Tunnel Hill, both sides freely using artillery. An advance was desired 
and the infantry stopped for nothing, but pushed forward into the rebel works, 
where they found shelter for the night. Next clay, K was deployed on the skir- 
mish line and advance continued. Here were seen the waste of war — fields fence- 
less, women wailing, mills gutted and ruin everywhere. The object of the recon- 
naissance being gained, the force retired, and the Ninety-fourth, as rear guard, 
reached Ringgold about midnight. The regiment went into camp nine miles from 
Chattanooga, on the railroad toward Knoxville, while a part of the regiment vet- 
eranized, were furloughed and returned home. The time soon went by, bringing back 
the veterans, accompanied by many recruits and imparting a buoyant and cheerful 
feeling to all. 

It set out with Sherman on the Atlanta campaign, and was engaged at Rocky 
Face, Resaca and Kingston, resting at Carrville, May 22, at which date the casual- 
ties were thirteen killed and fifty wounded. They were familiar with the din of 
battle, and at Pumpkin-vine Creek, Kenesaw Mountain and the Chattahoochee 
River, took their share of the work and fighting. In action, July 10, twelve men 
were killed and fculy-five wounded. Again, at Peach Tree Creek, the siege of 
Atlanta and the hard battle of Jonesboro, the Ninety-fourth was called upon and 
did its duty well. It followed Hood in his mad rush northward ; marched from 
Atlanta to Savannah, and January 20. 1865, set out on its long, wearisome journey 
through the Carolinas. It was engaged at Bentonville, N. C, and encamped at Golds- 
boro, on the 23d of March. Again the column moved, heavily re-enforced, to sweep 



380 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

upward upon Lee. overwhelming Johnson on the way, but tidings of decisive battles 
caiiie to as, and the joyous, exultant troops swept rapidly toward Raleigh. The Ninety- 
fourth was the lirst infantry regiment to cuter the city, and soon after set out for 
Washington, via Richmond and Alexandria. It passed in review before the Presi- 
dent and the thousands of spectators that thronged the capital, and was mustered 
out of the service June 6, 1 *';:>. with an aggregate of 338 men. out of an enroll- 
ment of 1,010. and was paid off and discharged at Camp Chase, whence they 
returned to home, friends and families, and speedily became merged in the popu- 
lation. 

The Our Hundred <<nti Truth Ohio Volunteer Infantry.- — The One Hundred 
and Tenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry was organized at Camp Piqua, Ohio, in 
August, 18G2, and contained two companies from Darke County. The regi- 
ment was officered by Col. Keifer, Lieut. Col. Foster and Maj. Binkley, all 
moral men, and the line officers were men of firmness and sobriety. Marching 
orders were received October 19, for Parkersburg, Va. On the evening of the 
same day, the regiment arrived by rail at Zanesville. Here it was embarked upon 
steamboats and conveyed down the Muskingum to Marietta, where it arrived on 
the evening of the 20th, passed the night on board, and next morning, the men 
caught their first glance of Dixie Land beyond the Ohio. The command disem- 
barked, entered trains and were soon taken to Parkersburg. 

They drew tents the same evening, put them up and named their camp, in 
honor of their commander, Camp Keifer. November 3, the regiment moved to 
Clarksburg; remained there three weeks and then took the cars for New Creek, 
where it arrived about 3 A. M., next day. and for over two weeks was occupied in 
drill, picket and other duty. The men felt great repugnance to camp guard, and 
this hated duty soon " played out," and the men went where they chose. A favor- 
ite resort was Queen's View, a rocky eminence, some three hundred feet above the 
surroundings. The men amused themselves, tumbling rocks into the river below, 
to the great discomfiture of those coming for water. Mulligan's Irishmen, espying 
men on the rock, would cry out : " Hello, phwat regiment areyez ?" If the reply 
was, " One Hundred and Tenth Ohio," they beat a hasty retreat. The rock-tum- 
bling continued until an order was read on parade to arrest the first man seen on 
the rock. December 13, the regiment marched by way of Burlington and Peters- 
burg to Moorfield. " At the close of the first day, the boys, being desirous of 
writing and desks being scarce, went to a neighboring farmhouse and returned with 
a box which was found to be filled with honey. It was dark, and they did not 
want to carry it back, so some of the men had honey and hard tack the rest of the 
march." Part of the regiment was sent toward Winchester, and the remainder 
with other forces toward Romney. The detachment was hurried through, and 
indignantly characterized the journey as •' an infernal forced march." The main 
body reached Winchester a week later, where the regiment was placed in the First 
Brigade, Second Division, Eighth Army Corps, while A and D were detailed as 
provost guards. A round of scout, raid, drill and other duty occupied the time 
during the winter. A party sent to Front Royal captured supplies ; another 
engaged in like work dispersed a party of rebels at Summit Point, and in May the 
regiment moved to New Market and back on a species of marching drill. On the 
13th of June, the regiment was moved out to Kernstown, and engaged Lee's 
advance. This was the first time the regiment was under fire, but it fought 
bravely, disputing every foot of ground against far superior numbers. On the 
morning of the 14th, the command was posted in a light breastwork, about three- 
fourths of a mile in front of the main defenses. The day wore away, and in the 
afternoon a crash of artillery ami a rain of projectiles announced the rebel onset. 
Twenty-six cannon were directed upon this thin line for a brief period, and then 
came the serried ranks of infantry moving in fine array upon the outworks. The 
regiment held its ground till the enemy were near, and then fell back. At night it 
attempted to retreat farther, and, meeting the enemy, a running fight of two hours 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 381 

ensued, during which it cut its way through and moved to Harper's Ferry. It 
encamped on Maryland Heights a short time, and then made its way to Frederick 
City, Md., where it was assigned to the Second Brigade, Third Division, Third 
Army Corps, Army of the Potomac. It took part in the pursuit of Lee through 
Williainsport, London and Upperville to Manassas Gap, there skirmished, and, 
finally, August 1, reached the Rappahannock, at Fox's Ford. Two weeks elapsed, 
when orders came to proceed to New York, and the cars were taken for Alexandria 
and thence by water on the steamship Mississippi to their destination. The camp was 
located for a time on Governor's Island, whence they moved to South Brooklyn 
and encamped in Carroll Park, where much kindness and many favors were 
received from the citizens. Early in September, the regiment was ordered back to 
the Ford, and marched in charge of an ammunition train from there to Culpepper, 
Va., where it remained quietly till October 10, when it was ordered under arms in 
anticipation of an attack, and stood to arms through the night ; and next day, cross- 
ing the Hazel and the Rappahannock, moved into the front line near the latter- 
named stream. A month went by, and November 7, the One Hundred and Tenth 
crossed the river, exchanged shots with the enemy, and, the day following, made a 
scout in the morning and took some fort}' prisoners. 

Moving during the day somewhat to the front of Brandy Station, the regi- 
ment was made the target for the rebel artillery, but advancing, was one of the 
first to enter the position from which the rebels were driven. Subsequently four 
companies were detailed as guards to trains, and the others, being engaged at 
Locust Grove, lost five killed and twenty wounded. The united regiment, return- 
ing to the station December 1, went into winter quarters. In March, 1864, the 
One Hundred and Tenth became part of the Second Brigade, Third Division, 
Sixth Artillery Corps, and May 4 crossed the Rapidan at Germania Ford, and on 
the day following occupied a position on the extreme National right at the Wilder- 
ness. Preceded by a lively skirmish, the regiment, charging, drove the enemy 
within their works, held the ground till after dark, and fell back by reason of 
deficiency of ammunition. Maj. William S. McElwaine was killed and six officers 
were wounded ; eighteen men were killed, eighty-two wounded and eleven were 
missing. May 6, the regiment held the second line under fire of artillery, and at 
dark the defeat of troops on the right compelled a retrograde movement for about 
a mile, when a halt was made for a day, and at night the retreat was continued 
through Chancellorsville to the vicinity of Spottsylvania Court House, where works 
were thrown up and skirmishing done until May 14, when it marched toward 
Spottsylvania, forded Nye River after dark, and took possession of works from 
which the enemy had been driven. 

Several reconnaissances were made, the enemy was frequently encountered, 
and the regiment, moving via Guinea and Chesterfield Stations, crossed the 
Pamunky and threw up breastworks. The One Hundred and Tenth was engaged 
June 1 at Cold Harbor, and on the 3d advanced in the front line upon the mass- 
ive rebel works, and when the line halted was ordered to push forward, and for 
two long hours held an exposed position, when ordered to retire. On this day, 
the last to so man}- in the assault, the regiment lost five killed and thirty-four 
wounded. Under orders the regiment left the works, crossed the Chickahominy, 
passed to Winona Landing, was transported to Point of Rocks and marched to 
Bermuda Hundred. On the evening of June 19, the Appomattox was crossed, 
and the vicinity of Petersburg was reached. Preceded by a day's rest, the regi- 
ment marched to the Norfolk & Petersburg Railroad, advanced upon the enemy, 
drove in the skirmish line, and, some days later, marched to the Petersburg & 
Weldon Railroad. On July 2, it returned to its post near Petersburg, then em- 
barked at City Point for Baltimore, where it arrived on the 8th, and was taken on 
the cars to Monocacy Junction. It took post on the south side of the river, and 
advanced in the face of a heavy fire of cannon and rifles from all directions. 
Numbers threatened destruction, and the line fell back to Ellicott's Mills at noon 



382 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

of July 10. In this battle four were killed, seventy-four were wounded, and 
fifty-two were missing. The regiment proceeded next day to Baltimore, thence, 
on the 1 4th, by rail to Washington ; on the 15th, marched again, forded the 
Potomac near Edwards' Ferry, and. passing Snicker's (Jap to the Shenandoah, 
skirmished with the enemy. Soon after, the regiment returned to Washington. 
A few days later, march was resumed, and after moving from point to point they 
are seen on the morning of August 10 passing through Charleston, Newton. 
Middletown, and two days later arrived at Cedar Creek. Several skirmishes fol- 
lowed, and, August 16, they were placed in charge of a train proceeding to 
Charlestown. The regiment was driven to Bolivar Heights, returned to Charles- 
town, and on the 29th in turn attacked and drove the enemy. It marched, Sep- 
tember 3, to Clifton Farm, and threw up works. Two weeks later, it crossed the 
Opequan, bore prominent, honorable part in the battle of Winchester, where it 
thrice charged, and was one of the first to reach the heights. It joined in the pur- 
suit of the enenry, overtook and engaged them at Fisher's Hill, and there captured 
four guns and a hundred prisoners. Continuing the pursuit to Mount Crawford 
it then wheeled about and marched back to Harper's Ferry. October 6, it moved 
to Strasburg, and thence to the neighborhood of Front Royal, from which place 
it moved to Ashby's Gap. and almost immediately returning went into camp, on 
Cedar Creek. When the Eighth and Nineteenth Corps were surprised by Early 
on the morning of the 19th of October, the One Hundred and Tenth was posted in 
the front line of the Sixth Corps, formed to check disaster and hold the enemy at 
bay. Continually flanked, stand after stand was made, until a fresh formation 
being made, a daring, desperate charge retrieved the day, and drove the rebels in 
headlong rout. No regiment on that eventful da} r took more active part than 
did the One Hundred and Tenth. Two officers were wounded, one mortally ; five 
men were killed, twenty-seven were wounded, and an officer and one private were 
missing. At night the men occupied the camp whence the storm of battle had 
driven them, vainly resisting, in the morning, and here they remained until Novem- 
ber 9, when the}* went into winter quarters near Kenstown. 

They broke camp December 3, marched to Stebbins' Station, where cars were 
taken for Washington, whence by steamer, they were transported to City Point ; 
thence by rail at midnight of the 6th, and they were at the old front once more. 
They were located near the Weldon Railroad, and with prospects of a permanent 
sta} r , proceeded to erect substantial winter quarters. They moved February !>. 
1865, to a position on the line between Forts Welch and Fisher, and again put up 
winter quarters and rested about six weeks.. On March 25, the brigade was called 
early to arms, and, line being formed, an advance was made upon the entrenched 
picket line, which proved too strong, and a check was experienced ; again the men 
advance with a desperate bravery that would not be denied, and despite the deadly 
fire met the works were carried, and a large number of prisoners were taken. A 
week passed away ; upon the National side in great preparations, while the rebels 
with few but devoted men stood defiantly behind works themselves almost impass- 
able. On the morning of April 2. the lines were again formed for assault, and 
just before daybreak the Sixth Corps marched out and swept upon the entrenched 
lines in their front, carrying all before them and capturing many prisoners and 
guns. 

The regiment joined in the subsequent pursuit, aiding to rout the enemy :it 
Saylor's Creek, and following on until the final surrender at Appomattox. Tin' 
command then marched to Burksville Junction, and, at a presentation of captured 
colors made to Gen. Meade on the 17th. the One Hundreth and Tenth was found 
to have taken more than any other regiment in the corps, and in consequence was 
selected as guard of honor to conve}' them to the General's headquarters. The 
regiment marched to Richmond, was reviewed by Halleck, marched to Washington 
and reviewed by the President at the White House. It was finally mustered out 
at the National Capital, June 25, 1865. and was discharged at Tod Barracks, 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 383 

Columbus, having seen an arduous soldierly service in march and battle-field. 
It was in twenty-one engagements, and sustained a loss in killed, wounded and 
missing, of 795 men. It entered the service with but 797 men, received 625 
recruits, and at the final muster-out 627 were discharged. These figures show the 
character of the men for bravery, and how dearly they bought their enviable 
reputation on a score of fields. It seemed the fortune of some organizations to be 
called upon in the most perilous times and thrown forward as a forlorn hope ; it 
was honorable though deadly, and inscribed a record of which the living may well 
be proud. 

The EightJi Ohio Independent Battery was recruited in the counties of Darke, 
Miami and Montgomery, and organized at Camp Dennison, Ohio, March 10, 1862. 
It was soon ordered to Benton Barracks, St. Louis, Mo., and on its arrival reported 
to Gen. Halleck, Commandant. The battery did not go into quarters, but was at 
once sent on board of transports and taken down the river, under orders to report 
to Gen. Grant at Savannah, on the Tennessee. It reached its destination March 
28, and. without disembarking, moved up the river to Pittsburg Landing, where it 
reported to Gen. Sherman and went into camp near the landing, where it remained 
until the beginning of the battle of Shiloh, on the 6th of April. The battery, 
during the two-da}-s fight, was in Sherman's division, and several times came into 
close quarters with the enemy, on Sunday morning especially, the rebels charg- 
ing in mass down their skirmish line within a few paces of the guns. The battery 
lost in killed Sergt. Leonard Ullery, of Greenville, and three men wounded. 

The battery moved with the brigade of Gen. Lew "Wallace, of the Second 
Division, in the advance upon Corinth, and was posted upon the extreme right of 
the division. On the march by da} T and busily erecting works by night, it had 
advanced to within two miles of Corinth when the evacuation was made known, 
when it accompanied the brigade into the town. 

It rested but three hours when ordered to proceed with the column of Gen. 
Grant to Memphis, Tenn., where it reported June 17, and remained six months, 
being occasionally called upon to accompany expeditions and scouts about the 
country. On December 20, it set out with the command of Gen. Sherman for 
Vicksburg, Miss., and, a week later, took part in the sanguinary engagement 
at Chickasaw Bayou. It was critically situated for several days, during which it 
was exposed to the guns of the enemy, but, Januaiy 1, 1863, it retreated with the 
army to the transports, which made their way to the Mississippi. On Januaiy (i, 
the battery formed part of the force sent against Arkansas Post, and contributed 
prominently to that brilliant success of the National arms. On the morning of 
January 26, 1863, a section of the Eighth, under command of Lieut. James F. 
Putnam, was "embarked on one of the boats constituting the fleet forming an expe- 
dition up the Yazoo. After proceeding up the stream from the Mississippi about 
fifteen miles, the boat stopped, and about 3 P. M., Lieut. Putnam received orders 
from Gen. M. L. Smith to bring all ashore, which was promptly done. Two days 
rations were taken, and at 9 A. M. next morning the section was in motion. The 
route lay directly across the plantation of Sidne}' Johnston, whose fine mansion 
was reduced to ashes. A low, barren tract of land was entered upon ; roads were 
almost impassable. A general halt was made about noon, and the enemy were 
found to be disputing progress. After an interval of about two hours. Gen. Smith 
sent back for the guns to shell the position of the hostile forces. Command was 
given and the artillery was rapidly advanced about two miles, when the rebels 
were found well posted upon a range of high hills covered with a dense growth ot 
trees and underbrush, at the bottom of which ran a deep bayou. 

The section advanced about two hundred yards in an open field, planted the 
guns about a mile from the enemy and opened with shell, and the first fire caused 
them to move farther up the hill. The guns then advanced about three hundred 
yards farther and again opened fire. A little after dark, the section was relieved 
by a Wisconsin battery. At daylight Sunday morning, Putnam was ordered to 

K 



384 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

advance his pieces to the front of the center division, where the firing was deafen- 
ing, and there to silence a battery playing heavily on our infantry. This was soon 
done, but the section continued to work the guns all day, under fire, until dark, 
when, having tired three hundred rounds, the ammunition gave out and a gun was 
ordered to be fired every fifteen minutes during the night. The men were now 
tired, hungry and without cartridges, and were relieved by the First Illinois Bat- 
tery and secured needed rest. Next day, the chests were filled, the men fed. and 
the section advanced briskly to the front, but firing was light. About 3 P. M.. the 
guns were ordered to the left to cover an attempt by infantry to ford the bayou 
and storm the position. The Sixth Missouri crossed under a deadly fire and 
pressed forward till checked by the rebel works, too high to scale, and soon retired 
in good order. The enemy was now receiving re-enforcements, and the command 
was ordered to the transports. 

In the campaign against Vicksburg, the Eighth assisted in the battles of 
Grand Gulf, Black Biver Bridge, Raymond, Champion Hill and in the rear of 
Vicksburg. For service rendered, it received the special thanks of Gens. Grant 
and Sherman. It operated on the extreme right of the Union position in Steele's 
division, Fifteenth Army Corps, and used thirty-two-pound Parrott guns, the 
heaviest pieces on the line. 

Vicksburg having surrendered, the Eighth was sent to Jackson to help in the 
movement against Johnson ; it then returned to the former city, Avent into bar- 
racks and remained till December, 1863. It went with Gen. Sherman on the expe- 
dition to Meridian, and, on its return, was placed on duty in the city, where it 
remained until the spring of 1864, when the command veteranized and visited their 
homes. They set out on their return on April 4, having recruited 118 men for the 
battery. Occasional expeditions occupied the Eighth until December 22, 1864, 
when it moved with an expedition to the central part of the State to destroy the 
Central Mississippi Bailroad, and thereby hinder the re-enforcement of Gen. Hood, 
who was then in full retreat from his ill-advised march on Nashville. Forty miles 
of track, three locomotives and forty cars, loaded with rebel cotton and corn, were 
destroyed. The enemy were found in force at the Black Biver Bridge, and. being 
assailed, were driven from strong stockades and the bridge burned. The battery 
made its way back to Yazoo City and Vicksburg. At Yazoo City, the enemy had 
closed in and nearly surrounded it when the river was crossed and it moved down 
the opposite bank, being followed and under fire four miles. The Eighth Battery 
remained at Vicksburg until May 20, 1865, at Avhich time it was ordered to 
Natchez, where it performed garrison duty until the last of June. Again it was 
sent to Vicksburg and employed on provost duty up to the last of July, when it 
was ordered to Camp Dennison, Ohio, and, at that camp, mustered out of service 
August 9, 1865. 

Thus briefly have we outlined the movements, and placed on record the heroic 
actions, of organizations which, from the larger number of Darke County soldiers 
enrolled in them, presented the strongest claims to detailed notice. 

It will be seen that the county had representatives in all branches of the serv- 
ice and upon every notable battle-field of the war. Their record is stainless, and 
in many adverse situations the}' bore themselves with honor. It is easy to eulo- 
gize, but it is seldom that it has worthier theme. 

Fifteen years have elapsed since the men came home bronzed and bearded ; 
many of them in middle age constitute the best citizens of the county, and many 
are enfeebled by the exertions made in their early manhood, but few are the recipi- 
ents of a nation's bounty. 

How many have fallen in battle, in hospital, by ball and disease, and how 
many have been " mustered out " since by death. 

"On fame's eternal camping-ground 
Their silent tents are spread, 
And glory guards with solemn round 
The bivouac of the dead." 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 385 



PATTERSON TOWNSHIP. 



To the northeast and in close proximity to the site of old Fort Loramie, and 
bounded north and east by parts of Mercer, Auglaize and Shelby, is situated 
Patterson Township, a part of Darke County devoted with good results to the 
interests of agriculture. 

Its history is a record of individual exertion. Orchards and groves have 
been made to alternate with fielus of corn and wheat. Much of the olden time 
yet remains in the fields of woodland, tracts of the original forest, and the work of 
reconstruction still proceeds. Annually, the area of woodland is diminished ; the 
timber, however, is no more gathered in windrows, and the settlers are no longer 
called to log-rollings. A chopper or two, felling the trees carefully, cords the wood 
for the home fire or the city market, but the smaller branches feed the element that 
once consumed the finest and most valuable of timber. Much of the lands of 
Patterson are the depository of the golden seed, whence the landscape is clothed 
in summer green, and granaries later filled with corn and wheat. 

It is strictly an agricultural section, although its citizens were not inferior in 
soldierly ability during the momentous years of the civil war. Its territory 
earlier formed the northern portion of Wayne Township, and, while so constituted, 
the first settlement was made in 1827 by Isaac Finkbone, and upon the adjacent 
section a man named Philip Pitzenberger erected a cabin, and, clearing a few acres, 
lived for a time upon the land as a squatter. The location of these two pioneer 
clearings was Sections 32 and 33. 

The township was formed in 1841, and its original boundary is described as 
" commencing at the east line of the county, at the southeast corner of Section 33 
Township 1 1 north, Range 4 east ; thence west to the southwest corner of Section 
35, Township 12 north. Range 3 east (the east line of York Township) ; thence 
north to the county line ; thence following the county line to the northeast corner 
of the county ; thence south to the place of beginning." 

A portion of the township was taken in 1848, to complete the area of Mercer 
County, and the county line ceased to be identical with that of the Greenville 
treaty. 

Patterson was still farther limited in territory during the same year, by a 
transfer to Wabash Township of Sections 2, 11, 14 and 23, of Township 12 north 
Range 3 east. 

The population in 1850 was 319, and this had increased twenty years later to 
978. Soon after the formation of the township, a schoolhouse was erected of the 
old log pattern on Section 32, and a man named A. L. Wilson was engaged as the 
first schoolmaster. Judgment may be passed upon the interest attached to edu- 
cation by the knowledge of the fact that of the 319 inhabitants of 1850, there 
were but a score of persons over twenty years of age who could neither read nor 
write. Nine years subsequent to its formation, Patterson's real estate was valued 
at $49,865. There were 57 improved farms, upon which there were 1,624 acres of 
improved lands and 4,028 of unimproved. The cash value of the farms was 
$48,470 ; of farming implements, $2,274 ; and of stock, $7,883. Upon the farms 
were 127 horses, 136 cows, 10 yoke of oxen, 331 sheep, and 672 swine. There 
had been raised, in 1849, 4,305 bushels of wheat, some rye, 5.225 bushels of corn, 
and 1,292 bushels of oats. The pasturage and the industry are shown by the 
statement of 7,010 pounds of butter made. Such is a passing glimpse at a town- 
ship whose present status establishes a continued and permanent progress from 
1840, when there were scarcely a dozen inhabitants in the region at a time, not 
even midway to the present. Its future is assured, since in the wealth of the soil 
is found the basis of all real and substantial strength, whose perpetuity is secured 
by intellectual culture and physical exercise. 



386 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY 

Turn we to note in brief a tew facts pertaining to the initiatory settlement 
and concurrent events, with a further glance at consequent social progress. 

The administration of justice in minor courts was a feature of the early day. 
A suit was brought in Patterson by lsa;ie Finkbone against Reason R. .Millet 
upon a book account kept by the latter for the former. In the book all the leaves 
containing credits in favor of Finkbone had disappeared. James Patterson 
aeted as Constable. The ease was tried before William J. KuLdish, the first Jus- 
tice of the Peaee in the township, and interest attaches from the circumstance that 
this was the first resort to legal tribunal for redress of grievances in the neighbor- 
hood. The defense employed James Brandon as counsel, wdio won the case 
on good legal ground, though his client was morally in error. 

The Millers became obnoxious to the community, and it is said that their habi- 
tation was destroyed, and they themselves finally disappeared from this vicinity. 

The advantage of a country store to a rural community and the chance of a 
livelihood by carrying on business in such a place was first understood b} r Joseph 
Vanky, who opened a grocery in Woodland a short time after it was laid out. 
Through the efforts of Dr. S. A. Greer, one of the oldest and most influential resi- 
dents, a post office was established at this same place some time before the civil 
war. It was kept in his house, which stands a half-mile south of Woodland. It 
was removed to the didders' farmhouse, Mr. Childers being appointed Postmas- 
ter, and a year and a half later was brought back to Dr. Greer's, and Abner Clark 
became Postmaster. The office was temporarily discontinued until the spring of 
1879, when Willow Dell Office was created and located at Woodland, with John C. 
Schilling, Postmaster. 

Among the first township officers may be named Dr. Greer, Richard 
Mendenhall. John Puterbaugh, Samuel Day, James Davidson. James Patter- 
son, Anthoivy Coble, John Deweere and Robert Brandon. Of those oldest 
settlers who have died may be mentioned John Day. J. P. Puterbaugh, J. 
Davidson, S. Day and R. Mendenhall. William Russel came to Piqua from 
North Carolina, and moved into Patterson Townsiph in 1834 or 1835. and 
settled on forty acres of Section 28. He had a son Joseph, now deceased, and 
the place is now owned by John Piquenot. Thomas Mendenhall moved in from 
Miami Count}- in 1835 or 1830, and located near the northwest corner of the town- 
ship. Arphaxed Julian, of Shelby County, settled in the west part of the town- 
ship. James Patterson, Sr., father of him who gave his name to the section, came 
to Ohio in 1817 from Westmoreland County, Penn., made a brief stay at Lebanon. 
Warren County, then came to Union, and a year later entered 160 acres south of 
Webster, on the Stillwater. His wife died in 1826, and. selling his land, he went 
back to Warren County, and thence returned to what is now known as Patterson 
Township, where he entered eighty acres southeast of Woodland, in Section 28. 
Town 11, Range 4 east, being the east half of the northeast quarter. He died on 
this farm in 1855, at the age of fifty-six years. His first marriage was to Polly 
Mclntyre, his second to Catharine Rudy. There were fourteen children in the 
two families. A son. James Patterson, is owner of 280 acres in Sections '1- and 
28, adjoining the Shelby County line, is a leading citizen, and has been Justice of 
the Peace for a number of years. 

The land in Patterson was entered principally in small traets of forty and 
eighty acres, but there have been among the settlers large landholders. John 
Deweere has 600 acres after Inning disposed of as much in farms to his children. 
Nicholas Plinney has about 500 ; J. Patterson, having sold 120. has 280 acres ; 
Peter Shields has 480 ; Hamilton Coble has ISO ; Anthony Coble has disposed of 
about 600 acres, and has 200 left ; Henry Starke has tOO acres. Seven hundred 
and fourteen acres was entered by one party, and John Wood, of Chillicothe, 
entered an entire section. 

The southern part of Patterson is rolling, and much of the soil is light clay. 
The timber is beech, sugar maple and oak. The northern part is a darker and 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 387 

stronger soil, bearing more of lime, sycamore and walnut. There is moist, cold 
land in the north, which is rapidly being improved by drainage. The hamlet of 
"Woodland is on the watershed, the slope being southward toward the Stillwater, 
and northward into Mercer County. The village school is a short way south of 
the place, and J. B. Martin, the present teacher, has an average attendance of about 
thirty pupils. There are seven school districts, having six frame houses and one of 
brick. 

No railroads traverse the township. It contains three churches. The Luth- 
eran, in Woodland, built in 1865, with a parsonage. The first residence for the 
minister was a log house, erected in 1868, the present is a frame. The first 
preacher was Rev. Shaffer, followed by Rev. Framer, Rev. Suter, and he by the 
present pastor, Rev. Leiderman. A Sabbath school, held during the summer, is 
largely attended. The Pine Church (Christian), is located two and a half miles 
north of Woodland, on the Berlin pike, in the Coble settlement. The house was 
erected in 1863. Rev. Richard Brandon was the first minister, succeeded by Abner 
Long, and he by Rev. Butts. Preaching is held once a month. The membership 
has been as high as forty. The Christians are now engaged in building a church 
in the Speelman settlement, on the northeast quarter of Section 25, Range 3. A 
congregation and Sabbath school are established in that neighborhood. Meetings 
are held at the house of John Blotner, and in the schoolhouse on the farm of A. 
Mendenhall, part of the southwest quarter of Section 24. Services and Sabbath 
school are largely attended. The people of Pleasant Ridge and vicinity, belonging 
to the United Brethren, have Sabbath school in the house on the northeast corner 
of the farm of John Long. Church services are held once in three weeks. About 
thirty pupils attend the school, of which Joseph Wolf is the Superintendent. The 
Christian denomination held religious services at Grange Hall (formerly a school- 
house), and their Sabbath school is superintended by W. W. Richardson. 

The Patrons of Husbandry have an organization in this township, established 
in 1876, with a membership of about forty. Mr. Richardson, above named, was 
the first Master. 

The present Township Trustees are William Hawk, David Speelman and J. M. 
Simon. The Township Clerk is F. P. Hawk. Merchandise is sold by J. C. Shill- 
ing and F. P. Hawk, in a building erected for the purpose, some twelve years ago, 
by G. B. Litman, the first storekeeper therein and the present owner of the prem- 
ises. About eighteen years ago, a blacksmith, named Henry Howshilt, located in 
the township and still pursues his useful and laborious calling. 

During the war for the Union, the people of Patterson were prompt and patri- 
otic, their quota was speedily raised and the draft, obnoxious and dreaded, had 
little influence with them. Although late of settlement and remote from towns, 
the present of Patterson is not without much of interest, and the time approaches 
when it will stand well among the leading townships of the county. 



WABASH TOWNSHIP. 

The township is located upon the north line of Darke County, being the third 
east from the Indiana line. It is in Township 12, Range 3 east, with Sections 1, 12, 
13 and 24 of Township 14, Range 2 east. Formerly, it extended two miles farther 
north to the old Indiana boundary line running from Fort Recover}' to Fort Lor- 
amie. The reduction in area was caused b}* the assignment of this and other 
lands of Darke to Mercer, on the formation of Auglaize. It is situated upon an 
elevated plateau or table land, being nearly 700 feet above Cincinnati. The north 
part of the township has a deep, dark, loamy soil, well adapted to raising corn and 
grain. The south part is a light soil, underlaid with a stiff clay subsoil, producing 
heavy crops of wheat and other grains. Forty-six bushels of wheat to an acre 
were raised in the year 1870. The township is well calculated for stock raising. 



388 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTV 

Originally, a sturdy growth of timber covered every acre, but now about two- 
thirds of the extent is cleared — the greater part of which is cultivated. A great 
deal of tile has been put down, and, though level and apparently low, the drainage 
is sufficient for successful culture except in unusually wet seasons. Attention is 
beginning to be paid to the improvement of stock. Mr. John Dodds has taken 
especial interest in this particular, and as a result, it will not be many years before 
the farmers of Wabash will be of the foremost in the county as stock-raisers. 
The farm of Mr. Dodds lies parti}* in Allen, and comprises about 500 acres, with 
good buildings and the machinery now in use. Originally the farms in this town- 
ship were large, much of the land being entered in quarter, third and half sections. 
William A. Davison and Nimrod Ross, brothers-in-law. in the spring of 1838, 
bought together the west half of the southwest quarter, Section 12, the east half of 
southeast quarter, Section 11, the northwest quarter and west half of northeast 
quarter of Section 12, and sold this body of land on October 23 following, to Har- 
monious Shook for $1,800. In accord with the results of land ownership in this 
county, successive sales have been made and a number of good farms have been 
formed from this tract. It is reported that the first settlement of Wabush Town- 
ship was in 1832, and Jesse Hill is spoken of as the pioneer. He was followed by 
Isaac Finkbone, Harmon, Henry, Peter and Elijah Shook, A. D. Birt, J. M. Hous- 
ton, Samuel Hays and Justin Skinner. The Shooks and Birt were from Greene 
County, Ohio, Houston and Hays from Warren County. Ohio, and Skinner from 
New York. The township was organized in 1840 with sixteen voters within its 
limits — all of whom voted the same ticket in the exciting election of that year. 
The pioneer Justice of the Peace was Elijah Shook, who held that position twenty- 
one consecutive years, and until his demise. J. M. Houston was the first Town- 
ship Clerk and the first Postmaster. At the time of its organization but one road 
was established within its limits, and that one was nothing else than a bridge path. 
In 1841, what is known as the Greenville and Celina road was surveyed by John 
Devor, Si'., and established and opened soon after. 

The earl}' settlers had their full share of hardships, privations and adventures. 
Mills were distant, roads almost impassable, and often the settler, not so very hardy 
after all, was placed on short allowance for bread until the two or three days' trip 
to the mill could be made. Game was abundant, and the trusty rifle never failed 
to keep the table supplied with choice venison or wild turkey ; indeed no one thought of 
going even to a neighbor's house without his rifle or shot-gun. Much of the land 
being owned by non-residents, the actual settlers often called upon the pioneers to 
assist in finding them lands and corners. Foremost among the experts of this busi- 
ness were Isaac Finkbone and J. M. Houston — either of whom could find any 
section line or corner within a radius of seven miles from his home. 

Working bees were very common. Among these were house-raisings, log- 
rollings, rail-makings, etc., among the men. and quiltings and comfort-knottings 
among the women. At these gatherings, everybody within five miles was invited, 
and invariably went ; and the amount of work accomplished would surprise the 
present generation. Ten to fifteen acres were often rolled and log-heaps fired dur- 
ing the same day. Large log houses were raised and roofed, and sometimes 
floored, in a day. Often would live to seven thousand rails be made during a day 
by the men. while the women would finish one or two quilts; and most of the 
night was then given to the merry dance, then trudging homeward through water 
and mud at early dawn, or. perhaps, if desirous of putting on style, some stalwart 
swain having brought along his horse, would take his ladylove on behind him to 
traverse the woods, parting the brush and leaping logs until arrived at home. 

The road surveyed by John Devor, in 1841, soon became the favorite route 
of travel between Greenville and Celina. As the counties of Darke and Mercer 
were in the same judicial district, and as the only mode of travel was on horse 
back, at the times of court at either Greenville or Celina, squads of lawyers could 
be seen wending their way. single file, to attend the sessions. The residence of J. 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 389 

M. Houston was midway between the two towns, and it became a regular stopping 
place for dinner. If the path was good, the time was good ; but more frequently 
the trip took two days, and this house was the lodgings for the night. Among 
these pioneer legal lights were Judges Haines and Wilson, and Messrs. Bell, Demp- 
sey and Knox. Those living no doubt recollect the genial hospitality, the corn 
bread, fat venison, social chat, and last — not least — the ingenious contrivance for 
bedding fifteen to twenty persons in a log cabin in size 18x22 feet. Squire Hous- 
ton has been in public life in Warren County for many years, and has taken great 
interest in public affairs. As at this time there was no mail route, he availed him- 
self of the lawyers' presence to " post up," and converse was often maintained till 
far into the night. Of those present at the organization, and voting at the first 
election, but one remains — Orrin Skinner. Thomas Birt is the oldest resident, 
but was not twenty-one at that time. The descendants of the Shook and Houston 
families are yet living in the township, and enjoying the fruits of their early hai'd- 
ships and toil, and man}' a tale of the early day ma}' be heard among them. 
There are six school districts in Wabash Township, and as many brick school- 
houses, ranging in value from $800 to $1,200 each. The interest taken in educa- 
tional matters, and the liberal provision made for schools, augrs well for the 
future intellectual status of Wabash. The first schoolhouse was built in the 
spring of 184-1, in the E. S. Shook neighborhood, on Section 13. The first teacher 
in this house was Elijah Raines, who came from Greene County. The first 
church was the Methodist Episcopal, built of logs, in 1844, in the Shook settle- 
ment. A second building, of the same material, was built in the fall of 1848, in 
the same localit}'. There was no formal dedication of the former, and it is a mat- 
ter of doubt whether there was to the latter ; but services were occasionally held 
in it by Rev. Harmount. 

In 1870. a frame church was erected, the third in this place ; and this was 
duly consecrated by Rev. Wycke. During the spring of 1876, the erection of a 
meeting-house was contracted for by A. R. Catterell, at North Star. On its comple- 
tion, it was dedicated by Rev. R. D. Oldfield. assisted by Rev. T. D. Howe. This was 
during the time when Rev. M. Omerod was on the Dawn Circuit. There is a Christian 
Church in what is called the Holsapple settlement, on the Wabash, north of the 
center of Section 12. about two and one-half miles from North Star. It is a frame, 
and was built in 1871. 

In the line of manufacture there are two tile factories, one operated by Gil- 
bert & Trissell, formerly by Harvey Burns and Benjamin Gilbert, and the other by 
Ephraim Trissell and Alvin Jones. A saw-mill was erected at North Star in 1852, 
by John and David Trissell. To this mill, grist works were added in 1858 by 
Stephen J. Houston. The property is now owned by Andrew Alexander. 
Another mill stood a half-mile east of North Star. It was built b}* David Tris- 
sell and was burned down in 1878. The establishment of mail routes gave 
employment to Freeman Whittaker, who was the first to carry the mail in 
Wabash. In accord with the custom and necessity of the times, small cemeteries 
were laid out adjacent the churches ; there were three in the township, located 
respectively at Shook's Chapel, Holsapple's and at Perrysville. 

North Star is the principal village in Wabash, and stands one-fourth mile 
west of the center of the township, and in the center north and south. It was 
laid out in 1852. It is distant from Berlin ten miles, from Rossville six, from 
Celina seventeen, and from Greenville eighteen. The first sale of lots was made 
by H. Puterbaugh from Section 17. Sales were also made by D. H. T. Sullow from 
Section 9, and by S. J. Houston out of Section 8. None have been sold from 
Section 16, of which Mrs. Myra Wallace owns an eighth, and upon which she has 
a fine dwelling. On the corner section opposite is a general store building kept 
by Peter Groff, and built in 1852 by William Edwards, who put in the first stock 
of goods. It has changed proprietors a number of times in the interim from 
Edwards' till Groff's time, and both building and lot belong to the Campbell 



390 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

heirs. The church here, as stated, was begun in 1876, but not finished until 
recently. A blacksmith named William Pierson built and operated a shop at the 
village in 1860. The saw-mill previously noted does an extensive business. The 
population of North Star is about one hundred and fift}'. 

The following are the statistics of the township for 1879 : Wheat, 1,280 
acres, 19,463 bushels; rye, 36 acres, 405 bushels; buckwheat, 14 acres, 204 
bushels ; oats, 644 acres, 20,806 bushels ; barley, 9 acres, 101 bushels ; corn, 
2.212 acres, 23,350 bushels ; meadow, 275 acres, 274 tons ; clover, 278 acres, 203 
tons, 30 bushels seed and ten acres plowed under ; flax, 103 acres, 966 bushels ; 
potatoes, 564 acres, 9,004 bushels; tobacco, 9 acres, 9,160 pounds; butter, 
19,415 pounds; sorghum, 43 acres, 3,819 gallons sirup; maple sugar, 40 pounds ; 
bees (hives), 83, 1,800 pounds; sweet potatoes, 116 bushels; orchards, 144 
acres. The total of lands in Wabash is 10,550 acres, of which 5,918 are culti- 
vated, 62 in pasture, 4,275 in woods, and 295 in waste. Considering lateness in 
settlement, difficulties in the way and distance from market, the record of the 
past and of the present give encouraging promise for the future. 



ALLEN TOWNSHIP. 

Allen was taken from the north end of Brown Township in March, 1839, and 
contained all of Townships 14 and 15 north, of Range 2 east, except one tier of 
sections from the east side of each. In 1848, Township 15 was thrown into Mer- 
cer County. The general surface of Allen is rolling, and occasional hills are seen 
along the Wabash and Stillwater streams — the first named enters the township 
near the extreme northwestern corner, and flows in a general southeast course to 
the southeast corner of Section 15, two miles north of Rossville, then due north- 
east to Section 11, where it enters Wabash Township. The second rises on the 
L. M. Turner place, southwest quarter Section 17, and runs southeast, crosses the 
pike a half-mile north of Rossville, keeps the same course a distance, reaches, 
finally, the southern line of the township, and enters Brown. The soil is dark 
and rich in the lowlands, but the clay predominates in the uplands. 

At the present time, about one-third of the eastern portion of the township is 
timbered, which increases to a half in the western and northwestern parts. There 
are four saw-mills in almost constant operation. There are Titus' mill, close to 
the county line, five miles north of Rossville ; Rodehammel's large steam-mill, 
two and a half miles north of the same place, and Sutherland's mill, one and a 
half miles east of the steam-mill. These mills are rapidly reducing the quantity 
of timber suitable for the various kinds of lumber. The township is well supplied 
with roads. Almost every section line is either a county road or a pike. No 
railroad touches the township. The houses are now mostly frame buildings, but 
there are a number of brick dwellings. Many of the better class of residences 
are seen. Farms are about on an average with those in the northern part of the 
county, generally. 

The Irelands (Ephraim and Aaron) were the first settlers in Allen. They set- 
tled on Section 34, just south of where Rossville now is, on what is now known as 
the John Hagerman place. Others of the pioneers were George Reigel, with his 
sons John, David, Jacob and Jonathan ; Samuel Zerby, Samuel Aspaugh, Landis 
Light, John Hagerman, Matthias Barnhart, Francis Jenkinson, Henry Brown ; also 
James Cochran, who was the first Justice of the Peace in the township. 

The first schoolhouse was built, during the year 1840, on land since owned by 
Joseph Bingham, on Section 30. The pioneer church was erected, in 1854, by the 
Methodists, on the line between Sections 29 and 32, two miles west of Rossville, 
on the present road to Lightsville. In 1855. a church was built by the German 
Lutheran denomination on the farm of Jacob Zerby, a little more than half a mile 
farther west of Rossville than the other. The first sermons preached in the 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 391 

township were by Evangelical ministers in private houses. The first preacher was 
Bishop John Seibert. In the Methodist Church, the pioneer was Rev. T. Heistand. 
The United Brethren have a church five miles northeast of Rossville, near the 
Meisse property. The plans have been made and the money subscribed for a new 
brick church at Rossville. It is to be built by the United Brethren, and will cost 
about $1,200. 

There are nine schoolhouses in the township, five are brick, four are frame, and 
have an average seating capacity of forty-five. Rossville, a village of recent date, 
was laid out by John G. Ross, in 1868, from a part of eighty acres owned by him 
and Robert Ross laid off a few lots adjacent to the plat, from his farm. During 
the year, a village store was started by Solomon Frank, and a post office established. 
Two years prior to this, a blacksmith named John Clapper had built a shop, and 
accommodated the farmers with a place where tools could be repaired and horses 
shod. 

The products of the township are those usual to this section. Of these, corn 
is the staple; in 1879.2,111 acres were planted, and 75,232 bushels produced; 
1.170 acres of wheat yielded 18,390 bushels ; 643 in oats produced 18,962 bushels : 
91 acres in potatoes yielded 6,086 bushels ; 21,352 pounds of butter were made, 
4,738 gallons of sirup. The waste lands number but 45 acres ; the cultivated, 
5,454 ; the pasture, 193, and the wood land 6,095 ; the number of acres owned is 
11,757. Some few sheep are kept; but, as seen, the grains are heavily raised and 
much of the profit from farming are derived from the fattening and sale of hogs. 
The amount of fruit produced is small ; attention has not been directed that way. 



MISSISSINAWA TOWNSHIP. 

Township 14, Range 1, was a part of Jackson Township previous to 1839, 
when it was taken from the north end and formed into a township and designated 
as above. It included all of Township 14, Range 1, except the north tier of sec- 
tions, which were then included in Gibson Township. April 12, 1848, when Gib- 
son was thrown into Mercer County, this tier of sections was then taken into 
Ihe township. Mississinawa is five miles wide east and west, and six miles long 
from north to south, and is absolutely regular in outline. 

It derived its name from its principal stream — the Mississinawa Creek, which 
rises near the center of the township, runs southeasterly just over into the edge of 
Allen Township, then southwesterly, crossing the pike nearly half-way from Rose 
Hill to Lightsville, and thence in a general course a little north of south of west 
to the county line, in the northern part of Section 30, one and three-fourths miles 
north of Jackson Township line. 

The surface is generally level, except the northwest portions, which are some- 
what inclined to be hilly. The soil is warm and strong, and along the creek bottom 
is probably as productive as any other section of the county. About one-third of 
the surface of this township is timber-land with a fine growth of oak, ash, elm, 
hickory, sugar-maple and beech. Around the pleasant village of Rose Hill there 
is a greater predominance of yellowish clay in the soil, and the beech is found in 
the greatest numbers. 

The days of discomfort have passed into forgetfulness, and the farmers to-day 
improve and enjoy what their predecessors toiled and suffered to make habitable. 
The old settlers' farms are under a good state of improvement, and, as a rule, are 
free from incumbrances. Crops of all kinds average well. A great deal of tile 
has been laid, and much excellent land rendered available to tillage by thorough 
drainage. 

• The pioneer settler in this township was Philip Replogle, who located in the 
year 1833, on the land since owned by Jacob Replogle, half a mile east of Rose 
Hill. In 1835, Joseph and William Replogle settled near the village. Other of 



392 HISTORY (>F DARKE COUNTY. 

the earl} - settlers were John B. Anderson, Samuel C. Carter. David Brooks. John 
A. McKibhen, Hugh McKibben, William Van Kirk, William B. Light. Francis 
Whitaker, E. H. Fisher and Mahlon Peters. 

The first schoolhouse was built on the land of Caroline Grissom, the date of 
its erection not known. The first church was erected by the Methodists in 1851, 
on land then owned by Samuel C. Carter, and situated one and a half miles east 
of the southwest corner of the township, on the line between .Jackson and Missis 
sinewa Townships. Samuel Carter was the first Justice of the Peace in the 
township. 

Rose Hill is located one mile west of the eastern line of the township and 
three miles north at the corners of Sections 14, 15, 22 and 23. and was laid out in 
1852. The village of Lightsville was laid out by William B. Light, in 1874. It 
is located on Section 26, just within the eastern boundary of the township, one and 
a half miles from the southeastern corner. It has a population of about one hun- 
dred and fifty. 

This village has a fine schoolhouse that will seat eighty pupils. It is a new 
building, recently erected at a cost of about $1,200. A saw-mill was put up in the 
southwestern part of the town by A. R. Crumrine. The mill burned down in 1808. 
Another and the present one was built in the summer of 1873. by William S. 
Light. 

JACKSON TOWNSHIP. 

The township of Jackson cannot claim great antiquity, as compared with its 
older sisters, consequently its history deals more particularly with events more 
nearly modern, and whose active influence are still being felt. 

The northern part is comparatively level, with a gentle slope toward the Mis 
sissinewa River. The soil is mainly a dark loam, very productive. Though the 
lands lie low in places, extensive drainage and tiling are rapidly making them 
available, and in a few years these tracts will have become the garden spots of the 
township. 

The timber in this section is oak, ask, hickory, elm, etc.. with originalh* a fine 
growth of walnut, of which little now remains. In the central part of the town- 
ship, the surface is more uneven, but may be characterized as undulating, rather 
than hilly, with a tendenc}' to clay soil in the more elevated portions. This is the 
upland section of the township. Beech is the predominating timber in this part 
of Jackson, followed, in order of abundance, by the sugar maple and shell-bark 
hickory. Southward, the surface is still more rolling, the soil lighter, warmer and 
very fertile in the depressions. Originally there was much poplar here, but the 
demand for this timber for lumber has exhausted the supply, and very few trees 
now remain. 

James Marquis was the first settler in the township. He came in 1830, 
accompanied by his family, from the Alleghany Ridge, Virginia. He was a stal- 
wart among pioneers, being of powerful frame and of full 300 pounds weight. 
Uniting robust health with this strong frame, he was the ideal of the pioneer, 
r ang ing the wood for game or felling the giant monarchs of the forest with swift 
and heavy strokes. 

In 1831, his brother. William K. Marquis, removing from the old home, joined 
him in the woods of Jackson, and for two years, or until 1833. these were the only 
two families in the township, though there were four or five cabins about two miles 
distant, in the Creviston neighborhood. Washington Township. Kidd Marquis 
was born in 1794, served during the war of 1812. removed to Jackson, as said, 
where he died in 1858. His wife, in her eighty-sixth year, is healthy and active, 
makes journeys of several miles on foot, and possesses her faculties unimpaired. 
She is a worthy type of the settler's wife, having raised a family of nine children, 
now grown to maturity and filling honorable positions in life — a marked contrast 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 393 

this to the feeble health of many modern matrons with their one or two children. In 
1831. a man named Burns moved in, upon the Reeves Hand place, between Union City 
and Hillgrove, on the bank of Dismal Creek. In 1833. Frederick Roe came from 
Fayette County and located upon land adjoining the Marquis clearing on the west, 
a portion of which is now included in the Union City incorporation. 

•■ Pioneer " Jesse Grey settled one and one-fourth miles east of Union City, 
on the Greenville pike of to-day, at an early da}-, and by some it has been claimed 
that himself and family were the first in the township, but his original location 
was just across the line, in Washington Township. Grey was naturally kind of 
heart, but cherished a deep antipath}* toward the Indians, and it was claimed by 
others and admitted by himself, that he shot them on sight, whenever possible, in 
revenge for terrible wrongs inflicted on his ancestors years before. 

It is related by Dr. W. J. Stewart, who, while on a journey to Adams County, 
Ind., in 1859. called at the log cabin of Mr. Grey, who had removed thither and 
settled near Buena Vista, that he found the old gentleman, now over eighty years 
of age, living with his third wife, and the father of a bright little lad of some 
eight years. Conversation turning upon marksmanship with the rifle, the old 
man spoke of having shot a deer the day before from his cabin door. He then 
took a target about an inch square, and sent it out by his little boy to a tree just 
one hundred and ten yards distant. Standing at the cabin door he discharged 
several balls into the very center of the mark without a rest, a feat for which he 
might well feel pride. 

On one occasion, he came upon an Indian, between whom and himself there 
existed a special enmity. Neither had the advantage, and they agreed to stand 
side by side, discharge their rifles and walk to some settlement. On the way to a 
clearing the Indian spoke of thirst, and both kneeled down to drink. Grey left his 
companion at the creek, and although he never confessed the murder, it was left 
to be inferred that he did kill the Indian at the creek. 

We are told that about 1833, there were three settlements formed within the 
present limits of the township, viz. : One about three miles from a road running 
from Greenville to the trading-posts of one Courier, now known as the Greenville 
pike, consisting of the families of William Parent. Tobias and Abraham Miller, 
John Armstrong and George Elston. a single man ; a second was in the south- 
west portion of the township, and composed of the families of John Woods, Mar- 
quis and Roe ; and the third in the northeastern part of Jackson, comprising the 
families of Richard, John and Jacob Strait, Gilbert Vail and John Wright. These 
settlements having rapidly increased, the people realized the necessity of some 
kind of organization by means of which they would be enabled to rule themselves. 
Therefore, in 1833, a petition was presented to the proper authorities, praying for a 
township formation. Thereupon the court appointed John Armstrong Justice of 
the Peace, and William Parent, Constable, to serve until the regular township 
election, which took place in the following spring, resulting in the election of 
Armstrong to the office of Justice of the Peace, and, Parent refusing to be a can- 
didate, Samuel Dennison was chosen Constable. 

It seems that on organization Jackson Township contained Townships 13, 14 
and 15 of Range 1. which were then embraced within the limits of Washington 
Township. In June, 1836, Township 15 and the north tier of sections of Town- 
ship 14 were detached from Jackson and named Gibson Township. Three }~ears 
later, in March, the remainder of Township 14 was formed into Mississinawa 
Township. Following formation, the settlement of Jackson continued by the entry 
of lands, and the increase of clearings. In 1834, Hezekiah Fowler arrived with 
his family from Maryland. He hastily put up a log shed, on the prevailing plan 
of a " sugar camp," that is, with an open front, and in this rude covering passed 
the winter. In 1835, Matthias Sawyer entered land where the Archard place now 
is, north of town. James Marquis, above referred to as the pioneer of Jackson, 
had three sons, Henry, William and Lewis. The former inhabits the old homestead 



394 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

on Grey's branch. Lewis lives a short distance south of Union City. Ind. 
William moved to Iowa, in 1858, and died there. The elder Marquis was a 
Methodist local preacher, and a well-educated man for one who had gained his 
knowledge by self-application. He gave his attention to medicine, and became in 
time a very good doctor. Although a Virginian, he was a notable Abolitionist, 
and spoke upon the subject in both Ohio and Indiana, being at times subjected to 
vituperation and personal abuse, which he was not backward in resenting. 

William Dennison was born in Washington Township, and came into Jackson 
in 1833; settled four miles northeast of Union City, where he entered eighty acres 
of the southwest quarter of Section 14. He worked at $7 per month, and split 
rails at 25 cents a hundred, to secure mone}" to pay for his farm. He had seven 
children, and died April 19, 1853. 

Isaiah Pickett and wife moved from South Carolina to Washington Township, 
in 1836, and " squatted" on land nearFlory's, on Greenville Creek ; later he moved 
to Hillgrove, and built a small house just east of the Methodist Church, where he 
remained a few years, and later, moved to land between Hillgrove and Union City. 
He died in March, 1850. 

When the township was first settled, the country was a dense forest. Wolves 
began their dismal howling about dark and kept it up for hours. Wild turkeys 
would come within the clearings to pick up food, and it was a common practice to 
leave the door of the corncrib open, and sometimes two or three birds would be 
caught at once in this way. 

There was no outlet from the clearings but by blazed paths through the inter- 
minable woods. For the accommodation of the settlements, a petition was pre- 
sented to the County Commissioners, asking for the establishment of a road run- 
ning from a point on the Greenville and Mississinewa pike in the southwestern 
part of the township, in a northeasterly direction, intersecting the Greenville and 
Fort Recovery road, where it crosses the Stillwater, and this road, duly established, 
was the first highway located and cleared by the people of Jackson Township. 

The first church in the township was erected by the Methodists, on the land 
of* John Woods, now owned by Jacob Darlinger, and is still standing. The United 
Brethren erected a chapel near the center of the township on the Teegarden pike. 
It is a frame building in which Rev. Keester holds alternating services, the other 
point being Union City. The Christian denomination hold meetings in the school- 
house, two miles north of the Huntsbarger corners. Revs. Alonzo Laten and 
Smith preach here alternately. The First Christian Church of Union City. Ohio, 
was organized with about thirty-five members, by Elders Henry Gittinger. Harri- 
son Vinson and C. M. Sharp, in the year 1861. Elder H. Gittinger was the first 
Pastor of the church. The following named ministers served successively as 
Pastors of the church, viz., H. Vinson, C. M. Sharp, A. W. Brodric, J. Jacobs. J. 
Weeks, T. S. Wells and T. A. Brandon. A building was constructed in the eastern 
part of the city, on two lots on the corner of Oak and Plum streets, at a cost of 
$1,300. The builder was Jacob Deardorff, and the dedication was by Rev. Joseph 
Weeks. In 1876, the United Brethren purchased the house and still own it. 

Educational interests have not been neglected, as is evidenced by ten school 
districts, with schools in a flourishing condition. One of the first schoolhouses 
remembered, stood :t1 the cross roads, one mile east of the " Strait settlement." 
and one of the early teachers was Richard Butler, from German Township, some 
time in 1842-43. Another early school building was erected on Section 35, on 
land owned by John Armstrong. In 1835, the first subscription school was 
taught by Amos Barrier, in the Marquis neighborhood. Barrier moved here with 
his family and opened the school the same year. Alem Fowler was also among 
the earlier teachers. In 1835, a log schoolhouse was put up on the Cruinrine land, 
hiav owned by George Haas. Michael Spayd taught the first public school in 18.'U>. 

The buildings of the present indicate attention to the comfort of the children. 
Bight brick and two frame houses, nearly uniform in style and size, accommodate 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 395 

the youth of the township. The brick cost $1,200 each, and a tax has been levied 
to replace the remaining frame with brick structures. Their average seating 
capacity is sixty ; teachers' wages, $1.50 per day. and two-thirds of the teachers 
are gentlemen. 

It is remembered that in various sections of this country the gravel hills 
have been used by an extinct race as the depositories of the remains of their dead, 
and, in excavating gravel for the State line pike, a great quantity of human bones 
were discovered which may have belonged to those unknown people. One of the 
earliest deaths known to Jackson was that of Edward Payne, an old soldier of 
1812, who had also participated in the battles of the Revolution ; he was buried 
in the woods under a beech-tree, there being at this time no graveyard. Within 
a few years, Mr. Galloway took up the remains and buried them in the new ceme- 
tery. The original grave here spoken of was the first one made in Union City, 
Ohio. There is as yet no cemetery in the Ohio portion of the city, but there are 
graveyards — one on the Marquis farm and one at Hill Grove. 

It remains to speak of the mills by whose aid the timber was made a source 
of wealth and comfort. The Buckthorn mill, on the Teegarden pike, has been 
running about sixteen years. It was built by John Parent, and still does a large 
business, turning out a great deal of heavy timber for railroad and pike purposes. 
At first, a sash saw was used, afterward a muley, and more recently a circular. 
This is a steam mill. Two miles north of this mill there is another, owned by J. 
Hayes, and b} r him built in 1875. This is also a steam mill, with circular saw. 
Formerly, what was known as the Rifle Mill stood three miles north of Hunts* 
barger Cross Roads. It was run by steam, and done away with several years 
ago. At Dogtown. three miles east of Union Cit}', on the Panhandle road, Samuel 
Dennison & Co. put up a steam saw-mill about 1855, which did an extensive bus- 
iness. Much of the lumber used in Union City was obtained from this mill. It 
changed hands many times, and was last owned b}' Robison, Harlers & McKee. 

Politically, for the last ten years the township has been Democratic ; pre- 
viously it had been Republican and Whig. About one-sixth of the population is 
German, one-sixth Irish, and the remainder are American. Industry is the com- 
mon trait, and the township is a satisfactory home for its people. 

UNION CITY. 

This enterprising, dual-State city, situated upon that intangible reality the 
" State line," contains two village corporations with corresponding sets of officials. 
The western portion is known as the " Indiana Side " and the eastern as the " Ohio 
Side," and this designation is convenient in reference to these localities. The 
former is accredited with a population of 5,000, the latter nearly 2,000, making an 
estimate of 7,000. 

The original plat of Union City, Ind., includes a quarter-section of land pur- 
chased by Jerry Smith of Augustus Loveland early in 1852, for $1,200. he having 
inherited it a few 3 r ears previously from his father-in-law, Mr. Crumrine. Prior to 
1852, no railroads had been completed to this place. The Dayton & Union termi- 
nated at Greenville, and there was a sixty-mile gap east and west of Union City 
on what is now known as the Bee Line road. On December 25, 1852, the former 
road was completed to Union City, and during the year following the second was 
finished, and the extraordinary growth of the cit}' is evidenced by the fact of its 
incorporation. In 1854, the Monroe & Mississinawa Railroad was begun and par- 
tially graded, but the enterprise lay dormant until 1866, when, through the 
energy of Dr. J. N. Converse and others, it was pushed forward, and completed in 
1867, under the title of the Union & Logansport Railroad. It was subsequently 
leased to the owners of the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati & St. Louis Railroad. Among 
the first houses erected was a boarding-house by Jacob Livergood for the accom- 
modation of the hands on the Belletbntaine and Cleveland, Columbus. Cincinnati 



390 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

& Indianapolis Railroads. The first house completed in Union City. Ind., is 
that now owned by Dr. 5Tergin, opposite the Eagle office. In this structure a 
saloon was kept, whose baneful influence was attested by the simultaneous dis- 
charge of seventeen employes of the railroad shortly after its doors were thrown 
open. Soon after this, a dry-goods and two grocery stores and a saloon were 
erected and opened to patronage on the Ohio side. During the years 1853-54. six 
stores and a number of groceries were opened on the Indiana side. Then a num- 
ber of saloons were opened, and so apparent were the ill effects of these institu- 
tions that a war against them was commenced and kept up until the evil traffic 
was abolished. From that time until now, not a saloon has had existence on the 
Indiana side, but there are now (1880) thirteen on the Ohio side. 

Growth continued; large mercantile and manufacturing establishments 
located here ; bank s were chartered ; hotels built and thrown open to the public ; 
telegraph and express offices were opened. Public interest centered on turnpikes 
and turned to the erection of water-works. These last were finished in 1S74, and 
from a well of 20 feet depth 800 gallons of water are furnished per minute, and 
conveyed by means of two powerful engines and pipes throughout the city for 
domestic and manufacturing use. Add to these the potential influence of the 
schools, the press and the churches, and an idea of the factors of progress used 
in the development of this city may be realized. The first school was opened by 
Miss May Ensminger in her father's house on Howard street during the fall of 
1853. The first public school was held in the winter of 1853-54, in a Bee-Line 
boarding-car. The first Methodist class here organized was in the spring of 1852. 
The first meeting-house was erected during 1858-59, and, in November, 1858. the 
Christian denomination formed a society. A church had been commenced five 
years earlier, but was not finished till this time. The First Presbyterian Church 
was organized under the direction of the Presbytery of Miami by Rev. Isaac A. 
Ogden. Presbyterian missionary, at the house of Martin Cox, Washington Town- 
ship, on November 8, 1836. St. Mary's Catholic Church was organized in 1854. 
The first German Evangelical Lutheran Church was formed by Thomas Lacker in 
1857. The primary meeting for the organization of the Universalist Church was 
held January 19, 1860. 

Three Masonic, three Odd Fellows, one Rebecca, one Knights of Pythias and 
one Red Men's Lodges, Young Men's Christian Association, literary, musical, 
building and other associations, fire department, etc., are of sufficient importance 
to warrant notice preparatory to an historic sketch of the Ohio side ; if, indeed, 
not essential to give increased interest to the subject. Union City, Ohio, was 
incorporated under the laws of the State in 1853. The petition was presented to 
the County Commissioners and filed in the office of the Auditor of Darke County. 
September 4. of the year named, and it was heard and allowed. December li. It 
was filed for record January 5, 1854, and recorded on the 23d following. The 
certified copy now in the Mayor's office bears date May 13, 1854, and the follow- 
ing are the petitioners' names : S. P. McMillan, B. W. Evans, George W. Inman. 
E. H. Turpen, Josiah Mongar, David Fruits, F. M. Katsenbarger, John Matins. 
James Allen, F. Stahl. X.I>. Farrell, H. S. Weinland, J. I. Wolf. R. B. McKee. I. 
S. Woodbury, Reuben Weinland, John Haas, Z. Brownley, G. R. Dewe}*, William 
B. Fields. Courtney Hays, R. N. Stevens, I. D. Carter, J.' J. Turpen, R. G. Miller, 
J. W. Shiveley. J. E. 1'axton, A. Adair, S. C. Miller and William B. Woodbury. 

The original plat was made by Josiah Mongar in 1853. Mongar owned forty 
acres now at the center of the corporation on both sides of the railroad. He 
donated ten acres to the Bee Line as grounds for shops, switches, warehouses. 
etc.. and also erected a saw-mill about the same time, opposite where the brewery 
now stands, thai is, on the corner of Division street and the railroad. The next 
addition of about ten acres, in the same year, was made by John Haas, soon after 
which Brownley made an addition. Then Jerry Smith and his brother Oliver. 
now of Indianapolis, added ten acres. The Fowler Additions, first and second. 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 397 

and several others, including the recent one by Mr. Archard, completes the series 
up to 1880. 

The following view of Union City, Ohio, written in 1876, by Alfred Lenox, 
then and now the oldest living resident, and published in the Times, is appropriate 
here : 

"This portion of the city was incorporated in 1853. The population now 
numbers about fifteen hundred. There is here a substantial school-building, and 
the Christians have a commodious frame house for worship. The manufactory 
of slack-barrels, staves and headings emplo} r s from twenty to thirty hands, and 
affords a market for a vast quantity of timber, which has heretofore been nearly 
valueless except for fuel. A planing-mill and manufactory, in connection with a 
lumber-yard, employs from twelve to fifteen hands. There is a furniture factory, 
with a running force of several hands (about fifteen), and a hub, spoke and chair 
factoiy, having about an equal force of employes. All of these industries employ 
steam to propel their machinery. Besides these, there are two steam saw-mills, 
a steam flouring-mill with four runs of buhrs, and a furniture manufactory, giving 
employment to five or six hands. There are, also, five firms engaged in making 
brick, doing an extensive business in that line, and there is one large tile manu- 
factory. Besides the usual proportion of smaller mercantile and mechanical 
establishments, there are saloons, billiard rooms and an ale manufactory." We 
learn that " this portion of the city contains a number of private residences, all 
the principal streets are well graded and graveled, and all turnpikes leading into 
the city are free to the public." The history of the mechanical and mercantile 
interests of the Ohio side, for several years from the first and from the era of 
small beginnings to the later day of more extensive efforts, is briefly expressed in 
the following paragraphs. Only those who have attempted similar work can full}" 
understand the labor essential to these statements. 

The first blacksmith-shop was established by F. Roe, in 1853, at the south 
end of Division street, then in a strip of woods. In the same }"ear, a shoe-shop 
was carried on by Lewis Willarime between the Bee-Line Railroad and where Elm 
street now is. A cooper-shop was established and run by P. R. Galloway, in 
1855, for a period of eight months. It was located at the corner of Division street 
and the railroad. The next blacksmith-shop was carried on by Woodbury & Hulse, 
also on Division street. A shingle-manufacturing machine was set up by David 
Fruits, in the northeast part of town, during 1853, and was operated till 1855. 
The next project realized was a saw-mill, built near Division street, on the west 
side, near the railroad, b} 7 Henry Weinland, with one sash-saw. Then, S. P. 
McMillan and Thomas Workman set to work and erected a steam flouring-mill, 
having four runs of buhrs, three-stoned, and having a " hip roof." This mill is 
still running and does good work. The present proprietor is Thomas McFeeley ; 
capacity is one hundred barrels in twenty-four hours. The machinery is run by 
double engines of forty horse-power. The initial dry goods and grocery store was 
that of Morgan & Carter, opposite the flouring-mill built in 1853. Messrs. Brown 
and Archard opened a wholesale grocery and liquor store in 1856. The next year. 
P. R. Galloway ran the largest hoop-pole establishment, at the time, in the State 
of Ohio. It was located by the switch, near the flouring-mill. Shipments for the 
winters of 1858 and 1859 amounted to over four hundred car loads. Joseph Tur- 
pen, in 1855, started a store on the Deerfield road, and, two years prior to this, a 
little bakery had been opened by Katzenbarger & Stahl, and M. B. Dickey had 
engaged in tailoring in a shop opposite the flouring-mill. 

MANUFACTURES OF UNION CITY. 

In a brief recapitulation of the business interests of the city in the past, it is 
well to recur in contrast to the present as illustrative of permanence and progress 
in these all-important auxiliaries to the prosperity of a municipality. We set out 



3U8 BISTORT! OF DARKE COUNTY. 

and go not far till we reach the grain warehouse of G-. Lambert & Son. on the 

west side of Division street, south of the Dayton & Union Railroad. The first 
part of this structure was raised in 1870; it is a two-story frame, 40x24 feet, 
luiilt by Henry Stoner. There were two cribs adjoining, one being 100x10 feet, 
the other 20x40. In the spring of 1877, Stoner sold to the present firm, by whom 
extensive additions have been made. The building and machinery, including a 
thirty-horse power engine, are estimated at $6,500. The grain handled averages 
about a quarter-million bushels for the year. Next, is the brick factory of Jacob 
Snook, together with a tile factory and neck-yoke and single-tree works — each end 
of Kim street, The wood-works consist of two parts — a brick engine and boiler 
house, and a framed structure for the lathes, etc. The former was built in the 
summer of 1870 ; the latter was completed in January. 1880. The first is 30x80 
feet, and 130,000 brick were required to cemplete the walls and encase the engine 
and boiler house. The cost of the structure was about $6,000. The brick factory 
has been turning out 10.000 per day regularl}'. The two establishments are 
located upon grounds containing five acres. The tile factory has for its site five 
town lots, situated just west of the other works, but within the corporation. The 
two kilns produce about $6,000 worth of tile in a season, and have been in opera 
tion since 1872. George Haas has a large brick kiln about one-fourth of a mile 
east of town, which he has operated yearly for some time. The Union City 
Slack Barrel Stave and Heading Works were built, in 1870, by Hugh Wiggins & 
Son. of Dayton, Ohio. The main building is 30x60 feet. There are seven sheds, 
whose aggregate length is 1,200 feet, and there are two dry-houses. The cost, 
including machinery, was some $6,000. The works have been run irregularly for 
the last five or six years. Amos Wiggins, the junior partner, died in November, 
1879. Latterly, the works have been repaired and put in order for running at 
their full capacity. They are capable of turning out 20,000 staves and 8,000 to 
10,000 headings per day. E. H. Kimes has been foreman since the origin of the 
enterprise. In 1860. Witham & Brother erected a building for the manufacture 
of clamp-screws, broom handles, trunk slats, handles, and general turning. It was 
40x25 feet, two stories, and stood east of State Line street and south of the 
Dayton & Union Railroad. This structure was destroyed by fire, and early in the 
spring of 1874 a new building was put up, which consists of two parts, one being 
40x80 feet, with an addition 20x50 feet, and the other, 30x60 feet. This building 
and business belongs to S. L. Carter and George L. Carter. The former is an old 
resident, who lived in Mississinawa before its organization into a township ; the lat- 
ter is superintendent. The annual product of this mill is about five hundred dozen 
clamps, fifty thousand broom handles, over two million trunk slats, and a like 
number of trunk handles. A saw-mill is in active operation the year round, for 
their exclusive use. The lumber is dried by a new patent hot-air process 
invented by the proprietors. The establishment is worth about $10,000. and 
the manufactured stock amounts to about $25,000 a year. An eighty-horse- 
power engine is now building by the Smith Brothers, Union City, to l'eplace the 
one now in use. which has been found too weak to drive all the machinery. 
Eighteen to twenty hands are employed, and the average running time for the las; 
two years has been fifteen hours. The furniture factory of John Koontz was 
built in 1S76. It is 30x50 feet, two stories, with an addition. On the northwest 
corner of Wall and Walnut streets stands J. T. Hartzells saw-mill, built in 
December, 1878. It is run constantly, the motive power being a forty-horse-power 
engine. 

William 4. and Charles S. Hook, under the firm name of Hook Bros., com- 
menced the manufacture of butter tubs and pails at Cardington. Morrow County, 
in 1868. Suitable timber becoming scarce in that locality, after looking the 
countiyover. they decided to remove to Union City. Ind.. and did so November. 
1 S77. Some months later, they decided to locate their factory on the Ohio side, 
and, in 1S70. built the present works. 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 399 

The building is a frame, 68x96 feet, and has three stories. It is situated on 
two acres of land, belonging to the Bee Line Railroad, on Elm street. The build- 
ing and structure, including, also, the stock, cost $10,000. The works are now 
running at full capacity, mostly day and night, and average 100 000 packages 
assorted sizes, per annum. Thirty to thirty-five hands are employed. A consid- 
erable share of the stock they work up is furnished from a saw-mill owned and 
ion nL them m V ^ sailles < Wa ™ e Township. Their business amounts to about 
$d0,000 a year. The power is supplied by a very neat, compact steam engine 
seventy-five horse-power, made at the works of Smith Bros. Their location at 
this point was the happy conjunction of large quantities of suitable timber and 
excellent shipping facilities. When it was learned that the proprietors contem- 
plated removal to the Ohio side, a purse of $600 was subscribed by the citizens of 
the west side to induce them to remain, but they declined, while they appreciated 
the compliment conferred. The works are a model of machinery and management 
and employes are promptly paid each Saturday night. 

Meanek & Son are proprietors of a furniture factory. The senior proprietor 
came into Darke County in 1863, from Estell County, Ky. In 1867, he erected a 
two-story building, 20x40 feet, and, in 1875, doubled the capacity of the rooms 
by an addition equal in size to the original structure. There are eio-ht or nine 
hands employed. Furniture in general is here manufactured. 

McKee & Robison are engaged in the manufacture of paper bags. They 
established themselves at this point March 6, 1880, and have been running from 
five to eight hands on grocery bags, and in connection carry on a trade in old iron 
and rags. Their present location is in the « Orr Building.'" 

i din ard T° 0d lumbei \Y ard w as opened by Messrs. Jones & Benner in Septem- 
ber, 1879. January 1, 1880, Mr. Ebert became a partner. Shipments are made 
to various points in this and adjoining counties. 

These, the active business enterprises of the day, will soon pass into the his- 
tory of the past, and in future it will be an easy task to learn from a brief perusal 
of these pages whence and by whom the early prosperity of Union City was 
achieved. A city, to prosper, needs a favorable site, good communications with 
the outer world and citizens of wealth, intelligence and energy, and in these essen- 
tials, fully enjoyed, the rapid growth of the town has been found. 

The first Justice of the Peace on the Ohio side was Silas P. McMillan He 
was succeeded by David French. Mr. McMillan was also the first Mayor Anecdotes 
are current of his peculiar methods of transacting official business! On one occa- 
sion he was engaged in a game at cards, when the Marshal brought in a prisoner 
His Honor requested them to « be seated until the game was over," saying that « if 
1 quit now, I will be stuck for the game," and the parties sat down and waited the 
conclusion of the play, when the case received requisite attention. 

The Squire, as well as Mayor, on another occasion, sat in a case wherein two 
citizens were engaged as counsel. The prisoner had been arrested for petit lar- 
ceny, lhe evidence was overwhelming, and his counsel taking him into an adjoin- 
ing room, raised the window and counseled him to go, and he hastened to depart 
lhe announcement of his escape was followed by prompt pursuit, but terror 
added wings to the fugitive's feet, and he safely crossed the State line The 
Court was more amused than offended, and joined heartily in the lauo-h which 
followed upon the announcement of the culprit's escape. 

t ! J? S , q ^ re Li y ei *g° od was also 01i e of the first Mayors and Justices of the Peace 
in lSo-i-55, and again in 1857-58, ordinances were drafted, but lost or destroyed 
by interested parties, before they were adopted. Such, too, was the fate of all 
other records of council proceedings. Just prior to the late war, William A Orr 
was elected Mayor and took the oath of office, but learning that there were no 
ordinances in existence to guide him in the discharge of his duties, and that there 
were no records of council proceedings, he refused to serve. New ordinances 
were drafted and under consideration, but the outburst of war prevented their 



400 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

passage by decimating the council, so that no progress to speak of was made 
beyond the mere fact of the incorporation, until 1865, when the ordinances needed 
were drafted, adopted and published. 

The first school after the incorporation was taught in a room on the third floor 
of the Large building on the corner of Sycamore street and the railroad. Later, a 
two-story frame schoolhouse was erected on the lot whereon the present brick 
building stands. The old schoolhouse was replaced in 1870 by the present com- 
modious structure, which, in its turn, is becoming too small to accommodate the 
ever increasing attendance. 

There are two small, neat frame buildings, located near each other, on him 
street— the one is used as a township house, the other as the city hall. The one 
which stands farther to the east, was built in 1877, by J. S. Johnson lhe 
Township Clerks office is in one room of this building, and the law office ol U. A 
Baker occupies the west end. The other building has also two rooms— one used 
by the Mayor and Village Clerk as their office, and the other as the office ot L. J . 

Prickett. 

The following are the present township officers : Trustees, D. W. Sigler ; 
Jacob Beery and George Dennison ; Justices of the Peace, Joseph Eichelbarger 
and William M. Grimes ; Constables, Jacob Beery, Jr., and W. R. Gard ; Assess- 
ors, James B. Creviston and James Eichelbarger ; Clerk, J. McMahan, and 
Appraiser, Solomon Young. . 

We name, also, the present village officers: Mayor, William M Grimes ; 
Clerk James McMahan ; Treasurer, H. S. Stocksdale ; Marshal, W. R. Gard and 
Councilmen— J. J. Norris, James Purcell, James Spanagle, J. Eldridge, Jacob 
Thomas and Edward Hanhman. 

The two named are the only lawyers in Union City. There is one physician, 
a resident of three years, and there has never been a post office in Jackson Town- 
ship It would be pleasant could we have known from experience the gradual 
changes which evolved farm, hamlet and city, from the demands of production, 
commerce and manufacture, but the foregoing vividly contrasts with the savagery 
prevalent less than thirty years before, and illustrates the civilizing power of the 
railway in its course across States as well as counties, and in its bead-like stations 
along its route. 

BROWN TOWNSHIP. 

Brown Township was constituted in December, 1833, being taken from Rich- 
land and was bounded as follows : Beginning at the northwest corner of Township 
1 3 north Ranoe 2 east, thence southward to the township line ; thence east to the 
east line of Section 35 ; thence north to the township line, and west to the place of 
beginning. Subsequently those parts of Townships 14 and 15, which lay directly 
north, and of equal width to this were added, but, in 1839, were laid off into a 
new township called Allen. % 

In length Brown is six miles north and south, and m width, five miles. Mucn 
of the land was originally entered in quarter-section tracts, the law then requiring 
one-third down and the balance in installments. Subsequently, a « forfeiture oi 
eighty acres was allowed, that is, the half of the entry could be relinquished and 
the money that had been paid on the whole could be applied to pay lor the part. 
A later law permitting the entry of forty acres, caused great rejoicing among the 
poorer classes of movers, and a rush of settlers came swarming into this part ol 

the State. _ . . 

Not all these lands were purchased directly from the Government. A grant 

had been made to the Miami and Erie Canal, and the company sent appraisers into 

this section to value the lands according to location, quality, etc., which gave the 

range from $1 to $2.50 per acre. Land now within the corporate limits ol Dallas 

3 sold at $\ an acre, which would bring at this day $100, and is held at $125. 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 401 

Topographically, Brown Township is one of the most level of the northern tier 
Even along streams the surface is comparatively uniform in this respect The 
Stillwater, which rises in the " spread " in Jackson, enters Brown, near the south- 
west corner of Section 7, on the place now owned by Lewis Kern, runs northeast 
to the pike on the C. C. Kertrow farm, in Section G ; thence nearly south across the 
northeast corner of Section 7, again to the line, then forms a sharp bend in the 
northwest quarter of Section 8 ; from thence proceeding rather crookedly but with- 
out any very marked variations from a southeastward!? course to near 'Dallas at 
which place the stream becomes very tortuous, with a general course north of east 
to the township line, about one-fourth of a mile from the northeast corner of Sec- 
tion 23, and nearly half a mile north of the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati & 
Indianapolis Railroad. Several minor branches flow into the main stream the 
principal auxiliary being the one which joins the Stillwater, a half-mile east of 
Dallas. This branch forms a bow over a mile to the westward before it reaches a 
point almost a mile and a quarter north of its mouth. Following a freshet an 
aerial view of the township would show a maze of pettv streams, but at other 
times many creeks are quite low and sometimes altogether dry. 

Originally much of the land of this township was regarded as next to worth- 
less, but systematic ditching and draining have rendered those very tracts the most 
valuable. Encouraged to persevere, a great deal of tile is still beino- put down by 
owners. Besides the uniformly even surface, the lands of Brown were character- 
ized by a remarkably diversified yet well-distributed mixture of timber— almost 
every variety that was to be found, in any part of the county beino- found here 
and the trunks were generally straight, and of value for lumber and for mechanical 
purposes. 

For many years, the timber was ruthlessly destroved before the advent of 
the railroads and manufactories permitted its transportation and use The num- 
ber of establishments for the manufacture of hubs, spokes, staves, etc show that 
the supply, although sensibly diminished, is far from being exhausted 

The Pan Handle (old Columbus, Piqua & Indianapolis Railroad, enters the 
township near the southeastern corner of the southwest section (31) and passes 
out one-fourth mile from the northwest corner of the section. Reckoning a l so 
from the east, the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati & Indianapolis Railroad^enters 
the township almost at the center of the east line of Section 23, and passino- 
through Dallas, goes in a straight line to a point a trifle south of the northwest 
corner of Section 30, where it enters Jackson Township, its inclination southward 
being one-half mile in five. 

John Woodington is reputed to have been the pioneer of the township He 
located upon St. Clair's tract on Section 29. A. Teegarden came in the summer 
ol 1820, and entered the southwest quarter of Section 18. Daniel Dewall settled 
on the east half of the northeast quarter of Section 20. in the fall of the same year 
David and Silas Riffle were early settlers ; the former is now Mayor the latter 
came m 1828 ; Thomas Marcum moved in during 1829 ; I. T. Wise from Miami 
County, m 1834; Wesley Millett, a maker of wagons, in 1836; J.'h White in 
I Z\, A ' W am P^ from Preble County, in 1838 ; 0. M. Searl in 1839 ; and J 
&. .Miller m 1840. White located on the northwest quarter of Section 23 ■ Mc 
\\ ltley on the east half of southeast quarter of Section 1 ; and Titus on the 
northeast quarter of Section 29. A few these of the pioneers, examples so to 
speak, oi the men who organized and developed this section of the county The 
first death that occurred in Brown was that of Rachael Teegarden wife of \bra 
nam Teegarden. wh< i died the next season after her arrival here. The first marriage 
was that of Polly Dewall, daughter of Daniel Dewall. to John Bruno whole 
nuptials were celebrated three or four years after their arrival in the township 
i le ,>" st TT birth was a son to Da^ 1 and Nancy Studybalser, who was named 
Philip. His parents had come to the township on a visit, and being detained here 
Fin hp was born on the farm now owned by William Bachman. 



402 HISTORV OF DARKE COUNTY. 

The first settler within the present limits of Dallas was John Tattle, a native 
of idams County Penn., who was a genuine believer in ghosts, hobgoblins, etc., 
and was noted for spinning mythical varus. George Turpen built the first house 
in Dallas and sold the first goods. The first school in the township was taught 
bv John llufman. in a pole cabin, built in 1827, for the general accommoda- 
tion of the sen Ins. for an area of several miles. Three old buildings long used 
as school-houses are still standing besides the fine union school buddings now 

David Kittle relates that in the famous " squirrel year." 1822, these animals 
made their appearance in such numbers that the clearings were actually covered 
with them— as much so as if a flock of blackbirds or flight of pigeons had settled on 
a small area The Indians ascribed the circumstance to the failure of the mast, or 
nuts of any kind, in the woods that vear. For many years, the squirrels had uninter- 
ruptedly increased until they had become very numerous ; but 1822 was, to them, 
a famine year Then the clearings were inconsiderable portions of the lands, and 
it is not incredible that the ground was " covered with them." It is said that in 
their ravenous hunger thev forgot all fear, and if a person had an ear of corn in 
his pocket thev would swarm upon him and cut the very clothing with their teeth 
to c4t at the food for want of which they famished. They seemed to have an 
instinctive knowledge that in the southeastern country there was food to be had, 
and millions of them migrated in that direction, and found their way, it is said, 
across the Ohio into Virginia. Great numbers became so weak, through starva- 
tion that thev " fell out of the ranks " and perished by the way. 

? The travel to Brown Township naturally directs his course toward the invit- 
ing village of Dallas, located one mile west of the east boundary of the township, 
and three and a half miles north from the southern boundary. Stillwater I reek 
flows through the northern part of the incorporation. Dallas is the second station 
east from Union City, on the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati & Indianapolis Kail- 
road and is distant therefrom ten and four-tenths miles. The distance west from 
Versailles to Dallas is nine and eight-tenths miles. It was laid out in 1845, and 
incorporated in 1867. Ansonia is the name of the post office. Main street runs 
north and south, with Olive, Elm and Pearl parallel to it on the west. Cross, Canal. 
Weller and High streets run east and west, intersecting the first-named at right 
angles The town is symmetrical in its outlines and divisions, and conforms to 
the cardinal points of "the compass, so that the stranger is not perplexed, as at 
Greenville by the sun's rising at irreconcilable points of the horizon. 

The amount of freight shipped from Dallas, including grain and manufactured 
articles is much beyond the average of towns of similar size, amounting, annual ly 
to between six and seven hundred car loads. No telegraph station was located 
here till 1879. at which time J. H. Royer, station agent, took charge. Ihe tirst 
operator was J. W. McCrav, who is still (May. 1880.) night operator. Stephen 
Helm was engaged January 1, 1880, and remained until May 1. Mr. Rover is 
now day operator and express agent. 

The first Postmaster in the town was Mr. Turpen. now a dry -goods merchant 
at Versailles The first mail carrier was Samuel Baker. V\ illiam \\ lute was the 
first Justice of the Peace, and held the office before the establishment ot the pres- 
ent boundaries. Samuel Rinehart built the pioneer sinithery. on the southeast 
corner of Main and Weller streets, which is still standing. It is difficult to ascer- 
tain with certainty who preached the first sermon in the township, but it is known 
that the second was by one Ogclen. The first church stands yet. and is occupied 
as a dwelling-house, on the land now owned by George Teegarden. The Evangel- 
ical Lutherans have a neat brick structure, 32x45 feet, located in Baughman a 
Addition in the southeast part of the town, on East Mam street. Ihe tirst 
preacher' was Rev. E. A. Boehme. who also preached the dedication sermon. 
When the society was organized, there were only a score or more members ; since 
that time there have been steady accessions. 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 403 

The attention paid to education is evidenced to the stranger by the size, 
location and character of the school buildings. The new school building in 
Dallas is located on two acres of ground in Hulse's Addition, in the northwest 
part of town. There is a fine three-story brick structure, 34x56 feet, erected in 
1873, at a cost of $10,000. The builders were Robinson & Frybarger, of Green- 
ville. The contract was for $8,400. Extras amounted to $1,600. The upper 
story is used as a school hall for lectures, entertainments, etc., is well seated and 
supplied with accessions to these ends. The second story is the high-school 
department, and the first or lower, the primary and intermediate. The first 
Superintendent was J. M. Syckes, who, with his wife as assistant and a good staff 
of teachers, secured to the community an efficient school. He was succeeded by 
the present Superintendent, John S. Royer, a man of marked ability and great 
popularity as a teacher. He is one of the County Examiners, and by his influence, 
experience and presence has done much to give the school the excellent reputation 
it now enjoys. 0. J. Holloway was the last teacher in the grammar department, 
Miss Lizzie McAlpine, intermediate, and Flora Riffle, primary. Miss McAlpine 
has taught in the same room continuously since the school began and is in good 
repute. A fair supply of customary school apparatus has been provided. The offi- 
cers of the present School Roard are Dr. W. E. Hoover, S. Riffle and J. R. Knouff. 
There are two organizations or lodges of secret societies in Dallas, the 
Ansonia Lodge, A., F. & A. M., chartered on October 21, 1874, by the Grand 
Lodge of Ohio, and the Odd Fellows, Ansonia Lodge, No. 605, instituted June 18, 
1875. The former received their charter from Asa H. Ratten, G. M., and Ferdi- 
nand Wilmer, Chairman of the Committee on Charters and Dispensations. The 
first officers were John S. Royer, W. M.; S. A. Hostetter, S. W., and W. E. 
Hooven, J. W. The lodge thus started gained rapidly and has a present member- 
ship of seventy-one persons, elected from the very best men of the vicinity. The 
charter members were J. S. Royer, S. A. Hostetter, W. E. Hooven, David Riffile, 
J. E. Leas, Jacob J. Pohlman, L. C. Anderson, M. W. Rurtch, James McFarland, 
John R. Wertz, Phillip H. Cromer, Robert Davidson, E. M. Crick, Alexander Lop- 
pen, Joseph Smith and Orlando Porter. The present officers are Joshua Herring, 
Master ; S. A, Hostetter, Senior Warden ; James Abbott, Junior Warden ; J. S. 
Royer, Secretary ; James White, Treasurer ; Charles Harmon, Senior Deacon ; O. 
F. Johnson, Junior Deacon, and William Davison, Tiler. The place of meeting 
alternate Friday evenings, is at Hostetter's Hall. 

The charter members of the Odd Fellows were J. J. Peters, Wesley Millett 
L. C. Garver, John Vanscoyk, C. D. Garver, N. Hartle. O. J. Hager, T. J. Earhart' 
John Stuby, G. W. Fifer, Peter Denise, S. A. Nead, L. J. Minnich, F. P. Hartle, N. 
S. Warvel and Levi P. McKibben. The first officers of the society were Wesley 
Millett, N. G. ; J. J. Peters, V. G. ; L. C. Garver, P. S. ; G. W. Fifer, Secretary, and 
John Stuby, Treasurer. The present officers are George Rertz, N. G. ; L. C. 
Anderson, V. G. ; J. E. Leas, Treasurer and Secretary ; J. Vanscoyk, the Perma- 
nent Secretary, and L. C. Garver, Treasurer. The lodge assembles Saturday even- 
ings at the I. O. O. F. Hall, in Rertz & Raughman's building. The town has a band 
of thirteen instruments ; it was organized in 1876 under the leadership of John 
Casad, the next and present leader was and is A. J. Young. It is a pleasant 
accessory to the town, and the delight of old as well as young to hear their music. 
The place is well supplied with reputable physicians. Dr. W. E. Hooven came to 
Dallas in 1870 ; Dr. L. C. Anderson is associated with Dr. Hooven, his former 
instructor, in practice of medicine. Dr. John H. Knouff studied under John A. 
Smith, of Piqua, Ohio, graduated at Cincinnati in 1858, and saw two years' service 
as Assistant Surgeon in the Fifty-seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry ; has been in 
practice in Dallas ever since, and Dr. S. A. Hostetter has been a practitioner in 
Dallas since 1871. 

The place has the usual accessories of shops for blacksmiths, saddlers, 
butchers, shoemaking and groceries. There are two hotels— the Miller House, on 



404 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

the corner of Main and Weller streets, kept by Henry E. Miller, and the Ansonia 
Hotel, by Messrs. L. and C. J. Wolf. This latter house was built in 1854-55 by 
John Hathaway, who was its first landlord. A number of persons have had charge 
prior to present owners. 

Messrs. Tracy & Quincy were the pioneers in Dallas in tin' drug trade, which 
they started here in 1868. They were succeeded by Dr. Hager, in the spring of 
L870 and the fall of 1871. 8. A. Hostetter & Co., present owners, came into pos- 
session. The present store was built in the spring of 1875. Bertz & Baughman 
began dealing in agricultural implements in the spring of 1873 ; they made several 
additions to their buildings, increased their trade, and handle a stock of $6,000. 

Messrs. R. P. and A. E. Vernier run a saw and planing mill, located south of 
the railroad, and just east of the Ansonia Stave Works. This enterprise was 
started in the fall of 1872. as a mill to •• rough out"' material for the Rover Wheel 
Company, of Cincinnati. It then employed from fifty to fifty-five hands. This 
was for the first eight months, during which the disbursements of the company at 
this point were over $54,000. for lumber and labor. It was run by this firm about 
four years, when J. H. Rover, who had been managing agent for the several mills of 
the company, purchased it and additional to a continuation of the manufacture of 
hubs, spokes, etc., also got out stave material. In the spring of 1880, the present 
firm purchased the buildings and what machinery remains. The main building is 
90x36 feet, with several large sheds attached. The original cost of the building 
was $10,(1110. 

Joseph H. Roush is a dealer in grain, and has been in business here since 
1873. During 1878-79. he bought and shipped 100,000 bushels of corn and 30,000 
bushels of wheat. Later purchases show comparatively greater amounts of wheat 
raised and sold here. Martin Kuntz was engaged in operating a grist and saw 
mill, located in the southeastern part of the town, south of the railroad. The saw- 
mill was built in 1850, the grist-mill five years later. The present owner made 
the purchase in February, 1865, and has run the mills steadily to the present. 
There are two runs of buhrs. thirty-horse power engine. The capacity of the grist- 
mill is from twenty-two to twenty-four barrels in twenty-four hours. 

The Ansonia Stave Company, whose works are located in Baughman's 
Addition, in the southwest part of the town, do an extensive business in staves, 
headings, etc. The mill, sheds, etc.. occupy two acres. The mill itself is about 
forty feet square, with an L one story. The present capacity and actual business 
of the factory is 247.000 hubs, assorted sizes, 500.000 barrel staves and much 
headings. Besides this, forty barrels for flour are made daily in the cooper 
department. About a dozen men are employed. The aggregate business annually, 
is from $25,000 to $28,000. The company began their works in 1873. on a small 
scale. Messrs. Robison & Rigdon wei*e proprietors until 1876, when they sold to 
Roush, Leare & Co., and they, in the spring of 1877, disposed of the same to 
J. H., C. A. and W. A. Roush ; the last named, in the spring of 1880. sold his 
interest to his partners, who continue the business. 

A post office was established in Dallas in 1872. and 8. H. Light, the present 
incumbent, who was appointed March 16. 1880, is the successor of E. Leare, the 
first official. A large amount of mail matter goes through this office. It is 
estimated, that the population of this local post-office district is not less that 
3,500. There is no office north of here, this side of Mercer County, and some 
families of that county get their mail at Dallas. The present Mayor is David 
Millie ; the Clerk is Charles Schneiderman . Marshall, Preston Riffle : Council, 
Jacob Deardorff, George McEldorney, 8. 8. Riffle. L. C. Garver. Marion Tullis and 
G. C. Hulse. 

ANSONIA M. E. CHURCH." 

Long before Dallas (now Ansonia) became a preaching place, the Methodists 
held regular services at different, places in the towns and country around. Au 

* From the pen of the Kev. John B. Colgau, Pastor M. E. Church. 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 405 

occasional service was held in an schoolhouse a little north of the village, and later 
than this in the village schoolhouse. H. 0. Sheldon, J. T. Bower. H. Boyers, M. 
Perkey, A. Armstrong, H. Burns, and others, were some of those who preached 
here before the society was organized in Dallas. Among these, we mention the 
honored name of J. P. Durbin, D. D., who, I am told, was accustomed at one place 
to lay the corn for his horse to eat on an oak stump, that he might be ready to 
move on as soon as he was done service. His own dinner he got as best he could , 
on the way. As early as 1845 to 1850, Methodist preaching was done in the house 

of Mr. White, near Dallas. In 1863, Hill Grove Circuit, which embraced Dallas, 

was organized, with Benjamin L. Rowand as Pastor. In 1864, D. Gr. Strong, since 
gone West, was placed in charge, but was called during the year to fill a vacancy 
at Quincy, Logan County, and Henry Burns, a local preacher of fine ability, and 
now residing in Versailles, filled the unexpired term of Mr. Strong, and also 
supplied the charge the next year. In 1866, Jason and William Young filled the 
charge, and Henry Burns again in 1867. In 1868, Valentine Staley ; in 1860, 
James Jackson ; in 1870, P. M. Young ; in 1871. M. M. Markwith. The charge 
•embracing Dallas was known part of the time as Wabash, and part of the time as 
Versailles. In 1872, it took the name of Dallas ; R, D. Oldfielcl, Pastor. The 
following are the Pastors, terms of service and salary, as far as reported in the 
conference minutes, since 1872 : E. D. Whitlock, 1873, one year, salary $650 ; T. 
L. Wiltse, 1874, two years, salary $710 ; R. D. Oldfield, 1876, one year, salary $725 ; 
J. R. Colgan, 1877, three years, salary $750. The above do not include airy rents, 
as there is a good parsonage. In 1875, the name of the charge was changed to 
Ansonia — the name of the railroad and the post office. In 1873, a church was 
dedicated at a cost of $3,200. It is a model brick structure, 36x55 feet, with a 
fine bell. The existence of this house is due. as in most other cases, to the untiring 
energy of a few. Among these, we name W. E. Hooven, M. D., H. W. Fry, N. D. 
Poling, S. Kershner. J. H. Roush, Gr. M. Click and D. Poling. On a corner near 
the church is a neat parsonage, worth about $1,000. The working, as well as 
paying agency, in securing this desirable property, was Jacob Holdeman. The 
membership of this church is about eighty. The Sunday school has an average of 
about one hundred and twenty. 



YORK TOWNSHIP. 

York Township was constituted by the Board of County Commissioners in 
June, 1837. Its territorj' was taken from Richland Township, and contained all 
of the county north of a line commencing at the southeast corner of Section 15, 
Township 11 north, Range 3 east, and running west to the southwest corner of 
Section 13, Township 13, Range 2. In June, 1841, all of York Township lying 
north of a line commencing at the southeast corner of Section 22, Town- 
ship 12 north, Range 3 east, and running west to the southwest corner of 
Section 24, Township 14, Range 2, was formed into a new township, called 
Wabash. 

By the last census, the population was 797, of whom thirt3'-six were for- 
eign born ; the inhabitants now number fully 1.000. The southern portion of 
York is level, and is somewhat clayey, presenting to the eye the appearance of 
prairie, except that probably one-fifth of the surface is covered with thrifty timber, 
mostly second growth of the original unbroken forest. The timber is hardwood — 
oak, hickory, maple, beech and some walnut, though the latter has been pretty 
generally cut down. Near the center of the township there is more of the burr- 
oak, and the soil is a sandy loam, very productive, especially along Indian Creek, 
which rises in the northern part of Brown Township and flows southeast, diag- 
onally across York. In the vicinity of Brock, which is located upon the St. 
Mary's Pike, and about one and a half miles north of Indian Creek, the surface 



406 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

of the country, undulating, is almost hilly, and the soil is lighter or clayey, with a 
linger proportion of beech in the wooded portions. About one-fifth of the land is 
uncleared. There are 4.(567 acres cultivated, 812 in pasture, 3.593 in woodland, 
and 289 denominated waste lands. The total of land owned in 1878 was 9,361 
acres. 

Swamp Creek rises midway on the boundary of York, and flows southeast- 
ward. The belt of country along this stream is also very productive, the soil 
being a warm loam. The principal dependence of the farmers of York has been 
corn and oats, and the fattening of hogs. The average crop of oats is about forty 
bushels to the acre, and as high as seventy have been raised. The following sta- 
tistics exhibit the productive capacity of the York Township farm lands : Wheat 
erop for 1879 — from 1,343 acres, 29,258 bushels; rye, 12 acres, 167 bushels; 
buckwheat — 5 acres, 39 bushels ; oats — 748 acres, 25,495 bushels ; barle}- — 20 
acres, 335 bushels ; corn — 1,665 acres, 65,150 bushels; flax — 58 acres, 615 bush- 
els ; potatoes — 48 acres, 2,955 bushels ; apples — 191 acres, 940 bushels. From 
343 acres of meadow, 453 tons of hay were cut ; 63 acres of clover were plowed 
under for manure ; tobacco — 27 acres, 29,550 pounds raised ; butter, 20,010 
pounds manufactured. Besides these, there were produced considerable sorghum 
and honey, and some wool was shorn. 

The soil along Indian and Swamp Creeks is not adapted to peach growing. 
As yet. with two or three exceptions, no special attention has been given to rais- 
ing and improving stock. N. S. and Irving York are the principal men who have 
given special attention to the raising of good stock. 

There are six turnpikes in the township, and only one road that is not piked 
— the one extending a short distance west from Brock. Generally speaking, the 
farmhouses are of the better class, decidedly, and, with the barns, outbuildings, 
windmills, labor-saving machinery, good fences and cultivated acreage, give 
unmistakable evidence of prosperity 1 as the reward of industry. Nearly all the 
older settlers are out of debt and comfortably situated. Some of them are 
wealthy, among the foremost of whom may be named David Eury, Samuel Wil- 
son, N. S. York, W. Bayman, David Duncan, Samuel Sherry, Lewis Sherry, David 
Lyons, William Miller and Mahlon Martin. 

In pioneer days, most of the farms were small, being generally entered in 
forty or eighty acre parcels, but the forehanded have purchased from their less 
fortunate and more restless neighbors, and several large farms are the result. 
Such is the farm of David Eury, numbering 320 acres ; David L} r ons. 200 ; 
Samuel Wilson, 250 ; Washington Bayman, nearly 200 ; N. S. York, Lemuel 
Reigel and M. Martin, each from 150 to 160 acres. The south part of the town- 
ship was settled first, and the first clearings were found mostly along the banks of 
Indian Creek. There is a disagreement between reports published and the testi- 
mony of those who are now in the best position to know the facts concerning the 
first improvement in and settlement of the township. The following is a phono- 
graphic report taken by H. Freeman of a recital made by Nicholas S. York. Esq., 
concerning his father Newberry York. " My father was born in Georgia near 
Augusta, and came from there to Ohio in 1810, to Preble County. He remained 
there about one year, and then went to Illinois. Two years later, he moved back 
to Preble County ; thence he moved to Darke County in 1817, and went into 
Wayne Township near Versailles, where he entered eighty acres. He traded this 
entry for land now the site of Versailles. He did not lay off airy lots, but there 
were a few laid off on the part next to his east line. He sold this property in 
1833 to James C. Woods, who afterward laid it out in lots. Then my father came 
to Richland Township, and entered eighty acres of Section 15, Town 11, Range 3, 
upon which he passed his life, dying in 1870, at the advanced age of eighty-two 
years. He was Justice of the Peace in 1834. and had filled that office years before 
in Wayne Township. He was afterward an Associate Judge. Mother's maiden 
name was Nancy Slade ; they were married in Georgia. There were nine children 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 407 

— Joseph, William, Jerry, Nicholas, Jeptha, Newberry and Lewis, Diadama and 
Rebecca. Joseph moved in with his father. They are all gone but Nicholas and 
the two daughters." Samuel Reigel moved from Adams County, Penn., in 1837 
or 1838, and has been a resident of York Township till the present. On his 
arrival, he selected and entered the quarter-section upon which he has lived so 
many years. He is now seventy-eight years of age. David Lyons married in 
1836, and two years later removed to York Township. James Winget had entered 
eighty acres of Section 9, Range 3, which he afterward deeded to his son Joseph 
W. Winget, who sold to Lyons. David Lyons' son and a present resident sa}^s, 
" When I came here, the St. Mary's road had just been opened up, and the trees 
that were chopped down were parti}- removed out of the way, but the road was 
full of stumps, and there were no bridges. At that time, there were not more 
than two or three wagons in the township; one of them belonged to Judge York, 
and another to Mr. Spindler. The Judge's wagon was a great convenience. We 
used to double teams and go around through the hills ten miles to get to Ver- 
sailles, when it was only four and a half miles across in a direct line, and there was 
no telling how long we would have to wait our turn. Generally, we had to go to 
the falls of Greenville and Covington for milling, and usually on horseback. There 
was a mill on the creek, half a mile below Versailles, called the ' Thundergust 
Mill,' because there was not water enough to run it except on rainy days or after 
a smart shower. There was a mill in the early da}' at Webster, whose remains may 
be seen, although another has taken its place." David Williams came from Preble 
County in 1840, and settled on Harris Creek. A son entered foily acres there, 
which were bought by Mr. Gibson who in 1843 moved to Indian Creek, on Sec- 
tion 9, Range 3, where in time he died ; his son David Gibson resides upon the 
land to which he has added until he now owns 108 acres. 

The oldest settler now living is " Mother Sonday," who is now in her ninety- 
second year. As her faculties are failing, and she can speak but little English, 
little information could be gained from her. She has a son named August Sonday, 
who is nearly seventy years of age. He has never married, and has always lived 
with his mother. How unusual this — seventy years of a mother's care and of 
filial solicitude, while several generations have hastened away from their old homes 
to embank giddily, recklessly and yet often, with fortune for themselves. How 
few those who deny themselves homes to attend parents ! Samuel Sherry came 
from Montgomery County to York Township, in October, 1842, and lived with the 
Sondays until we could get a house put up. George Sheny, his father, had died 
in 1836. Samuel Sheny married a daughter of the Lanock family, who entered 
seventy-one acres southeast of Brock, about half a mile ; 120 acres northwest, and 
then bought two eighties ; one right above Brock, the other to the east of it. 
November 7, 1837, a patent was issued to Samuel Lanick, for the southeast quarter 
of Section 4, Township 11, Range 3 east, in the district of lands, subject to sale at 
Cincinnati, Ohio — a tract said to contain 142 T |-g acres. Mrs. Sarah Sonday gives 
the following : " We came to this county in 1834, from Montgomeiy County, to 
which place we had come from Pennsylvania, and moved on to what is now known 
as the " Grisorn Place." Among the first settlers of this township was Newberry 
York, at whose house we stayed until we could get a house built, William A. 
Sonday moved in a year later — in 1835. William Miller, Mahlon Martin, Samuel 
Winbigler and Samuel Hughes were among the early settlers. Zachariah Miller 
and family, from Pennsylvania, settled first in Franklin County, Ohio, and in the 
fall of 1834, settled near Versailles. In 1840, he died ; a year later, his wife died. 
A son, William, came to York Township, March 1, 1858, and from that time has 
lived upon the farm composed of an eighty from each of Sections 8 and 9, Range 
3, Township 11. Jacob Martin came from Pennsylvania to Warren County, Ohio, 
in 1797. He moved to Miami County in 1831. A son, Mahlon, was then ten years 
of age. In 1851, he moved to Darke, having bought forty acres adjoining his 
present farm, on Swamp Creek, for $110. and just prior to moving, he bought a 



408 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

second forty of improved land for $480. Three years later, he sold the eighty for 
$1,300, and bought of Solomon Christian the quarter-section, now his farm. Mr. 
Martin runs a large tile factory, whose product has been in good demand with 
great advantage to the lands. Tn 1844. Samuel Winbigler settled in York, on 
the Irving York place : later he purchased the Ezra Marks farm, where he died in 
1S7I). He officiated as Postmaster and Justice of the Peace, and had a family of 
nine children. Such details as we have given in the foregoing are applicable to 
many residents of York and other townships. Their lives abound, not in tales of 
savage combat, perilous journeys, or treacherous schemes. Their years pass away 
in seedtime and harvest ; death comes, and the child grown to manhood tills the old 
fields his father cleared, and growing affluent, he tears down the old house in which 
were passed the happy days of childhood, and upbuilds the more modern, better 
furnished, but no more comfortable mansion. The first roads were crooked, run- 
ning zigzag from house to house. Prior to these were the bridle paths for horse- 
back riding or pedestrians. The '• blazed" routes and Indian traces, superseded 
by ''cut out" roads, were discontinued, and then came the surveyed muddy roads, 
and later, the permanent pike. No railroads touch the township. There are no 
grist-mills within its bounds. About 1868, there was a saw-mill on what is now 
the farm of William Miller. A few years, and it was moved to Brock, and from 
there to Patterson, and it is in operation at Versailles. 

There is a blended nationality of the population. There are Eastern people, 
Southerners and Pennsylvania Germans. Politically, the township was for a long 
time about equally balanced between the two great parties, but now. the Demo- 
cratic majority on a full vote is about forty. 

Religious services were held for some time in the schoolhouses. but the 
Trustees, thinking the protracted meetings of injury to the progress of the pupils, 
at last refused their use except upon the Sabbath. The first preaching in this 
township was by ministers of the German Lutheran denomination at private 
houses. Isaac Hirsh preached in 1842. and Rev. Carlter. a German Reformed 
minister, Revs. Weisner and Klopp, preached in 1844 and 1845. Revs. Locker 
and Colliflower preached in an old log church, of which there is further mention. 
The next regular services were held by Rev. George Shafer during two years ; he 
was succeeded by Jacob Weaver, Revs. Hoffman, Hochman. Valentine Koch and 
Isaac Hirsh; this was in the fall of 1878, when he removed to Illinois. Since 
that time, there has been no regular preaching. The church is open to all denom- 
inations for funerals. Deaths and removals have reduced the membership. In 
the days of the old church, there were about fifty members, but the average since 
the new church was built is not to exceed forty. The original Trustees were 
Samuel Winbigler and Samuel Sherry. The former having died and the other 
having been chosen, Mr. Sherry is now the sole Trustee. The Sabbath school has 
been regularly maintained at times, but at this time none is held. The first 
church in York Township was built in 1848. It was a log house that would seat 
about one hundred persons. The neighbors clubbed together and built it. The 
inside work on this pioneer edifice was done by David Grisom. In the spring of 
1848, Ezra Marker deeded an acre of ground to the Trustees of the society for 
church and cemetery. Tt is of pleasing Location, on elevated ground. The first 
adult buried in the graveyard was David Gibson, Sr., who died August 12, 1851 ; 
two or three children had been interred previously. The old church was torn 
down at length, and, on April 30, 1856, the new frame church, a neat place of 
worship, was completed, and as stated, is used on funeral occasions and occas- 
ionally for services. 

The pioneer Methodist minister within the limits of the township was Rev. 
Barr, who is remembered by settlers of 1846. Henry Burns, now of Versailles, 
was local preacher for many years. Alexander Armstrong, another old settler, 
was also a local exhorter : he is now a resident of Iowa. Services were held once 
a fortnight, in a log schoolhouse situated about three-fourths of a mile from the 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 409 

present site of Brock. The frame Methodist Church at Brock was built in 1857, 
and dedicated by Rev. Henry Sheldon. Among the leading members of the 
denomination years ago. may be named John and Hannah Miller, Joseph and 
Catharine Boyd. Samuel and Rebecca Armstrong. James and Sally Medford, Sam- 
uel and Rhoda Hughes, Stephen and Susan Miller. Mary Oliver. William and 
Mary Boyd, and Zackariah and Elmira Miller. The Methodist cemetery is 
located half a mile west of Brock, near the southwest corner of Section 33, being 
a part of what is known as the place of Jesse Boyd. 

The first school taught in York Township' was by J. P. Hafer, in an old 
cabin, prior to the erection of a schoolhouse. He died in March, 1839, and was 
buried in the woods, there being no graveyard. The snow was over two feet in 
depth the day of the funeral. A Mr. McMahon was also a teacher in the early 
day. In the summer of 1837, a log schoolhouse was built on the land of Judge 
York. There are now six school districts. Some ten years ago, the township was 
re-districted and new frame schoolhouses were built of uniform style, equal cost 
and capacit}', for from forty to forty-five children. 

N. York was the first Justice after the organization of the township. Mr. 
Collins erected the first house. It stood on the school-lease, and was raised, prob- 
ably, in 1830. Merchandising was begun by Josiah Johnson at the cross-roads at 
Brock. The building is now in use as a post office. Jefferson Shook was the 
pioneer smith, whose forge was located in the southeast corner of the township, 
where now David Oliver lives. Ezra Marker, George Bertram and others, laid oft' 
the hamlet of Brock, and sold the first lots. Then Jacob Winbigler and Egbert 
Winterworth bought a tract of Peter Lechman. and made some sales, and S. Win- 
bigler also sold lots from the north end of his farm. 

Brock has a population of about one hundred. The following presents an 
outline of its business and importance. There is the smithery of t Reser & Crick, 
the wagon-shop of W. H. Reser, built by James Deam in the spring of 1877 ; a 
shoe-shop, located in the first building erected in the place, in 1848 ; a brickyard, 
run by A. G. Clark ; a grocery and a general store. The place has somewhat of 
enterprise, as is evidenced by the possession of an organized brass band. 

The first post office was established in Brock in 1848, Jacob Miller. Post- 
master. Samuel Winbigler was his successor, and kept the office at his residence. 
The first mail-carrier between Versailles and Celina was Freemau Whittaker. The 
present carrier is George Stevens, whose route is from North Star to Greenville, 
eighteen miles. The following have been Postmasters : Isaac Boyd. Jackson Hol- 
loway, J. B. Werts, Lewis Kendig, Isaac Bolton, R. Probasco, and B. F. Crick, 
incumbent since 1877. Brock has a fairly commodious and pleasant schoolhouse ; 
average attendance, forty. The Methodist Church being dilapidated, meetings are 
sometimes held in the schoolhouse by that and other denominations. It is also 
used for election purposes, band practice, exhibitions, etc. The following are the 
present township officers : Clerk, John Brown ; Trustees. Samuel McGriff, Jeptha 
Armstrong and William Rue ; Assessor, James Miller ; Treasurer, M. Crushet ; 
Constable, N. Lyons. 

RICHLAND TOWNSHIP. 

This township was taken principally from Wayne, with sixteen sections from 
Greenville Township and four from Adams, and on its organization, September 8, 
1820, was bounded as follows : Commencing at the north line of the county, on the 
line between Ranges 1 and 2, running thence south to the south line of Section 7, 
Township 12 north. Range 2 east ; thence east to the southwest corner of Section 
11, Township 10 north, Range 3 east ; thence north to the count}' line ; thence 
along the north line of the county to the place of beginning. In March, 1829. all 
of Township 12, Range 2, belonging to Richland, was put into Greenville Town- 
ship. In December, 1833. all the land bounded as follows was taken from Richland 



410 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

and erected into a new township, called Brown : Beginning at the northwest 
corner of Township 13, Range 2 ; thence south to the township line ; thence east 
to the east line of Section 35 ; thence north to the township line, and west to the 
phuc of beginning. Shortly afterward, that part of Townships 14 and 15 north, 
Range 2, lying directly north of the boundaries just given, was added to Brown 
Township, and in June, 1837, the township of York was formed from Richland, 
which was then reduced to its present proportions. 

The topography of Richland present some salient points. The Stillwater, 
which rises in the northern part of Brown and the southern extreme of the town- 
ship of Mississinawa, and tends to the southeast, across the lands of the former, 
takes a very circuitous course through Richland. It enters at almost the northwest 
corner of the township, and runs thence somewhat east of south of Beamsville, in the 
eastern part of Section 32, making many short bends in its course between those points. 
From Beamsville, it runs a mile southeast, then to the northeast a half-mile, then 
east again a mile, turns then abruptly to the north, then inclines to the northward, 
forms a bend, and flows southeast, into the lower end of Wayne Township. 

The outlines of Richland are irregular. Along the tortuous course of the 
Stillwater, the surface is broken and in places hilly, with the usual fertile bottom 
lands. In other parts of the township, though there is an admixture of clay, it is 
blended with loam and under good treatment produces good crops. In general, the 
name — Richland— is no misnomer, and the overworked farms are exceptionally few. 

The first settler in the township was Jacob Hartell, followed, nine months 
later, by David Riffle, with his two sons, Jacob and Solomon, and George Ward, 
who came in March, 1818. James Stephenson and George Plessinger came in 
1819 — the latter from Pennsylvania. A short time later, came George Beam, 
Adam Coppess, Henry Stoll, Philip Plessinger, Peter Brewer and John Horney. 
John Miller came in 1822, and John Coppess, Sr., in 1824. We have thus some 
dozen pioneers left alone for a time, to occupy the lands of the future township. 
They received no accessions and lived along alone. The ague prevailed, and they 
withstood its chill and fever. The dreaded milk sickness ravaged the clearings, 
and they passed through the ordeal, to be thereafter known as the pioneers of the 
township. A number of 3'ears passed before any accessions were made to the pop- 
ulation and those named were old settlers when the general migration, sweeping 
westward, deposited new settlers in the umbrageous forests of the country. Among 
these later comers were Daniel Warvel, from Warren County, Ohio, in 1834 ; E. 
Deming, from Connecticut, in 1836 ; D. L. Miller, in 1837 ; W. J. Warvel. in 1838 ; 
D. Hartzell came the same 3'ear, from Pennsylvania ; Philip Hartzell came in 
1843; George H. Winbigler in 1845; Alfred Coppess in 1848; H. Kent, from 
Maryland, in 1849, and John E. Braden and S. D. Rush, a year or so afterward. 

Germans and those of Germanic descent form the largest element in the pop- 
ulation, nearly all of whom speak English. The next largest element is American. 
There are a few Irish families, but no French, although numerous persons of that 
nationality have settled in the; adjoining township of Wayne. 

The first schoolhouse was built on the farm of John Coppess. right across 
the little stream opposite the Coppess graveyard. It was of logs, built on the 
pioneer plan, except the modern improvement of a small window with four panes 
of glass, located near the position occupied by the teacher; the other apertures 
were closed by greased paper. The fireplace was capacious enough for the most 
exacting. 

This schoolhouse was erected probably about the year 1825. perhaps a year or 
so earlier. The first teacher in this structure was .John Wilkins. and his successor 
was Thomas Crawson. There are now seven districts in Richland. All the houses 
are iniilt of brick, and have been in use for the past ten years. They are com- 
modious, well arranged and permanent, fully accommodating the ueeds of the 
community. The school building at Dawn cost nearly $1,800. It is two stories, 
and will seat 124 pupils. There is a like structure at Beamsville. 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 411 

In the line of improvements for the aid of settlers in building, there was a 
horse-mill on Hartell's farm. In connection therewith, was a still-house, the two 
being operated by Jacob Hartell in 1837 and 1838. There was another mill on 
the Hathaway farm, one mile southwest of Beamsville. This was a water mill. 
used only in grinding corn, and had sandstone " grayheads " for buhrs.- This mill 
was the property of Thomas Hathaway. The next mill was built as a saw-mill 
and remodeled into a grist-mill, at what was called Johnson's Station. The town. 
Dawn, was then designated Eden. The last-named mill was run by steam, and in 
it was used the first stationary steam engine used in the township. In addition to 
these, there was the u Bloomer Mill," located at Bloomer Town, now called Stel- 
video. This structure was raised about the same time as the Eden mill during the 
years 1853 and 1854. 

The mill at Eden burned down while it was a saw-mill ; it was rebuilt as a 
lumber-mill, and, afterward, enlarged into a grist-mill. Upon the foundation and 
with the frame of the old mill the present new mill was constructed. 

In the connection of enterprises which have exercised a helping and comfort- 
giving influence, it has ever been customary to preserve the names, when possible. 
of those who inaugurated or began them. For this reason, we may mention Will- 
iam (loodheart. as the pioneer mail carrier ; J. H. C. Dill, of Beamsville. as the 
earliest storekeeper, and Adam Coppess. as the first blacksmith, who erected his 
forge the year of his advent here. 1824. 

The first sermon delivered in Richland Township was by John Childers. a 
minister of the Baptist denomination, in the house of James Stevenson, where 
Alfred Coppess now lives. The first church building was erected as a schoolhouse, 
and was purchased by the Methodist Episcopal society. It was located in the 
Coppess neighborhood on the farm of William Oliver. The next building used 
for worship was erected for that purpose by the members of a society of the United 
Brethren in the year 1842. It was built of logs at Beamsville on land donated by 
Fred. Beam. This house has been repaired and modernized, and is still standing. 

Among the heaviest or largest farm owners in the township are B. F. Coppess 
who has 300 acres, Alfred Coppess. John E. Braden. John Coppess and David 
Hartell. Original entries were mostly in quarter and eighth sections. The general 
depth at which well water is found is thirt}- feet, but it varies from twelve to 
forty-five feet. 

The Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati & Indianapolis Railroad crosses the 
north end of the township, and has a station known as Nevada, and the Pittsburgh, 
Cincinnati & St. Louis Railroad enters Richland about a mile west of the southeast 
corner and runs diagonally to a point three-fourths of a mile north of the south- 
west corner. Stelvideo, situated in the southern part of Section 9, is a station on 
this latter road. 

From the earliest days along the years up to the present, the political opinion 
has been Democratic, and the party vote predominates by 100. 

The following leading statistics from the report of 1879 show the capacity 
for production of the Richland farms. The entire number of acres owned is 12.- 
426. of which 7.478 are tilled, 946 in pasture. 3.771 in woods and 231 in waste 
lands. The extent of wool-growing may be inferred by the clip of 1.244 pounds. 
Upon 1,927 acres. 36,891 bushels of wheat were raised ; 834 acres in oats produced 
31.341 bushels and 2,718 acres of corn yielded heavily of the staple product. 
Rye, barley, flax and potatoes are pixxluced. Fifty-two acres in tobacco produced 
69,390 pounds, and the dairy product was 33,502 pounds. Of sweets there were 
2,745 gallons of sorghum sirup, 929 gallons of maple sirup, and from 113 hives. 
1.227 pounds of honey. The orchards have not been neglected, and from 235 
acres planted in trees, there was a yield of 5,776 bushels of apples, 45 of pears, 
and 35 of peaches. 

The village of Dawn contains a population of about one hundred and fifty. 
The original plat was made by L. W. Johnson, and it was known by that name. 



412 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

The site was established at the center of Section 20. in 1854, when the proprietor 
erected a saw-mill. The first addition to the village was made by Shelley, Birch 
and others. Afterward Uriah Winbigler, (). F. Davidson and James McFarland 
also laid off additions. The original proprietor was the first Postmaster, and James 
McFarland here erected the first forge. 

There is a church at Dawn, built by the Methodists in 1872, on land donated 
by C. W. Demem. The business of the place supports three stores kept by J. W. 
Duckall, J. B. Wertz and James Woods. The first named is also a grain and pro- 
duce dealer, the last named is Postmaster. J. F. Shoud is the proprietor of a 
large saw-mill with which he does an extensive business. Rush & Chirger operate 
a steam grist-mill. It has two stories, has four runs, and is propelled by a forty- 
horse power engine. This mill stands on Section 20, and does both custom and 
job work. Its capacity is sixty barrels a day. 0. Davison erected a tile factory 
in the spring of 1877, on his lands just south of Dawn. Twenty kilns of 275 rods, 
assorted size, are burned annually, requiring 130 cords of wood. It is the only 
tile factory in the township. The drying shed is 120 feet long and a second shed 
of 60 feet in length is being built. The village of Beamsville is situated on the 
Stillwater at the center of the west side of Section 32, Range 3. and at the crossing of 
the Greenville and Dallas pikes. There is about 150 population. It was laid out by 
John Beam in 1837. The first house put up in the place was raised by the proprie- 
tor of the village and it is still standing. Additions to the original plat have been 
made by Messrs. Hartell, Earheart and Plessinger. The Stillwater Hotel, kept by 
Samuel Paulas, was built in 1834-35. It was primarily a single story, but several 
years having elapsed, a second story was added. The first landlord was named 
Stillwell. John C. Dill was storekeeper in the early day, and among physicians 
were Drs. Ford, Smith, Hoover, Hostetter, Peck and Tillman. 

The first preacher at Beamsville was Rev. M. Wintermute. Baptist, who was 
succeeded by Rev. Seymour Craig. Rev. George Adams, Christian, came in 
1848-49. The United Brethren Church was built some six years earlier than this 
later date. A township house was built here in 1874. The place contains two 
wagon-shops— one owned by J. Stagger, the other by William Price. There is 
also a cornet band of ten horns and two drums which enliven the evening hours 
with inspiriting music. This band was organized in March, 1879, and is led by 
William Loudom and Frank Plessinger. 

The iron bridge over the Stillwater, just south of town, was constructed dur- 
ing the summer of 1878, and cost $1,900, exclusive of masonry. Another iron 
bridge over the same stream, west of Beamsville, on the Dallas pike, cost $2,100, 
besides mason work, and was erected in 1875. 

Stelvideo, located near the center of the south line of Section !i. Range .'!. 
Township 11 (the same being part of the boundary between Richland and Adams). 
is a small village, numbering 100 inhabitants. It was laid out in 1851. by Solo- 
mon Farmer, the present owner of 125 acres of land adjoining on the east* This 
person is now the oldest living resident of this vicinity, and one of the oldest in 
Richland. A few lots have been laid off since the original platting by George 
Hartell, Jr., but they are not in demand. Stelvideo is a station on the Pittsburgh, 
Cincinnati & St. Louis Railroad, surrounded by a fine farming country, well culti- 
vated and profitably productive. The population is composed mainly of the own- 
ers of adjacent or adjoining farms. Its origin is thus denoted : About the time 
when the "Forty-niners" were en route, overland, to the gold fields of the far 
Pacific. .John Patterson determined to realize his expectations nearer home. He 
had inherited a large farm, located east of Stelvideo.. There being promise of 
quite a village here. .Mr. Patterson bought a number of Lots, erected a steam saw- 
mill, a two-Story tavern, and induced the erection of several other buildings. 
These improvements were made in 1852 and 1853. Through correspondence with 
Alfred Brisbane, S. Andrews. Dr. Nichols and other noted Socialists. Stelvideo 
soon became a center for modern radicalism of all kinds, save and except "free 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 413 

love.'' Meantime, the dress-reform movement was being agitated by Amelia 
Bloomer and other ladies. The costume was generally adopted by the feminine 
population of this village. So many isms and ologies, so much amplitude in free- 
dom and brevity in costume was obnoxious to the people resident in the neighbor- 
hood, who proceeded to make Patterson and his confreres desirous of going 
elsewhere. The Pluribus Unum Hotel was vacated, several houses partially com- 
pleted were left unfinished, the saw-mill and other property was disposed of at a 
sacrifice, and Mr. Patterson and his followers moved to Berlin Heights, in Huron 
County, where quite a colony of modern Liberalists of various phases assem- 
bled. They published a weekly newspaper, and, for a time, attracted popular 
attention. 

The first house put up in the immediate vicinity of Stelvideo was by Jacob 
Hartell. The first schoolhouse near by was a small log structure which stood 
about fifteen yards east of the present brick house, on the Solomon Farmer place. 
The first Postmaster was Aaron Frampton. It is stated by Peter Brewer, who is 
the second oldest resident, that in the early days, the residents here were accus- 
tomed to go about sixteen miles to mill, to where the present Coppock Mill 
stands. Sometimes the trip was extended to near Milton, and on occasion to 
Union, not far from Dayton. The present smithy here was built as a carpenter- 
shop in 1866, by Peter Farmer ; it was later used as a dwelling, and was finally, 
April 15, 1876, utilized by the present ''village blacksmith," D. W. Inman, of 
whom it may be said : 

"Week in, week out, from morn till night, 
You can hear his bellows blow." 

And the distich is as applicable to him now and for four years past as ever it 
could have been to Longfellow's original. 

There are no churches at this place. Dr. Ligafoo is the local physician. He 
was preceded by B. F. Zeller and Dr. Morrison, who was among the first doctors 
in this part of the township. 

Messrs. Coppess, Brewer & Bro. are grain-dealers at the railroad warehouse. 
Their annual purchases range from fifteen thousand to twenty-five thousand bush- 
els of wheat and a smaller quantity of corn. The Brewer Bros, also have a store, 
located just northeast from the railroad crossing. One of the brothers, Jessner, 
is the Postmaster here, the other, John, is station agent. The speedy lapse of 
time will soon have made the record of these now active a worthy remembrance, 
and events are only as yet in a formative state, hence the descriptions of the 
present will be the history of the near future. 



WAYNE TOWNSHIP. 

This township is one of the oldest in the county, having been constituted at 
one of the first sessions of the County Commissioners, in July, 1817. Its name 
was suggested by the prominent position occupied by Gen. Anthony Wayne, in 
the latter part of* the last century, in matters pertaining to the permanent security 
of such settlers as might desire to make their homes in this locality. When 
Wayne was laid off, it contained all of the county north of a line commencing at 
the northwest corner of Township 12 north, Range 1 east, and running thence 
east to the northwest corner of Township 9 north, Range 1 east, thence south to 
the middle of said township, and east to the county line. In 1819, that part of 
Wayne lying in Township 9 north, Range 4 east, was attached to Adams Town- 
ship. A year later, and all of Wayne that lay in Range 1 was united to Wash- 
ington Township. In 1820, Richland was formed, which was taken principally 
from Wayne, but partly from Greenville and Adams. In 1811, Patterson was 
taken from the north end of Wayne, and contained all of that township that lay 
in Townships 12 and 13. Range 3. and 11 and 12. Range 4. 



414 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

The land is well watered and well drained. Its sections are traversed in a 
south of west course by the railroad, and supplemented to its fine farms are its 
villages, Versailles, Webster and North Jacksonville. In comparison with the 
townships heretofore named. Wayne is much the older, and. as is frequently the 
ease, many of the settlers of Wayne migrating to the new townships became their 
pioneers. It is agreed that the first settler within the present limits of Wayne 
was David Ward. who. moving in from Covington. Miami County, in 1815, settled 
on land (more recently the property of Lewis Sherry), in Section 18. Ward 
had not long been established in his forest home when two neighbors moved in. 
Jacob Carlock entered land and made a clearing, where, in 1885. the village of 
Webster was laid out. and Zachariah Hole settled in the vicinity. Two years 
later, the population was increased by the arrival of Aaron Greer. Richard Bran- 
don and Lewis Baker, and in 1818, Henry Swisher moved in, and was soon after 
made a Justice of the Peace, and so became the pioneer arbitrator of petty dis- 
putes. In addition to those named among the pioneers, may be given those of 
Peter Radabaugh, William McGriff John Wyland. Thomas Bay man. N. York and 
Joseph McDonald. Allan Beecl, who later became a merchant and engaged in 
business at Versailles, came to Wayne in 1821. The first white child born in the 
township was Dr. Stephen A. Greer, now living near Woodland, Patterson Town- 
ship. The first man who died was named Atchison. The pioneer log school- 
house was erected about 1821. It is a cause of regret that so meager a record 
should be acquired of a township so prominent in the threefold interests of civili- 
zation, agriculture, education and religion. 

During the war of 1812, and subsequently, an eccentric character by the name 
of Conner, and his son, occupied a cabin not far from the present site of Versailles. 
With an old ox, the boy tilled a little patch of corn, while Conner hunted deer and 
other game. When their supply of corn-meal was exhausted, the boy saddled up 
the old ox, threw a sack of corn over him. mounted the whole and started thirteen 
miles to Greenville Falls to mill. When night overtook him, he tied the ox, built 
a fire, cooked his supper, and lay down alone in the woods to sleep. Many anec- 
dotes are told of Conner, one of which we insert: 

A man by the name of Wyland moved to the Laramie settlement, and a num- 
ber of men went from here to help him build his cabin ; among those were Conner 
and Killbuck. an Indian chief, who concluded to remain in the neighborhood 
awhile, and have a good time. To aid in their happiness, the}- bought a half- 
gallon jug of whisk}-, started to the woods and made a camp. It snowed at night 
about six inches, and in the morning, Wyland saw a smoke in the woods, and 
wondering what it was. approached it, and found Conner and Killbuck asleep, 
with the jug of whisky on one side, and their moccasins hanging on a stick on the 
other, and their guns leaning against a tree. Creeping softly up, he took a good 
drink out of the jug and emptied the balance out, and put the moccasins in the 
fire, and retreated to the house. Wyland, watching them from the house, soon saw 
old Killbuck slowly raise up and brash the snow away and reach for the jug. turn 
it up to his lips, and dash it to pieces on the ground ; then Conner and Killbuck 
both got up, went to their guns, reprimed them, turned their heads toward the 
cabin, and sat clown by the fire. Presently old Killbuck started off through the 
woods barefooted to the settlement. Conner, on the contrary, started toward a 
thicket where he knew Wyland had a valuable sow and pigs. Wyland saw him, 
and his anxious ear soon heard the crack of his rifle followed by the squealing of 
a hog, yet was afraid to venture out, knowing Conner would shoot him as quickly 
as the hog. Shortly Conner returned to the fire, stirred it up, and after warming 
himself, started off through the woods after old Killbuck. Wyland went to the 
bushes and found his sow dead and partly skinned, and small pieces of hide lying 
around, the remains of a pair of moccasins Conner had made. About two weeks 
afterward. Wyland went to a Baptist meeting. In front of the " church " were two 
large logs. Wyland occupied one, and he was dismayed to see Conner approach 






HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 415 

and deliberately take a seat opposite to him, cross his legs, and bring his foot in 
unpleasant proximity to his face. Looking down, what should he see but the 
black skin of his poor old sow ornamenting Conner's foot, which he persisted in 
putting in his face at every opportunity. As soon as the country began to settle 
up, Conner went further into the wilderness, and was never heard of again. 

Jacob Oarlock was the first settler at Webster, and came here in 1817. 
Stopped on Bald Hill and camped with old Killbuck two weeks. The first graves 
in the township were on this hill, in which a woman and two children were buried, 
in about 1817 or 1818. 

The fii'st colored man, George Davenport, came to this township in 1817. Pre- 
viously to coming here, he was an itinerant pewter-spoon rnolder, and in his trav- 
els was accompanied by a dog, which the Indians stole, and he followed them to 
this part of the country, recaptured his dog, and was so highlv pleased with the 
surroundings that he built him a cabin and remained here. 

The little settlement now began to receive accessions. In the following year 
(1818), Henry Swisher and Aaron Grrier came to this township, the former of 
whom was of a jovial and humorous disposition, and delighted to relate anecdotes 
of early pioneer life, many of which still siu*vive and are repeated by those who 
had the pleasure of hearing them from his ow.n lips. Soon following these, were 
Isaac Finkbone, whose prowess in the many pugilistic encounters in which he was 
engaged is well remembered by those who knew him ; and Aaron Grier, who came 
in about 1818. Within two years-, it had received Allen Reed, who located in 
Section 19, and a family of Holes, who filled a space in the forest. Leonard Hess 
came to this township in 1836, and is still living here, as are also Mr. Simon, who 
came from France in 1839, and first located in the northeast part of the township, 
where he remained five }'ears, then removed to the southwest part, remaining one 
year ; he came to Versailles, where he began business without capital and without 
knowing a word of English. , When Mr. Simon first settled here, his nearest neighbor 
on the east was five miles, through the woods ; one-half mile on the west, and two 
miles on the north and south, and L. R. Hugh, the oldest man in the township. 
Mr. H. retains all his faculties and jocosely boasts that he can outrun any man of 
his age (eighty-four) in the county. John J. Begien lives about three miles south- 
west of Versailles, aged eighty-six, and was a member of Napoleon's old army in 
France, an honor of which but few living men, in this or any other country, can boast. 

Such were the men who penetrated these parts of nature, who courted the 
solitude of the illimitable forest, and we may add, in the words of Virgil : " They 
neither pined with grief, lamenting the poor, nor envied the inch ; what fruits the 
boughs spontaneously yielded, they gathered ; nor saw the iron-hearted laws, the 
madly litigious bar, or the public courts." 

The Hardshell Baptists had a little church, the corner-stone of which is still 
to be seen in the yard of Dr. Gordon, of Versailles, in this township, and, it seems, 
their rules required every applicant for membership to give in a brief experience 
as a test of his fitness for admission. 

A person, living up the creek, by the name of S toner, it appears, notwith- 
standing his hard name, was a little soft. Nevertheless, he wanted to join the church. 
He rose in the congregation and thus began : " I got up this mornin', greased my 
shoes, combed my head and started to meetin'. • As I was a comin' along, I saw a 
tree ; I says to myself, Kin one man pull that ar tree up ? No ! Kin two men ? No ! 
Kin ten men ? No ! Kin twenty men ? No ! Kin God Almighty pull that tree up ? 
Yes ! I feel like suthin' is going to happen.'* He sat down. The preacher rose 
and said : " Brethren, extend the right hand of fellowship to Brother Stoner, for 
this is the true bleatin' of the lamb." 

Frenchtown is a hamlet situated near the northwest corner of Wayne Town- 
ship, at the center of Section 11, Range 3. and, as its name denotes, has a popula- 
tion largely composed of French. The oldest living settler is J. P. Berge. who 
migrated hither from Stark County in 1833. and entered an eighth-section of the 

M 



416 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

public lands. The people are quiet and industrious, frugal and enterprising, and 
give themselves little concern in regard to events which are remote from them. 

There is built here a fine church, belonging to the Catholics, and valued at 
$3,000. It stands upon land formerly owned by Jacob Subler. Part of the cem- 
etery is upon land once the property of William Subler, and another part was 
owned by Catharine Subler. The present church edifice was built in 1866, at 
which time the Trustees were Joseph Beg, Henry Grilliot, George Grilliotand John 
B. Alexander. Father Kreush was then Pastor. A log church had stood on 
the same site for many years. The pioneer priest in this settlement was Father 
Navarron. A second church two and and a half miles east of Frenchtown was 
built about 1848 and 1849. The following is illustrative of the times when these 
churches were being built : About seven miles east of Frenchtown, there was a 
settlement, then known as " Bussia," and a wager of two gallons of whisky was 
laid between the church members of that locality and those of Frenchtown, to be 
claimed by the party that would get the first log of a certain size and length, 
hewed and in place. Frenchtown got the whisky. The first burial in the ceme- 
tery was Mrs. Peter Goffena, in 1S42. The present Catholic priest is Bev. J. X. 
Borion. The membership of the church is over three hundred. A Catholic teacher 
is emplo}"ed in the district school, whose average attendance is twenty-five. The 
first, parsonage was built in 1850. The present parsonage is a neat brick cottage 
with pleasant grounds, and was built some few years ago. The first English 
teacher was B. Ward, about 1850. The principal store in the place, now kept by 
Michael Subler, was built in 1858, and has been used as a store from that time 
till now. Nicholas Krushet put in the first stock. 

Versailles is the post town of Wayne Township. It was laid out by Silas 
Atchison in the 3 T ear 1819, and at that time was known as Jacksonville. A school 
house was erected in 1821. There is now a good high school in the village. In 
1820, the Baptists organized a society under the lead of Bev. Thomas Childers. 
Bev. Samuel Kyle, then resident near Piqua, Miami County, organized a Christian 
Church, and in 1823 a meeting-house was built by the Baptists, on land later 
owned by John Boyer, in Section 25. This church was the second one erected in 
the county. The Christians built about 1826, in Section 24, on land owned by 
William E. Larimore. There are a number of churches in the township, mainly 
at Versailles. The census of 1870 gave the population of Wayne as 1,983. 



ADAMS TOWNSHIP. 

This township was erected in March, 1819, and contained all the land east 
of a line running south from the northwest corner of Section 4, Township 10 
north, of Bange 3 east, to the southeast corner of Section 28, Township 9. of 
Bange 3. It was detached from the east end of Greenville Township and the 
south end of Wayne. In 1820, Sections 3, 4 and 10, of Township 10, Bange 3, 
were taken into Biehland Township. In June, 1838, all of Township 8, Bange 3, 
and Township 8. Bange 4, that was in Adams, was taken into a new township, 
which was entitled Van Buren. 

The second permanent settlement in Darke County was made in Adams 
Township. In 1808, Abraham Studabaker, with his wife, settled on the bank of 
Greenville Creek, opposite the present site of Gettysburg, on Section 25, on land 
now owned by A. Stoltz. From what the writer can gather. Mr. Studabaker was 
the first white man that became a permanent settler of Adams Township, as we 
have no account of any before him. and none other till the close of the Indian 
war of 1812. Very soon after the cessation of hostilities, Maj. George Adams, 
who had served in the armies of Harmar and W T ayne, came to the township, and, 
studying the needs of the pioneers and his own interest as well, erected a flouring- 
mill on Section 33. where now stands the mill of Stoltz & Coppess. This was 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 417 

the pioneer mill of the count}*, and became known far and wide ; and there are 
many of the pioneers now living who have a pleasing recollection of the gallant 
Major and his old-time mill. Their estimation was shown by the perpetuation of 
his memory in the name of the township in which he made his home. 

It is said of Mr. Studabaker that he entered a quarter-section, and put up a 
cabin built of such poles as he could handle himself, for his nearest white neigh- 
bors were on the Stillwater, fourteen miles east, and at Fort Black, now New Madi- 
son, seventeen miles to the westward. 

He had all his provision to carry on horseback from the Stillwater settlement, 
as there were no roads at that time. Indians were peaceable, but none the less an 
occasion of apprehension and distrust. 

One morning, two Indians called at the cabin, and finding Mr. Studabaker 
had gone out to a piece of ground he was preparing for corn, demanded from his 
wife some bacon which she was preparing for breakfast. She refused to give 
it up, as it was part of the supplies brought from the Stillwater late the pre- 
vious evening. One of the Indians seized the meat at one end, while she held 
fast to the other and cried loudly for help. The other Indian drew his knife and 
cut off the meat near her hand, and the two made off before her husband had time 
to come to her assistance. 

The great thoroughfare of the Indians between Piqua and the Whitewater 
towns ran almost before his door, and, although they were not particularly hostile 
during the first years of his stay, they were troublesome. He brought with him 
a horse and a cow and, some time after, his stock of animals was increased by the 
birth of a calf. During the first }*ear, he partially cleared two acres, which he 
planted in corn. He had just got his little crop harvested, when his horse died of 
•• milk sickness;' In a short time, the calf was killed by the wolves. Hoping to 
catch some of these prowling beasts, he constructed a trap, and baited it with the 
remains of the calf. The cow, unluckily, was so overcome by curiosity as to put 
her head into the trap, which was sprung, and broke her neck. 

For flour and meal, he was obliged to go to Milton, in Miami County. A 
journey to and from this mill occupied two days, even when the traveling was at its 
best. An incident will serve to illustrate the unpleasantness of the surroundings. 
In the winter, which was an unusually severe one, Mr. Studabaker started for the 
mill on Stillwater, at Milton. He had killed and dressed a hog the day before. 
He left his little family in the woods, with no neighbors neai-er than Boyd's, in 
Greenville Township, on one hand, and, on the other, none between him and the 
Stillwater. In the night, a pack of wolves came around the house, and their howl- 
ing was not calculated to lull the lonely wife and children to sleep. Suddenly, 
there came a smothered yell of pain and affright from a single wolf, and, immedi- 
ately after, a chorus of } T elling, snarling and yelping, as if pandemonium had 
broken loose. This lasted but a moment, when all became still. The silence 
lasted till morning. In the morning, Mrs. Studabaker opened the door, and there, 
within four feet of the threshold, la}* a monster wolf, dead, and his protruding 
tongue was frozen fast to the ax which had been used to cut up the dead hog. It was 
supposed that this wolf, attracted to the ax by the bits of flesh and blood which 
adhered to it, had attempted to lick it, and the ax, being full of frost, caused his 
tongue to adhere, drawing from him a cry of pain, upon which the others set upon 
him and killed him. At all events, he was dead, and wolves never came near the 
house again. 

The American panther (Felis concoler), or - painter," as it was called b}' the 
early settlers, a ferocious and dangerous animal, abounded in this region. Mr. 
Studabaker killed many of them during his residence here, and, on more than one 
occasion, came near losing his life in conflict with them. On one occasion, while 
working near the edge of his clearing, he saw an immense panther on the limb of 
a tree twenty-five or thirty feet from him. crouched ready for a spring. His rifle 
was standing by a stump within ten feet from him. but he dared not move or take 



418 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

his eyes from his stealthy enemy. The enraged brute sprang into the air toward 
him with a thrilling cry. At the same instant, he sprang for his rifle, and, as the 
panther struck the ground exactly at the spot he had just quitted, he fired. The 
ball si nick the animal in the front shoulder, passing completely through, and so 
disabled it that it could not renew the attack, hut it made the most terrific strug- 
gle, uttering frightful screeches and yells, until Mr. Studabaker reloaded his rifle, 
when he took a more careful aim and ended the struggle. This was one of the 
largest of the species, measuring eight feet from " tip to tip." 

Deer apparently shunned that immediate vicinity, although Mr. Studabaker 
frequently shot them in his clearing. But they were much more numerous in 
other localities, and the Indians gave as a reason the mysterious " belly-sick." 
which the whites called " milk sickness." 

The Indians never molested Mr. Studabaker with any hostile intent. In 
1811, when they became threatening, he built a substantial block-house and 
moved into it. With the exception of Andrew Rush and the Wilson girls, no 
murders were committed in the neighborhood during this period. They frequently 
called on Mr. Studabaker for refreshment, and were never refused. Whatever was 
set before them they took away with them, even to the dishes. They would eat 
all they could, and, according to the statement of many old settlers, no system of 
surface measurement would give any idea of a hungry Indian's capacity, and what 
they could not by any possibility eat they would stow about their persons and 
carry away. They were almost daily visitors during these years, but the uniform 
kindness and hospitalit}' with which they were treated, it is thought, saved the 
Studabakers from their fury. 

Tecumseh Laulewasikaee, his father, Little Turtle. Black Hoof and other 
noted chiefs were frequent visitors. Tecumseh is described as a young man of 
grave, dignified, commanding presence, and appeared not only intelligent and courte- 
ous, but benevolent and humane. Sometime, while Mr. Studabaker was residing 
here, Tecumseh and his brother moved from their home near Greenville to escape 
the demoralizing effects of the whisk}' retailed to their people by Azor Scribner, 
who had a trading post at Minatown. The Indians of the neighborhood, it seems, 
would visit Scribner's once a week or oftener, for the purpose of obtaining 
whisky and ammunition, and on these occasions they often became noisy and 
boisterous, for it seems whisky had much the same effect on Indians it did on the 
whites. 

On one of these occasions, a party of six Indians, who had been to Greenville 
and were returning, stopped to rest and regale themselves in Studabaker's clearing. 
It was a clear, moonlight night, and, as may be supposed, all their movements were 
noted. They first carefully hid their rifles and other arms, and then solemnly. 
one after another, drank from a large gourd, fashioned like a bottle, until they had 
emptied it. They then commenced whooping and yelling in a manner not calcu- 
lated to be entertaining to the trembling auditors in the block-house not many 
yards distant. At last they engaged in a dance, which they continued until one 
after another fell to the ground in a drunken stupor. There they lay until morn- 
ing, when they arose and commenced a search for their rifles. Two failed to find 
theirs, and it was evident by their gestures that neither they or the other members 
of the party were quite sure they had their rifles with them. A few years ago. the 
rusted remains of two rifles were found under a decayed log near the spot. 
The stocks were almost entirely gone, the barrels, locks, bands, etc.. though badly 
rusted, were in tolerable state of preservation. The (lints were in their place, and 
bullets were found in each of the barrels. It is likely these were the rifles so 
curiously lost on the occasion of that moonlight frolic sixty years before. 

Soon after the breaking-out of hostilities, or even as early as the fall of 1811, 
nearly all the warriors left their haunts in this region. The noted and Influential 
chiefs had joined 1 he British at Detroit, or a1 their -post on the Maumee. ( 
quently, the few pioneers in Darke Count}' were unmolested during the war. 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 419 

Here, then, the Stuclabaker family lived eight years, almost entirely cut off 
from communication with the world. There were, perhaps, six or eight families in 
and about Greenville, and the nearest of these was six miles distant. 

David Studabaker, now living in Greenville Township, was born in the block- 
house, in 1814, and was the first white child born in the township. 

Maj. Adams had seen hard service and perilous times. In one of the expedi- 
tions against the towns on the Maumee, while under Gen. Harmar, he received 
several bullets in his body and was left for dead on the field, but when the retreat 
began, his comrades, to save his body from mutilation, carried him with them. At 
their first halt, they dug a grave and were about to place him therein, when they 
detected faint signs of life. They gladly deferred the burial and worked zealously 
through the night, trying to restore their respected comrade to consciousness and 
life. Morning came, and, although still insensible, he breathed. He was carried 
the distance of another day's march, and again a grave was dug, as he was 
expected to die before morning. This was repeated, day after day, till the troops 
reached Fort Washington, but after lying thus unconscious for weeks, he finally 
fully recovered and took active part in Wa}'ne's campaigns of 1793-94-95. It 
was while out scouting in the vicinity of Greenville that he became acquainted 
with the fine mill-site that he afterward occupied. Adams' mill turned out very 
coarse meal and very little of that. Wheat was also ground, but customers were 
obliged to bolt their flour by hand, and it would have satisfied any Grahamite to 
have used the product of the mill. Still, the mill was a popular resort, all the 
more so after a little grocery had been established, where whisky and tobacco were 
retailed. Here was a place at which shooting matches, quoit throwing and an 
occasional fist fight were common. 

In 1816, Armstrong Campbell settled on Section 30, on land cleared by Stu- 
dabaker, who, the same year, moved to Greenville. William Stewart also came in 
1816, and located in the Studabaker opening, on Section 36, where Washington 
Cromer now lives. After this, the township settled rapidly. Adams was a genial, 
fun-loving man, widely known and deservedly popular ; a crowd of congenial 
spirits gathered about him, and the little settlement took the name of " Adams' 
Mills,'' and when the township was finally organized, it was named in his honor. 
During the years 1816 and 1817, William Cunningham, Samuel Robinson, Barton 
Fairchild, Thomas McCune, Josiah Carr, John Meyer, Zadoc Reagan, Zachariah 
March and Ebenezer Byram, settled at and near New Harrison. 

Early in the year 1812, Wilkinson, who was in command of the troops in this 
department, sent six soldiers to Studabaker's post, where they were stationed for 
some time, and it seems that they were under the immediate command of Mr. 
Studabaker. At this time, the block-house served as an inn, post of refuge, and official 
quarters, as well as the home of the family. On one occasion, five Indians were 
captured in their war paint, which Studabaker turned over to the officer in com- 
mand, at Greenville. They subsequently escaped, and took their revenge by 
killing and scalping two soldiers near Fort Jefferson, named Stoner and Elliott. 
The war closing, Studabaker took a contract from the Government to feed the 
Indians until the consummation of the treaty. Upon the organization of Darke as 
a county in 1817, Mr. Studabaker was elected Commissioner four successive terms. 
Isaac Hollingsworth and Thomas Warren, were of the early settlers. John Reck 
settled in 1827. on land that is still owned by his son. It is located on both sides 
of the creek, on Section 36. Mr. Reck states that the wolves were very trouble- 
some to the settlers. When a boy, he was followed many a time b}* a number of 
those animals, from near the little cemetery just west of Gettysburg, to near the 
door of his father's house. There is no account of injury done to persons, 
although stock not infrequently suffered. John and William Reck, Henry Weaver 
and Armstrong Campbell, built the first schoolhouse in the township. The house 
was erected in 1830. and stood upon the present site of the cemetery- near Gettys- 
burg. The carpenter work was done by Michael Reck, then seventeen }'ears old. 



420 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY 

Samuel Horner was the first teacher. A subscription school, taught by Jacob 
Hersher, is said to have been the first in Adams Township. The first church was 
erected by the Lutherans, on land now owned by Francis Keefauner, in or about 
1834. It is still standing. Besides this, there is Catholic Church at Bradford ; a 
Presbyterian, a Methodist and a Lutheran, at Gettysburg ; and a Dunkard. else- 
where in the township. New Harrison was laid out in 1837. by Samuel Robinson, 
who was the first Justice of the Peace in the township. 

Between the years 1827 and 1831. quite a number of families emigrated from 
Adams County, Penn.. and settled in the east central part of the township, where 
they laid out and built up the village of Gettysburg, which took its name from 
Gettysburg, Penn. The nominal founder of the village was John Hershy. The 
place was incorporated in 1866. Bradford was laid out in 1865. and duly incor- 
porated in 1871. In 1830, Adams Township contained 529 persons, and. in 1870, 
2.201. The topography of Adams Township may be gathered from the following 
description : It contains thirty-eight sections ; the four southern tiers are six 
and a half miles in extent from east to west, and the two northern tiers four and a 
half, making the area thirty-five square miles. The southeastern corner of Rich- 
land Township takes the sections that shorten the northern tiers. Stillwater, 
Bolton's Run. Greenville and Harris Creeks traverse the township. The first 
named enters near the center of the north line of Section 5. runs south and 
southeast in its general course about a mile, thence eastward a mile to the bound- 
ary of the township, between Sections 4 and 0. Bolton's Run enters at the north- 
western corner of the township, runs southeast nearly two miles into Section 1 2. 
thence south of east one mile, thence in its general course east two and a half 
miles to the township line. Greenville Creek enters the township less than half a 
mile from the southeast corner, runs in a northwest course to New Harrison, 
thence southwest, thence north of east to Gettysburg, and through Stolbyz's 
addition, thence southeast near the line between the first and second tier of 
sections to the center of the northern part of Section 30, thence south, then 
nearly east, to the eastern boundary of said section, a little more than a half-mile 
from the southeast corner of the township. Two railroads cross Adams Town- 
ship ; the}- have an equal angle of divergence from Bradford, the C. C. & I. C. 
and the Pan Handle (old C, P. & I.), the first-named in a direction south of west 
past Gettysburg, below New Harrison, and thence to the southwest corner of the 
township ; the second, in a direct line to Horatio, and leaving the township mid- 
way between that place and Stelvidio. in Richland Township. 

The surface of Adams is rolling, being most uneven in the southwest portion. 
The southern portion has the darker, stronger soil. The timber, is beech, ash. 
maple and hickory, principally the first named. The soil is well calculated for 
the raising of wheat and corn, as is evidenced by the shipment at Gettysburg, the 
last season, by E. George, of over 200,000 bushels of grain, in addition to which 
were heavy purchases at the same place by Messrs. Reck & Trump. Fruit is 
raised in moderation and occasional abundant yields have been gathered. 

We learn, with reference to the early growl h of New Harrison, that, in 1 845. there 
were but a dozen families resident of the place, viz.. Jacob Woods, John Balten- 
burg, William Robinson, Jeremiah Shody, keeper of a tavern stand. Samuel Rob- 
inson. Calvin Horner. Jeremiah Shade (also keeper of an inn). Michael Stahl. 
Abraham Miller and William Hays. Of their houses, there are ten remaining. Such 
was the slow growth of the place in the interval from 1837 to 1845. At this later 
date. William Hays settled in Adams, in the village of New Harrison. In a fam- 
ily of eleven children, seven are living and active in life's duties. The old gentle- 
man still occupies in content the hewed-log house that was standing when he came 
to the village. The old neighbors are now pretty nearly all gone, the only ones 
remaining being Abraham Miller and his wife. At the date of Hays' arrival, the 
wild nature of the country is shown by the statement that deer and turkeys 
came out into the clearing and even between the houses in daytime. On all sides 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 421 

was the forest, and there was an unbroken stretch of seven miles northward in 
which there was not a single house as late as 1847. The people of New Harrison 
and Gettysburg went to Covington and to the " Falls " to mill — eight and nine 
miles distant. Adams' mill was too small and the quality too poor to obtain favor, 
save for grinding grists of corn. The first schoolhouse in this neighborhood was 
located on the farm of William Adams, about a mile west of New Harrison. It 
was of logs, on the pioneer plan, and is now in use as a dwelling. Samuel Robin- 
son was one of the first teachers in it. 

The Methodist Church at New Harrison was built about 1844. by Jacob 
Woods. It was a frame, was 40x50 feet in size, and stood on land donated by the 
builder. It was torn down several } r ears ago. 

A store was first kept in New Harrison by the village proprietor, Samuel Rob- 
inson, and then by Jacob Woods. Rev. Sharp, a Christian minister, was the pio- 
neer blacksmith of the place, and was engaged at the forge between the years 
1841 and 1844. 

Tavern-keeping was first done by Gideon Level, who, in 1845, sold to Jeremiah 
Shade. Various changes have occurred till the property, now owned by J. F. 
Winner, is in use as a saloon and drinking resort. J. Miller, blacksmith, Aaron 
Welbaum, wagon-maker and grocery-keeper, are recently engaged in their business. 
No physician has been located here since the war. Dr. H. W. Corwin practiced 
and lived here from 1842 to 1844, and prior to the earlier date, a botanic phy- 
sician had practiced here, known as Barker— a dealer in " roots and herbs." After 
Dr. Corwin, came Drs. Williams, Jenks, McElroy, Harbison and Greer. The vil- 
lage answers well its purpose as a convenient locality for accommodation of sur- 
rounding population. 

We have spoken incidentally of Gettysburg and the origin of its name. Here 
are located the Premium Flour Mills, with four runs of stone, a capacity of 100 
barrels per day and a manufacture of 40,000 bushels of wheat into flour annually, 
beside supplying a market for 150.000 bushels of grain. 

John Hershey built the first house in the village, a tavern, which stood on the 
present site of Dr. Campbell's residence. Among the pioneer efforts in Gettys- 
burg was the store of James Auld, started in a log house, where Mr. Keefauner 
now lives. Mr. Auld, in 1840. built a brick store building on the southwest corner 
of Main and Bridge streets, and moved into it his stock. Later, he occupied a 
small house directly across Main street, where are now Hershe}' & Dorwin. 

A saddler-shop and cabinet-shop were started at an early date. John Stolz, 
in 1845, was the saddler, a business now done by Charles Naylor. 

Blacksmithing was done by Henry Conn, in 1842. in a frame building ; some 
six years later, he erected a brick shop on the old site, on the south side of Main 
and east of Bridge street. Ten years later, he died, and the shop was enlarged, 
remodeled and changed into a dwelling, now owned by Mrs. Colin. 

The first schoolhouse in the village was of brick, and was located on Corwin 
street. It was built some thirty 3*ears ago, and is now in use as a dwelling. The 
present schoolhouse was erected in 1866, at a cost of nearly $5,000. Samuel 
Paulding had the contract for the woodwork. Rev. Jackson was the first teacher 
therein. His successors have been Dr. Newcomb, William Stone. Simeon Robin- 
son, Mr. Graves, Cyrenius Tyrrell, William McKee, Mr. Schell, J. E. Polley, Edward 
Lockett, Samuel Brumbaugh, J. E. Laurence and Rev. C. W. Choate. In fourteen 
years, almost as many different teachers — a lesson on the mutability of teaching. 
as unstable as the everchanging circuit of the old itinerant preachers. The above 
record should teach a judicious selection and a permanent employment to realize 
the full advantages possible to be derived from free schools. 

The first Postmaster of Gettysburg was James Auld. The office had been 
kept at New Harrison, but, in accordance with a petition presented, it was removed 
to this place and Mr. Auld was appointed. He and Dr. Corwin drove over and 
brought the effects of the office to the village. One Barrett had the contract to 



422 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

carry the mail from Greenville to Troy. This was before the turnpikes were built. 
When there was good weather and the roads were tolerable, Barrett drove a two- 
horse vehicle, at other times he went on horseback. Mr. Auld was also the first 
Justice of the Peace in Gettysburg. One of the first cases that came before him 
was of interest to the community. It grew out of a trade in horses, in which one 
party thought himself badly cheated. Attorneys were engaged from Shelbyville 
and Piqua, and the inexperienced Justice was confused and bewildered by the 
amount of rhetoric and argument. He recovered, and by the aid of native good sense 
was enabled to render an equitable decision. Soon after, a burglar, who had raided 
a store in Hillsdale, was arrested a short distance east of Gettysburg, brought to 
the village and tried before the Squire. He was tried, bound over, sent to the 
penitentiary, served his time, and within a month after his release, had burglarized 
the residence of the father of Dr. Corwin, in Bellefontaine. 

A bridge across Greenville Creek, at this village, was begun in the fall of 
1876, by the Cincinnati Bridge Compaivy, and was finished in 1877. Its cost was 
about $5,000. 

The village has a population of about two hundred. A town hall is located 
on the east side of Bridge street, near Corwin street. It was built about ten years 
ago. 

There are two churches in Gettysburg, the Methodist Episcopal and the Pres- 
byterian. The church edifice of the first-named was built in the spring of 1875. 
It formerly stood two miles southeast of town on the farm of Ch. Hershey, whence 
it was removed and remodeled at the time above stated. It was moved by Silas 
Reck, and located upon land purchased for $200 from Mrs. Jane Harmer. The first 
minister was Rev. Valentine Staley, followed by Benjamin Powell, R. D. Oldfield, 
and by the present incumbent, George Matthews. The first Sabbath-school here 
was superintended by J. Hershey, who, save two terms, has been continuously in 
service to this time. W. Reck was the first Secretary. The membership is 
sevent} T -five. The building owned bj T the Presbyterians was built in 1847 or 
1 848, and is located at the west end of Corwin street. It is of brick, in size 
40x55 feet. Those prominent in building were William Carr, John Meyer, Alex- 
ander Horner and Dr. Darwin. The lot was donated by Mr. Horner. The num- 
ber of members at the present time is about sixty. The first Pastor was Rev. 
Thomas Elcock, now of Van Wert. Among other Pastors have been Revs. 
Alexander Gulick, John W. Drake, W. E. Hill, W. H. Moore, Rev. Wyckoff, and 
the present Pastor, L. E. Jones. The Superintendent of the Sabbath-school is 
Rev. C. W. Choate. Bradford is an enterprising and thriving village of about 
eighteen hundred population, about eight hundred of whom reside upon the west 
side of the creek, in Darke County. The first house built in West Bradford was 
erected by John S. Moore in 1868. The first grocery was kept b}' Routzong 
& Moore, and stood in 1869 on the corner of School street and Miami avenue. 
The pioneer blacksmith was Joseph Lefler. The village has the usual number of 
shops, stores and like local industries, which go to make up its business interest. 
A medium-sized Catholic Church stands in the southwestern part of the village. 
It was built in 1875. The first Pastor was Father Shelhamer. There are two 
hardware stores and a saw and planing mill. This last is owned by William 
Stover & Co., who took possession in September, 1878. The building is two 
stories, 50x75 feet. The capacity of the mill is about six thousand per day 
of twelve hours. Engine, fifty horse-power. Besides the saw-mill there is 
machinery adapted to woodworking in general. The mill was established by 
Reck & Marland in 1870, but has known much improvement and enlargement 
since. It is located west of Miami avenue and south of the railroad. Within the 
last year, 300,000 feet of walnut lumber have been shipped and sold from this 
mill, most of which went to supply New York and other Eastern markets. Prior 
to the erection of a new schoolhouse, the children attended District No. 2, one 
mile west of town, at which school J. W. Cable was the first teacher. The first 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 423 

schoolhouse on the west side was constructed in 1876. The contractors were Den- 
nis Dwyer and George Manix. The cost of the structure was about $28,000. It 
is four stories high, including the basement. Its ground dimensions are 75x56 
feet, with two towers additional, 22-feet-square base and 70 feet altitude. The 
building is finished in fine style, and is an ornament to the town. A hall in the 
fourth story is well furnished, and will seat 600 persons. There is a good school 
bell, and heating is done by steam. The school enumeration is 410. The present 
School Board are Solomon Routzong, D. J. Smith, William Weaver, N. Iddings, Val- 
entine Staley and R, T. Hughes. D. S. Myers has been Superintendent from the 
first, a fact creditable to all parties. The other teachers have taught the same 
period. They are M. J. Hunter, Mrs. D. S. Meyers, Miss Minnie Garber, Miss 
Clara Gulick and Miss Jennie Baumgardner. 

The corporation is a unit ; that is, there are not two sets of civil officers, and 
there is but the one post office, which has been shifted from one side to the other 
according to caprice and political supremacy. Moore was Postmaster in 1869 ; 
then W. H. Sowers held the office, which was then removed to the east side, where 
it has since remained. The first Mayor of Bradford was Peter H. Smith ; Clerk, 
Ed. Davidson ; Marshal, George Doll. The present officers of Bradford are : J. A. 
I W. Smith, Mayor ; M. J. Williamson, Clerk ; H. W. Smith, Marshal ; and the 
members of the Council are D. J. Smith, John Gettz, and Messrs. Beck, Kinney 
Wl J. M. Fink. For a place of recent growth, West Bradford has shown much 
womise, and the township of Adams, in its early and later settlement, has evidenced 
nuch of enterprise and vigor. 



GREENVILLE AND GREENVILLE TOWNSHIP FROM 1840. 

If there ever was a time in the history of this nation when stagnation was 
wke-spread, and indeed almost universal, it was between 1840 and 1848. Darke 
Comty could not be said to be an exception to the general rule in this regard. 
No public works whatever, worthy of mention, were begun or carried forward 
witlin the period named, save and except the building of the second county jail. 
It is true, a railroad charter was secured, as elsewhere mentioned in its proper 
plact in this work, but nothing was done in the way of construction until late in 
the fill of 1848, and the summer of 1849. There was but little progress, compara- 
tively Still the county was moving on its way. Farmers were improving their 
farms but the recompense for their labor was not sufficient to stimulate ambition. 
There were no railroads, no turnpikes, and no conveniences to facilitate business 
that alall compare with what were soon after instituted and enjoyed. The nearest 
market were Dayton and Piqua, and the best prices that could be obtained for 
produce frequently amounted to but little more than the labor and expense of 
hauling the same from the more remote sections of the county. An anecdote 
illustrate of this is worth recording in this connection. A Dunkard, whose name 
we shall iot give, but who will be remembered by some of the older readers of 
these line, took three wagon-loads of wheat to Piqua — it having been noised abroad 
that that }lace could and would and did pay better prices just then for grain than 
Dayton oiany other market hereabouts. Arriving there, he found the price had 
suddenly gme down, like the mercury before a chilling blast, and in his unqualified 
disgust, heforgot that he was or ever had been a Dunkard, and gave the town a 
sound beraing, more profane than sanctimonious. He was compelled to sell one 
load in ordr to pay his teamsters and the other current expenses, but declared 
that he won! never sell another bushel of anything in that town, and would wait 
for the railrqd, if it didn't come for five years. Emphasis was added to the asser- 
tion by the ict that the other two loads were drawn back to Darke, and by the 
further fact 1\at he never again took an ounce of anything to sell to the market 
that had so rovoked him to the use of words specifically disapproved by the 



424 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

tenets of his religious faith. It is true he sold to a purchaser at his own home, 
but he •• waited for the wagons " drawn by steam. 

Private enterprises, in sympathy with those of a public character, progressed 
slowly during this period of national prostration, financially speaking. Within 
the limits of the corporation, as of the county, no improvements were made of 
sufficient moment to be made a part of history. There were no changes in the 
limits of Greenville, except some subdivisions of additions previously laid off. ami 
the change of outlots to inlots. The merchants and manufacturers of the place 
kept on the even tenor of their way, without attempting especially great things in 
their lines. 

But -a day of better things" had almost dawned, and. as the following para- 
graphs abundantly show, the county and its principal town soon moved onward in 
an unbroken career of progressive achievement. 

Greenville, in 1848, contained 2,000 inhabitants. There were three dry- 
goods stores, four groceries, and no saloons. Liquors were sold at some of the 
groceries, and at the bars of three hotels — the Broadway Hotel, by Charles 
Hutchins, the Buckeye, by J. L. Winner, and by J. R. King, of the King House. 
There were three churches — the Methodist, Presbyterian and the New Lights. 
That part of town that now lies south of Fourth street was almost all covered 
with a thick undergrowth of timber, and where the court house and jail nov 
stand, water stood the greater part of the year, and supplied a favorite resort fo: 
sportsmen in pursuit of the wild duck and the pigeon. The leading doctors weis 
I. N. Gard, Ayres, Lynch and Koogler, and turnpikes were unknown. 

In 1850, Brown & Glines were engaged in tailoring, Schmidt & Knox is 
druggists, A. La Mott & Co. in the dry-goods and grocery business. Weston & 
Ulley were in the hardware trade, and William Allen was agent of the Kn>x 
Insurance Company. Sarah and Ruth Edwards kept a millinery store opposite 
the M. E. Church, and E. M. Hoffman was in the book trade on Main street, "he 
business houses were actively and prosperously employed. 

In I860, the town had made striking and gratifying progress. Three impor- 
tant railroad lines had been constructed, four turnpike roads had been built, and, 
diverging from the county seat, connected with as many thriving and prosperous 
villages. The population had increased ; two good newspapers, the Dmnoerrf and 
the Journal, were being published,, each with about eight hundred patron, and 
then, in the midst of this satisfactory growth, war broke in and engossed 
attention. 

Again, this time in 1869, we survey the prospects of the city. Never in its 
previous history had the town made such rapid advance in the constru<tion of 
new buildings. In May of this year, there were over sixty buildings in curse of 
construction or of remodeling. A foundry and machine-shop was erectedand put 
in operation by Messrs. James McKhan, A. T. Bodle and John Stoltz. o\ Third 
street. A building and loan association was organized and in full (peration. 
stimulating and aiding in the building of homes. Messrs. Linderworth a Winget 
were busy running their planing-mill. The German Reformed congre<ation had 
bought the Presbyterian Church, on Broadway and Fourth streets. Sreets had 
been graded, the question of a park was mooted, and. while teacher? institutes 
indicated interest in education, popular attention was being directed tithe public 
schools. 

The town had become now, if not before, a prominent business commercial 
center, with rich and wealth-producing surroundings. The principal merchants of 
this time were La Mott & Farver, also, in the fur trade ; Sumter & Cmpton, F. & 
J. Waring. Workman & Daily. Hart. Arnold & Co.; G. B. Wilson kep'a book store 
on the coiner of Main street and the public square, and John Vn Mater was 
successor to Schmidt & Knox. There were dissolutions of old pntnerships and 
new combinations. There was selling out and moving in — all the ehnges incident 
to vital energy, restless activity, dissatisfaction and plucky hopefulnss. while some 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY 425 

few, continued year after year in one place, in the same business, and, in time, 
became known and prosperous. A large, artistic school building attracted the eye, 
and exerted an attractive influence on the stranger. Along the broad streets were 
lines of shade-trees. Old structures were demolished, and upon their sites rose 
new ones. In June, there were in process of erection twenty-three dwellings, and 
a number more were contracted for the near future. In the line of manufacture, 
there was the steam planing-mill of Messrs. T. P. Turpen. William Kerr and M. 
C. Benham ; on the first floor were four machines, a planer, rip and other saws, 
operated by Messrs. Wallace and Mills. There were turning rooms, cabinet finish- 
ing rooms, and on the second floor were seven machines in use for finishing. The 
buoyancy of hopeful expectation lent courage to business men and professionals 
and" to citizens, and in both public and private concerns the county seat felt the 
healthful stimulus of trade and improvement in the count}', and maintained its 
supremacy unbroken. An event calculated to exert a potent influence on the fort- 
une of Greenville transpired in the spring of 1877. On more than one occasion, 
citizens of large tracts of closely built cities have been alarmed by claims to the 
ownership of their lots, and to this Greenville was another instance. Samuel and 
James Armstrong, of Cincinnati, two brothers, sons of the early proprietor of 
Greenville, and owners of considerable real estate about the city, put in the market 
sixteen acres at $15,000. This was laid off in the south-middle part of the town, 
streets were graded, and already full half the area is occupied by good residences. 
The Armstrongs still hold over an hundred acres. Railroads and the schools take 
off a part. In 1859, four acres were condemned by the city and appropriated for 
school sites, upon which the present imposing and roomy structure stands. The 
brothers left Greenville in their boyhood and returned about 1850, to assert that 
lands in the city were held by a defective title, that the right of ownership was in 
their hands, and they served a notice of ejectment upon persons residing upon the 
disputed lands. The citizens employed able attorneys, and the litigation continued 
four or five years, at considerable expenditure of money. The prospects were dark 
and discouraging, when aid came from an unexpected quarter. The son of a former 
Sheriff, at Troy, Miami County, while looking over the papers of his father, espied 
an old receipt with the name of Armstrong attached. This paper was promptly 
sent to the city's attorne3 r s, at Greenville, and proved to be a receipt for the final 
payment on the disputed territory. This, being adduced as evidence, decided the 
case and gave the citizens security. 

In 1851, Moses Hart, Esq., erected a steam flouring-mill, which was put in 
motion by the proprietors, Messrs. Turner. The millwright work was done by D. 
R. DeRush, of Preble County. The mill had a capacity to grind and pack 150 
barrels of flour per day. This improvement noted here was at the time spoken of 
as one of the most important thus far made in the county. At the commence- 
ment of business, numbers of citizens were assembled and expressed their gratifi- 
cation at the result. This, in connection with the building of five large, commodi- 
ous business houses, each of three stories, dwellings in process of construction and 
churches contracted, marks one of the most favorable crises of the cit}'. The old 
court house stood in the center of the capacious public square, and as a new house 
was imperative to meet the demands of a greatly increased official business, and 
to make a proper representation of Darke County, a dispute arose among citizens 
generally, and the business men located about the square, concerning the location 
of the new house. In 1874, it was intended to leave the old walls of the court 
house standing, and to build a vestibule tower to them, which would make the. 
building the same as at present, but after the tower was built, excavation having 
been made for a basement, a wet time set in, during which the rain undermined a 
corner of the building, it settled, and an ominous crack showed the necessity of 
pulling it down, which was done, and the present handsome structure was erected, 
and is known and used as the city hall. It is of two stories, sixty-five feet square, 
a hall above, and Maj'or's office, engine room and election I'oom below. The 



426 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

contract for building was let to R. L. Robinson, A. P. Gorsuch being Mayor at 
the time. The cost was about $14.(100. 

There arc in this new-old town a number of house| which have stood many 
years, and are, for this reason, noticeable. One of these stands on the north side 
of the public square, and is in use as a livery stable. It is a brick structure, 
among the very first erected here. The brick structure of John Hoofnagle. built 
by Dr. Perrine, many years ago ; the brick house of Dr. Briggs, now occupied by 
J. K. Knox, his son-in-law; the Wagner House, with timeby additions, stands as 
one of the first in town, and still in use according to the original purpose, and the 
• poor house," now occupied by T. P. Barkalow, and situated on the west end of 
Main street, are examples of structures of the earlier day. Prominent even in the 
present, they were doubtless imposing in the past, and stand as monuments of an 
earlier enterprise. 

Greenville has many fine residences, of which brief mention is here made of 
notable examples. The home of Charles Roland, at the west end of Fourth street, 
is a handsome dwelling, with tasteful grounds. It was built at a cost of $10,000, 
by E. C. Shay, in 1871. In 1861, William King built on Main street, at a cost of 
about $5,000, the residence of Michael Miller. In 1876, E. C. Shade erected the 
building on East Main street, occupied by Daniel Harney. Judge D. L. Meeker is 
now having built a residence, which, when completed, will be the finest in the county. 
Among others to attract the attention are the homes of Dr. G. Meesie, West Third 
street, and of G. W. Studabaker. 

The fire department of the city is of recent date, and all the more complete 
and reliable. Previous to its organization, Greenville was dependent upon volun- 
tary aid of citizens, as occasion required. On December 13, 1855, the Buckeye 
House took fire in the third story and burned to the ground. The night was 
favorable to the people, the air was quiet, and a rain had wet adjacent roofs, and 
these concurring circumstances confined the conflagration to the one building. 
Fears of a general destruction of property induced the removal of goods from the 
stores on the east side of Broadway, from the square to Third street. Goods 
were damaged, but the losses were covered by insurance. The house was owned 
by John L. Winner, and, as there was no insurance, the loss to him was heavy. 
The citizens, who had put forth strenuous exertions to restrict the fire to the hotel, 
congratulated themselves on their success. Meetings were held shortly after this 
experience, for the purpose of purchasing a hand fire-engine and organizing a 
company, but the excitement soon died away and nothing was done. A destruct- 
ive fire early in 1871 again awakened public sentiment to the necessity of having 
some efficient protection, and led to the ordinance creating the fire department. 

The ordinance creating and regulating the Greenville Fire Department was 
passed by the Council on June 1, 1871. A Silsby steamer, entitled 'Greenville," 
and two hose carts were purchased at a cost of $7,200. A company was enrolled, 
of which II. K. McConnell was Chief; P. P. Turpen, First Assistant: Frank E. 
Moore, Second Assistant; John C. Turpen, Secretary; D. M. Stevenson, Treas- 
urer, and E. J. Hickox, Engineer. Ten months later, the last named resigned to 
accept the position of Marshal, to which he had been elected, and Mahlon Swartz 
succeeded as engineer till November, 1878. when Mr. Hickox assumed the position. 
which he has since held. J. L. Bascom was appointed Assistant Engineer Febru- 
ary 1, 1877. The present officers of the Greenville Fire Department are : Chief, 
J. H. Rice ; First Assistant, A. H. Hyde ; Second Assistant. J. P. Winget ; Secre- 
tary. Jonas Halm ; Treasurer, M. Huhn ; Engineers as stated. The department 
has 1,500 feet of tirst-class hose, and 600 feet of second-class. The engine- 
house is in the rear of the City Hall, and is 22x45 feet, with thirteen-foot ceiling, 
plastered neatly wainscoted in oak and walnut, and numerous pictures hang upon 
the walls, and adding to the attractiveness of the room. It is claimed for the 
" Greenville " that the steamer has projected water twenty feet higher than the 
eagle above the dome of the new court house, or about one hundred and ninety 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 427 

feet perpendicularly, and that water has been thrown by it 275 to 280 feet hori- 
zontally, and much confidence is based on her power when needed in extremity. 
In 1871 and 1874, at well-remembered fires, the department, with their steamer, 
confined the flames to narrow limits, and prevented what might have been, 
otherwise, disastrous fires. There are three Fire Wardens. The members of 
the company receive pay when on duty, filling cisterns, etc., by order of the Coun- 
cil. The salary of the engineer is $50 per month, and of his assistant, $35. The 
water supply is furnished from five cisterns, as follows : Public square, corner of 
Ash and East Main streets ; corner of Third and Broadway, corner of Third and 
Locust, corner of Main and Elm, and on the corner of Elm and Fourth streets. 
The present Wardens are Daniel Murphy, Alexander Harter and Joseph Saettle. 
The Greenville Gas Company is another public improvement, contributing 
greatty to the comfort and convenience of the population, and handsomely reward- 
ing the projectors of the enterprise. The Greenville Gas Company, of Greenville. 
was incorporated June 11, 1874, by C. Calkins, Charles Roland, John L. Winner 
and Wesley Gorsuch. The capital stock is $30,000, divided into 600 shares of $50 
each. The first annual election of officers, held June 17, resulted in the choice of 
Hon. William Allen, President ; John Devor, Secretary ; J. T. Meeker, Treasurer, 
and for Directors — Messrs. Allen, Devor, Moore, Meeker and Cole. In 1877, Eli- 
jah Devor superseded H. M. Cole as Director. In 1878, J. A. Ries succeeded 
Mr. Moore, and Mr. E. Devor became Treasurer, vice Meeker. On January 17. 
1880, Hon. AVilliam Allen was President ; John Devor, Secretary ; Elijah Devor. 
Treasurer. These three gentlemen own the greatest part of the stock. A contract 
to build works was completed with Messrs. Connelly, Nay lor & Co., of Pittsburgh, 
Penn., for $27,000. Ground was broken April 1, 1875, and the work was com- 
pleted b} T August 17 of the same year. 

The company has four miles of main pipe, and eighty-nine street lamps in use, 
at $2.50 per month each, and 180 customers, at $3 per thousand feet, with a reduc- 
tion for prompt payment. The average of private consumption is 100,000 feet 
per month. There are six retorts, but only three are required to furnish the above 
supply. The gasometer measures thirty-eight feet in diameter by twelve feet hi 
height. 

Railroads have done much for Greenville, as the city contributed much to 
secure their assistance. The old depot was located on part of Lot 21, near to the 
Christian Church, on Walnut street. It is still standing, but not occupied. The 
new depot is a fine frame building, situated at the intersection of Walnut, Jackson 
and Martin streets, on a part of Jackson street vacated for the purpose and donated 
by the city to the company. It was built bj J. J. Bloomer, of Indianapolis. 

The Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati & Indianapolis depot, a frame, was built 
in 1867, at a cost of $4,000. Its dimensions are 72x42 feet. Frank McWhinney 
was the builder and owner. The old depot, now standing about one hundred rods 
west, was abandoned on completion of the new structure. 

The benevolent secret organizations of Greenville are comprised in three asso- 
ciations, of which we have the following record : 

Greenville Lodge, No. L' r ? >. F. A. M.. reaches into the past thirty-three years. 
On July 3, 1847. John C. Potter. Elias Brumager, William Schmidt* David Beers. 
William M. Wilson. Adam Koogler, Simon B. Carey and John Tomlinson. all 
Master Masons, met and resolved that an application should be made for a charter 
to the Grand Lodge of Ohio. Thereupon, a petition to that effect was prepared 
and signed by the above-named brethren, and subsequently by John Sweetzer, R. 
D. Oldfield and A. W. Sanford. This application was recommended by Ward 
Lodge. No. 24, of Piqua, Ohio, and July 24, 1847, a dispensation was issued to the 
above-named brethren by George Keiffer. D. G. M. of the Grand Lodge, Bro. W. 
M. Wilson to be first W. M: John Tomlinson, S. W.. and Adam Koogler. J. W. 
On the 20th of* October, 1847. a charter was duly signed and sealed by the Most 
Worshipful Master of the Grand Lodge, to the brethren above named, constituting 



428 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

them the Greenville Lodge, No. 143,F. and A. M. The following tabular statement 
shows who have filled theofficeof Worshipful Master in the lodge since the date of 
the charter: \V. M. Wilson, 1847 to 1840 : John Tomlinson, 184!) to 1850, and 
1851 to 1858 : 0. A. Lyman, 1850 to 1851 ; W. C. Porterfield, 1858 to 1859.; 
.Moses Hart, 1859 to 1860; C. G. Matchett, I860 to 1861, 1865 and to 1872, 
1ST:! to 1ST.") : L. 8. B. Otwell. 186l' to 1865 ; F. E. Manes, 1872 to 1873 ; A. J. 
Arnold. 1875 to 1870. and M. F. Allen. 1879. The present number of members is 
ninety-four. This lodge is one of the most nourishing' and best furnished in the 
United States. 

Grreenvilh Chapter, No. 77. was chartered October 17. 1857. It is one of the 
best-working and most prosperous chapters in the country. It has eighty-seven 
members. The following presents, in order of service since the date of the char- 
ter, the names of those who have officiated as High Priest : W. M. Wilson, 1857 
to first election ; A. P. Gorsuch, December, 1857, to 1861 : E. B. Putnam, 1861 
to 1865 ; C. G. Matchett, one year; W. H. Matchett, 1866 to 1870 ; Mr. Gorsuch, 
one year : C. G. Matchett. one year ; E. J. Kickcox, 1872 to 1873 ; W. 11. Match- 
ett, three years ; C. G. Matchett, 1876 to 1878, and W. H. Matchett. 1878, and yet 
presiding. 

Gre* n rill, Council was chartered in October, 1878. C. G. Matchett, T. I. M. ; 
G. P. Farrar, D. M., and A. J. Arnold, C. 0. W. 

Education in Greenville at an early day received but little attention. There 
were schools in churches and other localities b} T various persons. Two ordinary 
brick houses were built about 1839 or 1840. Some desired to unite effort and 
build one good house, but this was overruled, and two buildings were erected. 
One stood on the lot numbered 13, granted by the county in lieu of the lot sold 
by the Commissioners b}' mistake. These lots were sold a few years since. Of 
the teachers were John Talbert, John Beers, H. P. Williams, persons who. accord- 
ing to method prevailing, taught three-months winter schools. In 1851, the first 
effort was made to grade the Greenville school by Ebenezer Bishop, who was 
employed at $400 a year to take general charge of the school. This effort was 
only partially successful, and the schools were afterward organized in four grades. 
and for a number of years were successfully conducted under A. T. Bodle. L. S. 
B. Otwell, F. Matchett (now deceased) and G. H. Martz, all efficient teachers. Mr. 
Mays, of Troy, Ohio, was afterward employed as Superintendent, the school was 
graded, and has been conducted as a graded school in charge of a superintendent 
to date. J. W. Legg, of Van Wert; William T. Wallace, of Columbus * Alexander 
Miller, deceased ; J. W. Muck, E. J. Macomber, J. S. Wilson and J. T. Martz have 
respectively superintended the same, and the school has had a constant growth in 
numbers and efficiency. The Greenville High School was organized in 1868. 
Henry Guilder, Superintendent of the public schools of North Manchester. Ind., 
was the first teacher. He is a self-made man, is thorough in his explanations and 
practical in their application. G. S. Harter, now a teacher in the Dayton High 
School, had charge of the Greenville High School for four years, and though he 
had but little experience in teaching when he assumed the responsible position, 
by perseverance, diligence and strict attention to his schoolroom duties, he soon 
established himself as a successful teacher. 

In August, 1862, being then only sixteen, Mr. Harter enlisted in Company 
B, One Hundred and Tenth Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and served through the war. 
In the battle of the Wilderness, in the spring of 1864, he was taken prisoner by 
the rebels, and for four months suffered the horrors of Andersonville, and for 
three months more those of Florence Prison. Upon his liberation on Pecember 
7, 1864, he was found reduced to a living skeleton by exposure and starvation, 
and was sent home to die. Under careful medical treatment he recovered. 
returned to his regiment, and. in June following, was mustered out of the service. 
His education was obtained in a two years' course at Heidelberg College. Tiffin, and 
a five years course at Western Reserve College. Hudson, Ohio, from which latter 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 429 

institution he graduated in the summer of 1875. He is a close student, and 
is devoted to his profession. E. B. Seitz, now Professor of Mathematics in the 
State Normal School at Kirksville, Mo., had charge of the mathematical depart- 
ment of the Greenville High School for several years, and was a member of the 
Board of Count}- School Examiners during this "time. He took a mathematical 
course in the Ohio Wesleyan University, at Delaware, Ohio, leaving that institu- 
tion in the summer of 1870, and has been following the profession of teaching 
since that time. Mr. Seitz possesses very superior mathematical talent; has 
a special fondness for this branch of study, and has already taken rank as one of 
the very finest mathematicians of the State, for we still claim him. He is, more- 
over, a contributor to the leading mathematical journals of the country, among 
them the Analyst, the Mathematical Visitor, and the Educational Times, of London, 
England. He is a close student, a fine reasoner, and perfectly at home in the 
mathematical and scientific, as well as the astronomical field. 

C. H. Frizell, one of the present teachers in the High School, was born in the 
town of Greenville. His father was Colonel of the Eleventh and Ninety-fourth 
Regiments Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Our teacher's parents are both dead. He 
entered the Naval Academy, at Annapolis, Md., but, his health failing, he was com- 
pelled to resign his position. His education was principally obtained in the 
school which he is now teaching, and the facilities there offered enabled him to 
obtain a thorough knowledge of the sciences and mathematics, as well as a 
familiar knowledge of the "Latin and German languages. He is thorough and 
practical in his teaching, mild but firm in his methods of government, and has 
secured the confidence and esteem of his pupils. 

H. L. Frank, also teacher in the high school, was born in Darke County. 
Having a desire to obtain a good education, he repaired to Otterbein University, 
at Westerville, Ohio, and completed a six-years classical course, graduating with 
honors in June, 1876. He has taken a complete course in mathematics and the 
languages, is a good scientific and classical scholar, and is familiar with the 
branches he teaches. He was promoted from a lower grade in the Greenville 
school to his present position, and has sustained himself in both grades. 

The Greenville High School was organized in 1868. It now enrolls over one 
hundred pupils, and is in a prosperous condition. The room is furnished with 
ninety-eight single seats and desks for pupils, two teachers' desks and an organ 
which cost $175. It is the largest and best furnished school room in the county. 
Of the pupils attending, sixty-two studied United States history ; ten physiology ; 
nine, physical geography ; fifteen, natural philosophy ; twenty, German ; thirty- 
two, algebra ; fifteen, geometry ; eight, trigonometry ; seventeen, Latin ; two, 
Greek ; thirteen, Constitution of the United States ; ten, chemistry ; eleven, geol- 
ogy ; ten, botany ; eight, book-keeping ; ten, surveying ; thirteen, astronomy, and 
two, meteorology. The school building was completed in 1868. It covers an 
area of twenty-four and one-half square rods, is three stories high, contains seven- 
teen rooms exclusive of the basement, the laboratory and Superintendent's room. 
The building contains over seven hundred and twenty-three thousand bricks, and 
was erected at a cost of $25,000, exclusive of heating apparatus and gas fixtures. 
The basement contains the coalroom, janitor's workroom and furnace and boiler. 
The entire building is heated by steam supplied from this boiler, which is twenty- 
six feet in length, four feet in diameter, and contains a capacity of seventy barrels 
of water. The heating apparatus has not given general satisfaction, because of 
the want of proper arrangement of the heating surface, and the school board has 
been at a heavy expense yearly in increasing the heating surface, and making the 
necessary repairs. Citizens have also objected to the location of the boiler in the 
basement of the building, deeming it unsafe ; and the intention is to remove it at 
the close of the present school year. The laboratory contains over $500 worth 
of philosophical and chemical apparatus, and the Board of Education has placed 
in the library the Revised American Encyclopedia, and Webster's Unabridged 



430 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

Pictorial Dictionary, at a cost of $104. The rooms are supplied with the necessary 
globes, outline maps, charts, cubical blocks, etc., and the school is in a prosperous 
condition. Within the past year, the board has placed a neat, substantial iron 
fence around the school lot, at an expense of $1,975, while the lot, containing over 
four acres of ground, has been set in costh' shade trees, making it thereby both 
pleasant and attractive to the pupils. At present, there are fourteen grades in 
the school, with a total enrollment of 000 pupils. Many non-resident students 
avail themselves of our school facilities, and the tuition paid into the treasury 
from this source has been over $2.50 per year, exclusive of the amount received 
from the normal school. 

The average cost of running the school one year may be summed up as fol- 
lows : General expenses, including janitor's salary and his fuel, $1,313 ; coal, for 
furnace, $460.70 ; salary of seventeen teachers, $7,365 ; total cost of school one 
year, $9,138.70. 

The building and grounds are in charge of Harvey Tucker, the janitor, who 
is also the engineer. He is a practical workman, diligent and careful in the dis- 
charge of his duties, is an ingenious mechanic ; makes the erasers as w r ell as the 
blackboards in the school building, and thus saves the board many items of 
expense. His salary is $40 per month, with his house rent and wood furnished. 
The Board of Education has also provided a fund which furnishes books for those 
pupils whose parents are unable, financially, to get the same, and thus no child is 
deprived of the advantages of education which the school affords. 

The Greenville Board of Education consists of six members. L. E. Cheno- 
weth, the President, is a young attorney of marked ability. His father is a res- 
ident of Washington Township, this county ; is one of its pioneer settlers and has 
been a Justice of the Peace for many years. At the breaking-out of the rebellion 
in the spring of 1861, Mr. Chenoweth, though attending school at the time, resolved 
in his own mind that his first duty was to his country, and, with fourteen students 
of the same school, offered his services to the Government. He enlisted as a pri- 
vate in Company E, Sixt} r -ninth Regiment Ohio Volunteer Infantry, and, by mer- 
itorious conduct, was promoted to First Lieutenant, and to Captain of Company 
I, Sixt3-ninth Regiment, after which promotion he was appointed Assistant Acting 
Quartermaster of the Second Brigade. First Division of the Fourteenth Army 
Corps, on the staff of Brig. Gen. George P. Buell. and, at the close of the war. was 
honorably discharged from the service. He married Miss Effy. second daughter 
of Noah Arnold. Esq.. a wealthy farmer of the county, who has also been men- 
tioned as one of the first teachers in the county. Mr. Chenoweth acted as agent 
for a school-furniture company, knows the wants of the schoolroom, for he. also, 
has followed the profession of teaching, and supplies the same so far as it is 
practicable. 

Daniel Hemic. Clerk of the Board, is a native of Germany, and emigrated to 
this country in 1857, locating near Hamilton, Ohio. At that time he had little of 
this world's goods, but he was not ashamed to work, and engaged himself to a 
fanner at monthly wages. By diligence and economy he had saved $867 in six 
years. In 1863, he returned to Germany, and stayed there two years, at the end 
of which time he returned to his employer near Hamilton, engaging to work for 
him at $26 per month, when other hands were getting only $13. In 1867. he came 
to Greenville, married Miss Anna Weitbrecht, and went into business in the fall of 
the same year. By close attention to business, he has accumulated property whii h 
places him in easy circumstances, and. as a grain merchant, during the past year, 
has been remarkably successful in applying the changes of the markets to his own 
advantage. He buys and sells about four hundred car loads of grain annually ; 
loading S00 bushels of oats to the car : 470 bushels of wheat, and 500 bushels of 
corn. He is a practical business man. and has a good education in German. He 
has been Clerk of the School Board five years ; has been Township Treasurer 
three years, being re-elected to both offices by increased majorities, and . as an 
officer his acts give general satisfaction. 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 431 

Jahugh Compton, Treasurer of the Board, was born in Greene County, and is 
one of the first business men of Greenville. He has been a member of the School 
Board since 1862, and has a thorough knowledge of the practical workings of the 
school. Under his official notice, he has seen the school grow from/owr to fourteen 
grades ; assisted officially in condemning the present school lot. and was active in 
taking the initiatory steps which resulted in the erection of the present commodious 
school building. He has always favored those enterprises which inure to the 
public benefit. He is a practical business man, acts from a sense of duty, and is 
always found advocating those measures that tend to advance the interests of the 
school and community. D. S. Heim is one of our practical business men, is sys- 
tematic in his work, prudent and sound in judgment, and a warm friend of educa- 
tion. He has lived in Darke County since 1839. and has been a resident of Green- 
ville twelve years, ten years of that time being spent in public business. As a 
member of the School Board, he is careful, prudent and consistent. His acts met 
with public approval, and he was re-elected by a largely increased majority. W. 
J. Todd has been a member of the Board of Education for four years, and has 
been in public business during the greater part of the time he has resided in Green- 
ville. During the late war, he was one of those who heeded the call of his country, 
and enlisted in the Eighth Ohio Battery, in 1862. He became Quartermaster of 
this battery, and remained in the service three years and three months. More than 
one year of this time was spent at Vicksburg, and he was also stationed at Natchez 
and Yazoo City. Mr. Todd was attentive to his duties while in the service, and 
was honorably discharged. He is a successful business man, appreciates educa- 
tion, is in favor of furnishing those facilities necessary to conduct the school suc- 
cessfully, and his views relative to educational matters secured his last election by 
a vote five times as great as his competitor. M. T. Allen is the youngest member 
of the Board of Education, and was elected by a handsome majority. He was born 
in Darke County, received a common-school education, but having a desire for a 
more extended education, he repaired to Otterbein University, at Westerville, Ohio, 
where he remained as a student for one and a half years ; he then attended a 
school at Da} r ton for one term, after which he taught school for several years, and 
read law during this time. In 1869, he commenced the practice of law in Win- 
chester, Ind. He finally came to Greenville in the spring of 1872. commenced the 
practice of law, and has continued in the profession to the present time. Mr. 
Allen is a man of fine personal appearance, easy address, and fluent in speech. He 
has a good knowledge of law, is attentive and persistent in protecting the interests 
of his client, and is a successful practitioner. Having been a teacher himself, he 
has a practical knowledge of the wants of the schoolroom, and seems to compre- 
hend what is necessary in order that the school may move along harmoniously. 
He is a practical business man, favors all those enterprises that will result bene- 
ficially to the public, and his election was secured by cause of the interest he has 
manifested in the successful carrying-on of the school here. He acts in complete 
harmony with the other members of the board, and this cannot but result bene- 
ficially. 

In addition to the high school mentioned, the Preparatory High School 
Grade is taught by James H. Woodbury. In this grade, some of the high school 
branches are begun, and the pupils prepared, by thorough drill and examination, 
for the higher grade. Mr. Woodbury is a practical teacher, a thorough disciplin- 
arian, and his pupils make that progress in their studies that is commendable 
to both teacher and pupil. Frank M. White has charge of the "A" Grammar 
Grade. He has had five years' employment in the school. He labors under a 
great disadvantage, in having lost both of his arms, and using artificial substi- 
tutes ; but his teaching is thorough, his government is mild but firm, and his pupils 
soon learn to respect and love him. He is also a member of the Count}' Board of 
School Examiners, having served in that capacity about eight months. Estevan 
Lawrence is teacher of the vv B " Grammar Grade ; this is his first year's experience 



432 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

us a teacher in the Greenville School. He is a cripple, being injured in one of 
his limbs, and walks at a great disadvantage, but his pupils respect him ; he is thor- 
ough in his explanations, an experienced teacher of vocal music, and a graduate in 
bookkeeping and commercial arithmetic. In addition to his grade, he has charge 
of the commercial department of the high school, and pupils receive a thorough 
drill in this department. James 13. Robinson has charge of the " C " Grammar 
Grade, and this is his second year's experience as teacher in the Greenville School, 
and was a student at Otterbein University, Westerville. He also teaches a class in 
physiology, from the high school, and has taken special pains to illustrate the 
subject practically by a skeleton and chart. His teachings in this department, as 
well as in his own proper grade, have been quite successful. He makes his teach- 
ing plain, nothing is passed until it is thoroughly understood, and pupils need not, 
in a higher grade, review the studies passed over here. Mr. Robinson is a practi- 
cal chemist, having had charge of a drug store for a number of years. He 
thoroughly understands vocal music, and is a practical business man. Miss Maggie 
('. Mead has charge of the " A" Grade, Intermediate Department, and has been a 
teacher in the school nine successive years. She is a good disciplinarian, thor- 
ough and systematic in her teaching ; her pupils are orderly and respectful, and 
her room is governed with seemingly little effort on her part. She is quiet in the 
schoolroom, and her pupils imitate her in this respect. Her motto is, " A quiet 
teacher insures a quiet school." She requires thoroughness on the part of her 
pupils, and will not recommend promotion to a higher grade without being satis- 
fied that the pupil can sustain himself in that grade. Mrs. Sarah K. Hetzler has 
charge of the " B " Intermediate Grade, and is teaching her seventh successive 
year in the school. She is a widow, and supports herself and three children by 
her own industry. As a teacher, she has given general satisfaction, and her pupils 
are required to understand a subject well before an advance is made. The 
" C : ' Intermediate Grade is taught by Miss Kate Schmermund, who has been 
employed for eight successive years. She has sustained herself well in her grade, 
is a good disciplinarian, and order and system prevail in her room. The study of 
geography is begun in this grade ; it is taught by topic, and. while the study 
is new to the pupils, they soon become interested in all their studies. Miss Lizzie 
McKennan has charge of the " A " Primary Grade, this being her first year. 
She is a member of the graduating class of 1880, received her education in the 
Greenville School, is a good scholar, and, as a teacher, has given entire satisfaction. 
She has not only taught her grade this year, but has also kept along in her studies, 
reciting in the morning and evening, and thus, by industry and perseverance, has 
completed the high school course of study with her class. Miss Sarah White 
has had charge of the " B " Primary Grade for five successive years. This grade 
is necessarily large, but the best of order prevails in the room. She is prompt 
and systematic in her methods of instruction, teaching her pupils the necessity 
and importance of being quiet and orderly in the schoolroom. The pupils in this 
grade make very commendable progress. Miss Mary E. Allen has charge of 
the i: C "' Primary Grade. She has been a teacher in the Greenville School for 
eight successive years. She had charge of the Primary Grade before it was 
divided. She is kind and attentive to small children, careful in her methods of 
instruction, requiring her pupils to give the elementary sounds of letters, speak 
the words correctly, and observe the rules of reading taught to primary pupils. 
Mrs. Lucinda Ratliff has charge of the " D " Primary Grade. Here the pupils 
receive their first lessons in schoolroom duties. Writing, lettering, figures, letters 
and words on the slate and blackboard is required of the pupil ; object lessons 
are taught, together with the first principles of reading. New pupils are con- 
stantly being introduced in this room, and the grade is difficult to teach suc- 
cessfully. Mrs. Ratliff is particularly adapted to this kind of work, and has given 
general satisfaction as teacher. She has been employed for five successive years, 
and is doing a good work in her department. Miss Anna Stallman has charge of 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 433 

the German Primary Department, She is a graduate from the Greenville High 
School, and during the first year of her teaching, she continued her studies and 
graduated with her class at the close of the }"ear. She teaches the English classes 
in the German and English department, alternating with the teacher in the charge 
of the two rooms. She has good executive ability, is mild but firm in her govern- 
ment, and, as teacher, gives general satisfaction. Louis Hoffman is the teacher of 
the German and English Department, and teaches the classes in German from 
the high school. He has taught ten years in the Greenville School, and under- 
stands vocal music, which he' teaches to his pupils successfully. Mr. Hoffman is 
versed in several languages, and teaches the German in two grades. Vocal music 
is taught in all grades daily. This department is in charge of J. A. Porter, for- 
merly employed in the schools of Galion, Ohio. He is also a teacher of instru- 
mental music. In May, 1873, thirteen teachers were employed, and in June, 
1878, seventeen. The enrollment for the latter year was 894. Of these, 465 
were males and 429 females. The enrollment in the high school was 156. The 
average monthly enrollment was a total of 684 ; of these, 95 were enrolled in the 
high school. The average daily attendance was 621 ; of these, 88 were enrolled 
in the high school. The per cent of attendance was 93 in the high school, and 
91 in the other grades. Tuition received from non-residents is an item of reve- 
nue to the district. Five commencements have been held since the high school 
was organized. The names of graduates are as follows : 

Class of 1873 — A. C. Lindermuth, George Gunder. E. L. Matchett and Flor- 
ence Lansdowne (Matchett died August 5, 1877, and Lansdowne November 30, 
1874), Amelia Sorber, Allie Smith, Mary E. Roland, Lizzie Mc Alpine, Kate Hicks 
and Ma} r Lynch. Class of 1875 — Emma Kelin, Victoria Lindermuth and Mollie 
Mitchell (since died). Class of 1876 — Charles Roland, Allie McNeal, Ida Lynch 
and Sadie McCune. Class of 1877 — Ella Ault, Flora Meeker, Minnie Garber. A. 
C. Robeson, Delia Klinger, Clara Roland, Anna Stallmann. C. E. Porterfield. Class 
of 1878— Rollin F. Crider, Frank D. Meeker, Sadie Meeker, Henry T. Miller. 
Dema Martin, Estella Dunlap, and the graduating class of 1880 are Leona 
Shade, Ada Lindsev. Callie Rettimer. Lizzie McKeman, Amnion Mider. Allie 
Judy, D. L. Gaskill and J. H. Martz. 

The ecclesiastical history of Greenville is really to a great extent that of the 
county, since from the city have gone forth the elements of outside organization. 
The Presbyterians seem to have perfected an organization as early as February 
14, 1821, when the following-named persons signed a call for the formation of a 
corporate body : L. Rascom, James Craig, William L. Wilson, John Craig, Will- 
iam McKhann, Jesse McGinnis, John Armstrong, John Devor, Renjamin Murphy. 
David Fisher. John McFarland, William Clark, John Reers, Robert Hood, James 
Ruchanan, Heman L. Aiken, Stephen Perrine. William Martin. David Irwin. James 
Devor, A. Scribner, Eastin Norris, James Stevenson (senior and junior). H. 
McCune, George I. Isham, Erastus Putnam, John Miller. William Lipe, Thomas 
Stokeley, Charles Steward, George W. Hight and John Rriggs. Agreeably to legal 
notice, the above-named met at the house of Linus Rascom on March 10. 1821, 
and elected Eastin Norris Clerk, and for Trustees Renjamin Murphy, William 
Martin and Linus Rascom. and they also placed the organization on record as the 
" Greenville Presbyterian Society." September 9, 1825, a congregation collected 
at the house of Renjamin Murphy for the purpose of being organized into a 
church. The Rev. John Ross officiated, and. having concluded religious exer- 
cises, he set apart Renjamin Murphy and Linus Rascom as Elders, and Robert 
Robinson was re-elected as Elder. John Ross commenced preaching in 1825. and 
remained with the congregation till 1831. In 1833, the society, at a called meet- 
ing, detached a portion of their number living in Adams Township to form the 
Mount Pleasant Church, now the Gettysburg Presbyterian, whose first Pastor was 
Rev. Isaac Ogden. The society at Greenville did not have regular preaching for 
some time previous to October. 1841. when Alexander (lulick was installed Pastor. 



431 HISTORY "I DARKE COUNTY. 

and divided his time between the two societies named, remaining two years 
November 31, 1844, Rev. Badeau was engaged, and served four years. May 12. 
1849, Rev. John A. Weeks commenced preaching, and was succeeded in 1853 by 
Rev. R. M. McCullough, who was Pastor but one year. Hew Orlando Clark was 
secured for the year 1 s 7> 7 . Two years later. D. B. Wycoff served six months. 
previous to departure for India as a missionary. In .June. 1860. Rev. C. B. II 
Martin became Pastor, and served a year very acceptably. Next came John W. 
Drake, from 1862 to August, 1865. II. A. Newell to 1868, an excellent speaker, 
easy of bearing and portly in person. The society received its greatest stimulus 
during his pastorate, either before or since. John S. Gourlay, a talented man, 
preached for a j T ear or so. then, on April 7. 1872, J. C. Eastman was invited to 
occupy the pulpit as a temporary supply, and remained from that time until 
April.' 1880. 

The Second Presbyterian Church was formed June 21, 1843. and continued 
its existence until the 3^ear 1865, when. February 21, the elders of this and the 
other church met. and, after a full consultation, passed the following resolution, to 
be presented to their respective congregations : Resolved, 1 , That we unite with the 
Old School Presbytery, and take the First Church for a house of worship, the 
united church to make a call for a Pastor. 

Both congregations unanimously acceded to these propositions, and the united 
societies met February 28, and formally agreed upon the union of their interests. 
On May 8, 1865, an election of a Board of Trustees was held, and James B. Avery 
was Chairman and William Kerr. Clerk. The election resulted in the choice of 
James B. Avery. A. Gaskill, M. Creager, Stephen Baird, Charles Tate and David B. 
John. April 6. 1877, the membership actual was 182 ; the Sabbath school mem- 
bership was 166 ; amount contributed for Pastor's salary, parsonage and other 
objects, was $2,014. A year later, there were 210 members. The statistical report 
for the year ending April 12, 1880, is in part as follows : Whole membership. 185 ; 
contributions, $1,416.83 ; number in school. 169. 

St. Paul's Protestant Episcopal Church dates from the year 1832. In that 
year. Rev. Alva Guion, recently located at Piqua, visited Greenville to address the 
people on the importance of sustaining a Sunday school, and of establishing a 
library of religious books for children. This was done, although at this time, 
there was not an Episcopalian in the village. In the spring of 1833, Rev. Guion, on 
visit, was pleased to find a convert in the person of Mrs. Eliza A. Briggs. In 1835. 
an article of association was drawn up and circulated in Greenville, twelve persons 
subscribed their names to it, and in 1836. nine more were added, and the next 
spring the number was increased to twenty -five. The following is a copy of the 
article, and of the names attached. May 20, 1837 : "We, whose names are herewith 
atlixed, do hereby associate ourselves together under the name of the Parish of St. 
Paul's Church : John and Eliza A. Briggs, W. B. and Mary A. Beall, Jane E. 
Ross, Evaline Dorsey, Margaret Kilbourne, Daniel H. and Ann B. Davis. Margaret 
Baird. Joseph Ross. Thomas F. Kilbourne. Stephen Perrine. \V. M Wilson. Eliza 
Duncan, Elisha Dawes, Hiram Potter, Francis Waring. William M. Crane. William 
McKhann. A. L. Northrop, John Wharry, II. Arnold. II. D. Williams and Chloe 
Herkeiner." 

Pursuant to canonical notice, members assembled May 20. 1837, at the dwell- 
ing of Dr. John Briggs, to organize a parish, and the following names were elected 
to the Vestry : John Briggs, W. B. Beall. Thomas V. Kilbourne, Joseph Ross and 
A. L. Northrop. A building committee was chosen January 13. 1840, which con- 
sisted of William M. Wilson. W. B. Beall and Hiram Potter. In due time. Un- 
building was creeted, completed and properly furnished. Cpon its site, on the 
northwest corner of Third and Walnut streets, on the site of the present new 
chapel, the pioneer church stood until 1S7!» or 1SSII. a period of forty vears. 
From 1*40 to 1852, N. Badger, of Troy. .1. J. Okill, J. W. Talford, William Miller 
and Rev. Wiggins officiated at regular intervals. In 1846, nine persons were 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 435 

confirmed by Rt. Rev. C. P. Mcllvaine. In 1851. Daniel E. Rrown became Rector, 
and maintained that relation to St. Paul's Parish until 1860. May. 17, 1859, four- 
teen persons were confirmed. Up to March 23, 1868, confirmations were forty-three, 
J. N. Lee became Rector, November 17, 1860, and served until November 30. 1862. 
From this date until 1866, there was no regular minister. Rev. J. H. McElray 
then served a 3'ear. when there was an interval until January. 1871, when Richard 
Wainwright was installed Rector, succeeded by George B. Sturgis, who closed con- 
nection with the church July, 1874. The present incumbent is Rev. David W. 
Cox, in charge since 1877. The new church is of recent construction, and as said, 
occupies the old site of the pioneer structure. The membership is about forty. 
The Sabbath School Superintendents between 1832 and 1853 were Mrs. E. 
Briggs and Evaline Dorsey. Later, the school was conducted several years by B. 
Hubbard, until 1859. Mr. Webb is now in charge. The school attendance is 
sixty. 

The Methodist Episcopal Church began the construction of a house in 1S35, 
and its location was determined by the following circumstance ; Isaac Jay. a 
Quaker, identified himself with the Methodists, and himself determined to buy 
the present church lot, the northwest half of No. 5. in Greenville, and upon it to 
erect a suitable building. He was induced to make the purchase from impressions 
made by a dream, in which he saw sheep encompassed by wolves make a success- 
ful stand at this site — then a thicket of thorn bushes. He paid $40 for the site, 
then owned by Hiram and John C. Potter, and received a deed February 22, 1835. 
In 1836, the meeting-house was completed, under the supervision as building com- 
mittee, of Mr. Jay, William Oliver, C. Martin, William Folkerth, William W. Jor- 
dan, Jacob Chenoweth and Hiram Bell, at a cost of $600. There was a debt of 
$70, which was discharged by each member of the committee pa3 r ing $10. A 
revival, adding thirty-seven to the church, followed the completion of the house. 
The Methodist Episcopal parsonage of Fourth street was purchased in the fall of 
1848 ; Rev. Harmount being its first occupant. In 1852, the frame church was 
sold to William J. Bireley. for $50. and subscriptions were taken for the purpose of 
building a brick church, estimated to cost $5,000. The sum of $2,000, only part 
of which was paid, having been subscribed, work began but was greatly retarded 
by lack of means. Finally, $1,500 was borrowed, and the woi'k completed. In 
1860, Greenville was made a station with one appointment. Isaac Newton, Pastor, 
drew large congregations, and much interest was shown. James H. Alderman was 
in charge next; then Jacob Feghtb}', sometimes called the "quiet brother." 
During his sta}* the organ was first introduced into the church, with strong oppo- 
sition from aged members. In 1864, Fielding L. Harper began work, but in eon- 
sequence of ill-health, discontinued work, and soon after died. Charles Reynolds 
was in charge in 1865, followed next year by Henry E. Pilcher. The parsonage 
was sold for $800, and another on the same street purchased for $2,500. Rev. L. 
C. Webster preached in 1867-68, and Joseph Avers, whose term of service expired 
with the latter year, was the Presiding Elder. The new parsonage was exchanged 
for another on the same street, the Trustees receiving $700 in addition to the same. 
The Sabbath-school was prosperous ; monthly concerts were held, and 200 children 
attended. During 1868, 1869 and 1870, Amos Wilson was preacher in charge, and 
Joseph Wyoks. Presiding Elder. Next came H. S.Bradley, and, in 1871, Rev. A. 
Berry was appointed to this charge, and remained three years. From the fall of 
1874 to that of 1877, Rev. A. J. Fish was Pastor, during whose time the church 
was dedicated by Rev. A. Marine, now of Fort Wayne. Ind. The church member- 
ship reached 161. There was not a death during the year. Rev. 31. L. Albright 
came in the fall of 1877. and remained two years. The present Pastor, Rev. J. A. 
Ferguson, is in charge. Since the dedication in 1875, considerable improvements 
have been made at a cost of $6,900. The bell donated by William Allen, has a 
weight of 1.525 pounds. The building stands on the east side of Sycamore street. 
between Third and Fourth streets. The present actual membership is 200. 



436 HISTORY OF DARKK COUNTY. 

The Christian Church was organized January 3, 1841, by Elders Elijah 
Williamson, John B. Robertson, Hallet Barber and Elisha Ashley. At a regular 
meeting held July 31, various matters were adduced, among which was a resolu- 
tion to attach the church to the Western (Blutfton) Conference. It seems that in 
October 15, 1833, Lot No. 2)i was deeded by Solomon Riffle and wife to William 
Martin. John Swisher. Alexander Craig, David Potter and John N. Parcell, for the 
use and benefit of the first Christian Church that might be organized in the town 
of Greenville, for the purpose of erecting thereon a meeting-house. A house was 
erected and at the time whereof we write the society by right took into possession 
house and lot. The members increased in seven months from ten to eighty-eight, 
and the Pastors in order up to August, 1841, were Elders J. B. Robertson, H. 
Barber, D. Purviance, L. Purviance, E. Ashley, I. Trenton and E. Williamson. 
The first Christian Church was incorporated January 21, 1842. In 1857, there 
were sixty-one additions, and August 25, 1859, there were 114 members. John 
Stephenson and John Van Meter were appointed Deacons August 1. 1846 ; Elder 
Williamson was chosen Pastor for one year from July 31. 1847. In April follow- 
ing, steps were taken toward the erection of a brick meeting-house. The old 
house was sold March 7, 1849, for $105. The Episcopalians allowed the society 
the temporary use of their house till their own could be built. August 10, 1854, 
Elder Marvin was Pastor, who. having resigned in 1856. Elder H. K. McConnell 
was invited to the pastorate, and was employed for 1857 and 1858. From this 
time a decadence set in, and in time but few members remained. On April 6, 
1874, it was stated that besides Rev. McConnell. M. Palmer and Elder McWhin- 
ney were the only ministers to that date who had preached and labored for the 
society. 

Evangelical Church. — Originally the Greenville appointment belonged to the 
Miami Circuit. Ohio Conference. At first, there was no regular preaching, but 
ministers visited this section from Dayton, Cincinnati and other places, and 
preached in private houses. A small class was formed in 1842. Peter Roth, 
afterward minister on this circuit, became the leader. Among members of the 
class were M. Kline, Renssellaer, Leetz and Koenig. The present church, a 
medium-sized brick structure, with a seating capacity of about three hundred, is 
located on the southeast corner of Fourth and Ash streets, was the first one built. 
The work was done in 1858, and the sermon of dedication was preached by 
Bishop Long, Revs. Platz being Presiding Elder, and B. Rush, circuit preacher. 
Indebtedness was paid off at this time, and later a comfortable parsonage was 
erected on the same lot. The following have been Presiding Elders from 
1812 until the present: Revs. Censor, Sehaffer, Kopp. Fry. Dreisbach, Platz, 
Fisher, Myer, Fuchs, Krueger and Baumgartner. The preachers have been Abra- 
ham Sehaffer, Philip Por, Eli Kliplinger, Lewis Einsel, Jacob Keiper. John Hoff- 
man. John G. Censor, B. Rush, Peter Roth. John Nikolai. C. Glaus. B. Uphaus, 
George Holley. Peter Getz, Christian Heiin. A. E. Dreisbach, Ph. Schwartz, 
Cluuies SchamOj George Nolpert. Edward Evans. E. R. Trover. Reuben Reigel, 
George Klepper, E. R. Trover. E. T. Hochsletler and F. Lanner. Greenville has 
not yet 1 teen made a station, but is still an appointment, with preaching once in 
two weeks. The membership of the circuit is 2 13. and of the town is 28. 

German Methodist. — The first preaching in Greenville by a minister of this 
denomination was by Rev. William Floerke, October 2, 1S52. who remained two 
years. Services were held in dwellings. Some of the original members of the 
society were .). \Y. Fischbach, Charles Bittermire. Charles Klarig. Loveroy, 
EQarig, Fred Steinramp and J. G. Martine. The second minister was J. A. 
Schmeremund, under whose administration the presenl church was built in 1855, 
at :i cost of about $900. The parsonage was bought for $350 in 1857. It has 
been materially enlarged and improved. The lot. the site of church and parson- 
age, is Located on Ash street, between Main and Water streets. The entire prop- 
erty is valued at $2,501). The Sabbath school wasestahlished in 1850. and has been 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 437 

kept up ever since. There has also been regular preaching. The membership is 
small. Old members have died, new ones have moved away. The proportion of 
English-speaking Methodists has increased, and there is little numerical gain. It 
forms a part of the German Central Conference. Presiding Elders have been 
William Ahrens, M. Collander, J. A. Kline. Conrad Ghau, Jacob Rothweiler, G. C. 
Fritche, E. Reimschneider and L. Olinger. The pastors of this congregation have 
been from the first as follows : William Floerke, J. A. Schmeremund. William 
Ahrens, Conrad Bier, Charles Helwig, Henry Fuess, Paul Brodbeck, F. Severing- 
haus, John Leppert, L. Dunker, Jacob Gabler, Adam Weber, John Ficker. 

The German Reformed Church. — St. Paul's congregation. The division of 
the Dallas charge by detaching the congregations of Beamsville and Gett}^sburg, 
gave rise to the organization of a central congregation on a new charge. In Sep- 
tember, 1864, the Rev. T. P. Bucher, of Dayton, preached in Greenville, in the Old 
School Presbyterian Church, to a large congregation. Revs. W. McCaughey and 

A. Wanner preached here subsequently. Sufficient interest seems to have been 
awakened to provide for the formation of a society, and, September 19, 1864, this 
was effected. Six members of the German Reformed Church were present at the 
meeting, and the names of five others were presented. The following names were 
entered — Philip Hartzell and wife, Mrs. Clem Barthing, S. Creager, Mrs. E. C. 
Baer and Mrs. Margaret Webb. The meeting was held in the dwelling of Mrs. 
Barthing. On March 12, 1866, Rev. W. McCaughey was still Pastor. A month or 
so later, a building committee was appointed, and, in September, the church owned 
b} 7 the Christians was rented for six months from October 14. November 1, 1866. 
the Committee on Location reported a lot on the corner of Third and Vine 
streets, owned by John Harper. In the spring of 1869, the church became very 
dilapidated, and the house of the Old School Presbyterians was purchased for 
$4,000 cash. The funds were secured by borrowing $3,600 of Mr. Alter, of Cin- 
cinnati, but owing to the desire of the Presbyterians to wait for the union of the 
two schools, action was dela} r ed. In February, 1870, the property was sold at 
auction, to Turpen, Benham & Co. The Harper lot was sold, and a purchase 
made of part of a lot from Dr. T. J. Kindlesberger, for $1,000, on May 30, 1870. 
Church building was pushed, and, in 1874, the new St. Paul's Reform Church was 
dedicated. The Pastor, Rev. W. McCaughe}", was assisted by Rev. David Winters, 
D. D., of Dayton, and others. The entire cost of the building was about $5,400. 
In speaking of it a local paper said : u The church, a model of neatness and beauty, 
is pronounced the finest in the county, will comfortably seat about three hundred 
persons, is well ventilated, and is heated b} r a furnace. The walls and ceiling are 
beautifully frescoed, the design and finish of the windows really imposing, the 
pulpit tastefully constructed, the aisles carpeted, and the congregation have the 
handsomest house of worship in the town." The first communion season in the 
new church was held February 16, 1873. Rev. McCaughey, who had been with 
the church since its origin, tendered his resignation and preached his final sermon 
on the evening of September 6, 1874. The pulpit was for a time supplied by R. 

B. Reichard, who, resigning in the fall of 1876, was succeeded by Jesse Steimer, 
who came in the spring of 1879, and remained till the fall of 1879. 

January 1, 1880, Rev. Samuel Mere, D. D., assumed the pastorate, and is the 
incumbent. The membership is now about seventy-five. The Sabbath school con- 
nected with this church was organized in the spring of 1867, and numbers fifty-five. 

The Baptists had an organization at Greenville at an early day, and ei'ected a 
frame church, but it has gone down. 

The United Brethren had a church prior to the war, which was sold at auction, 
and bought by Prof. Martz, and used as schoolhouse ; then sold to Catholics about 
1862, who greatly improved it. 

The Catholics have a popular and faithful priest, and here, as elsewhere, that 
ancient society gains ground. 

It is notable in the foregoing history of the city that few pei'sons are found 



438 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

constantly in the foreground of Aery prominent interest, social, financial, educa- 
tional and religious, while their following is stanch and confident. In this we 
may learn the influence of energy, wealth and public spirit in developing and 
making attractive a village or a city. Greenville has fine buildings, private and 
public. Her interests are in sale hands, and the city offers many inducements to 
a residence there ; not alone in the sociability of the citizens, but in the influences 
of public institutions and prevalence of progressive and elevating tendencies. 



WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP. 

This township was organized in March. 1819, and embraced what is now con- 
tained in both German and Washington Townships. In December, 1833, the north 
tier of sections of Township, 1 1 north was taken into the township, but a year later 
a subdivision was made, the southern part taking the name of German, thereby 
leaving a small indebtedness incurred in opening roads, for the old township to 
pay. 

The township as now organized contains 20,982 acres of land, and at one 
time was heavily timbered. It is well watered by springs and by streams flowing- 
over the surface. The soil is unsurpassed by any in the county for the produc- 
tion of all the grains and grasses adapted to this county, and for health none 
excel it. The facts of the history which follow are supplied b}- Joseph Cole, a 
native of the township, and now fifty -five }-ears of age. He speaks from personal 
experience, and of his own knowledge, when he says : " The task the pioneer 
farmer had in subduing the forest for his first crop was, to say the least, a very 
arduous undertaking, when with his own hand he grubbed, chopped, picked and 
burned all the undergrowth — that is to say. all what was called a foot and under ; 
and then, having the larger trees girdled, he was ready to commence plowing, or 
rather digging among the roots. A team of horses or cattle, harness, and a plow 
of a very rude structure, was his outfit to commence the task of preparing for a 
crop, and by diligence he usually raised a fair yield of corn, pumpkins, beans, 
potatoes and all kinds of garden vegetables. The first season, a small field was 
thus cleared and tilled. This ground was usually sown to wheat in the corn 
ground, or after the corn was cut up. And when the wheat was matured, it was 
gathered by hand with the sickle, hauled in and stacked. In winter it was either 
beaten off' with the flail, or tramped off with horses, when the grain was separated 
from the chaff by running through the windmill. This was not always practicable, 
for it sometimes occurred that the poor man had to cleanse his grain by fanning 
it by hand, using a linen sheet, or b}- throwing it from one side of his dirt floor to 
the other, repeating the operation until it was sufficiently clean for milling or 
sowing. 

■• Field after field was added yearly until the farm was opened up. until, of 
the 20.(1(1(1 acres of forest, more than 14.000 are now under a fair state of cultiva- 
tion. There was a steady adherence to the same rotation of crops as fields were 
added, giving lair yields for the labor : and, with what wild game could be killed, 
furnished the settler with provisions sufficient for himself and family, and a sur- 
plus to divide with the new-comer as he dropped in. And this hard way in this 
wild wood seemed not to depress, for the settlers were apparently the happiest 
people on the face of the earth. Thus all crops were raised, the entire work being 
done by hand ; and but little more was produced than home needs required. 
Prices were very low. Wheat was sold at '.) and 4 shillings per bushel. Day- 
laborers got from 2 to .'I shillings per day. or £7 to $10 per month : but how dif- 
ferent now after the lapse of half a century. The farms are cleared of stumps 
and stones. and much of the work is done by machinery, horse-power and steam 
supplanting the sinewy arm and strong hand that handled hoe, sickle, cradle and 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 439 

flail. The grain is easily raised, and prices are greatly increased. Financially 
the first settlers were all poor, having gone into the unsettled part that they might 
obtain homes at the Government price. They understood fully the advantages of 
co-operating by mutual aid in raising cabins, and other efforts ; and as long as one 
had bread or seed, he divided with his less fortunate neighbor. Many lived to 
good old age, and beyond the allotted threescore and ten, relics of the past, 
observers of" the future, whose changes they could not have foreseen. 

The first to locate in the township were Martin and Jacob Cox, from Penn- 
sylvania. They settled on the right bank of Greenville Creek, on October 16, 1816, 
the former on Section 13, the latter on Section 14 ; there they made permanent 
homes, upon which they passed their lives. Jacob died in 1842. leaving his farm to 
his children; Martin occupied the farm about forty-two years, and made many im- 
provements. An only child inherits his estate. James Brady and Samuel Cole, 
the two next settlers, came from Sussex County, N. J., in March, 1817. Brady 
located on Section 26, and thereon passed his life, dying at the age of fifty-one. in 
the year 1838. His widow, at the advanced age of ninety, still lives on the farm 
with her son, J. M. Brady. Samuel Cole settlecf on Section 27, where he remained 
till 1824, and here it was where the first white child was born within the township. 
Jane Cole was born April 20, 1817; she is now the widow Wintermote, and resides 
in Greenville Township, to which Mr. Cole moved and settled on Section 19, where 
he died February 21, 1866, aged seventy -nine. Samuel Cole, Sr., came in 1818. and 
lived with his son until his death in 1829, at the age of seventy-nine. Levi Elston from 
the same county and State as the above, settled in 1818, on Section 26, and made some 
improvements, but did not live long to enjoy them, but the farm remained in the 
hands of his widow and children for nearly half a century. In May following, 
John Snell and Daniel Shively both settled on Section 27. and cleared up lands 
bordering on the second branch of Greenville Creek ; with the others that gathered 
in, there was formed a Dutch settlement, thereby giving to the second branch the 
name of Krout Creek. Snell. after getting his land in a fair state of cultivation, 
sold and went to Missouri in 1839, but Shively remained on his farm until his death 
in 1841, aged forty-nine years. Others here were Peter and John Heck, the Mill- 
ers, the Raricks, and Clapps from Pennsylvania. In 1818, a number of families 
from New Jersey settled here, forming what was called the Jersey settlement. 
William Martin entered a part of Section 25, made some improvements, but did 
not live long to enjoy his labors ; a part of the farm is still owned by Ins son, 
John H. Martin. John Chenoweth located on Section 32, in 1819, and erected a 
cabin, cleared land and gradually made extensive improvements. He raised a 
large family, and after a sojourn of between forty and fifty years, sold and moved 
to Illinois, where he died at an advanced age. He was frequently heard to remark 
that he could start at the Scioto, his native home, and travel all the way to Iowa 
with a team, and stay every night with some one of his connections. 

From different States, the families continued to arrive during the year 1818. 
There was John Clapp, from Maryland, who settled on Section 34, cleared up his 
farm, and in 1823, built a mill, hereafter noted. He died here at the age of 
seventy, in the year 1846. Philip Rarick, from Pennsylvania, occupied part of the 
same section, raised a large family, and in time died. Joel Cosad, from New York, 
settled on Section 35, and in 1833, removed to Dayton. Nathaniel Skidmore and 
Jeremiah Rogers, both of New Jersey, entered portions of Section 28 ; the former 
cleared a large farm, upon which he resided until 1855, when he died, aged sixty- 
six years. Rogers died some years earlier. Samuel and Peter Kirnber, from New 
Jersey, settled on Section 23, improving the same, and living there until 1852. 
when Peter sold out, but still resided in the neighborhood until his death in 1870. 
at the age of seventy-nine. Christian Miller, came in 1819, and built on Section 
22, and there passed his life. Clearing was continued by Jonah Miller, who 
occupied until 1867, when he went to Wabash County, Ind., where he died in 
1878. 



440 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

Henry Creviston, even in boyhood, was known at old Fort Greenville, during 
the war of 1812, and for some time after. About 1830. he made settlement in this 
township, on Section !•, and on this farm remained until his death. It was said by 
the old settlers, familiar with the old rough times, in and about the fort, that there 
was no one came to the fort his equal in activity and muscular strength. Igna- 
tius Burns first located on Section 24, but soon sold, and Philip Manuel was 
acknowledged as the first to make permanent improvement on the same. He was 
from Kentucky, and died in the township on his farm, aged seventy -eight, in the 
year 1871. Moses Crumrine entered part of Section 22, made considerable clear- 
ing, and now, aged seventy-five, is still hale and hearty, and bids fair for many years. 
Jesse Gray, a noted hunter, settled on the border of Section 5, but the rifle, not the 
ax, was his weapon, and he moved westward to Jay Count}'. Ind., where he died at 
a very old age ; and there was Jacob Chenoweth, a wolf trapper, who occupied a 
rude cabin on Section 19, and at length, at a ripe age, died. There, too, was 
Joseph Cole, Sr., a settler on Section 21, in 1826. He was noted, not only as a 
firmer, but as a first-class country blacksmith. He is still living on the old home- 
stead, although past his fourscore and four years. Those named were not all, 
examples only of the many. There were Conrad Harter. Charles Sumption, Sol- 
omon Harter, Joseph Dixon, L. D. Wintermote. Hezekiah Fowler, all early settlers, 
who helped in the great task of subduing the forest. And there, too. were David 
Wasson, John S. Hiller and Isaac Vail, and besides, there were Thomas F. Cheno- 
weth, a settler on Section 23, where, at the age of seventy, he has lived nearly sixty 
years ; and Aaron Hiller, a farmer on Section 36, where he died, aged seventy. A 
single additional name is given, that of Johnson Deniston, who settled on Section 
23. about the year 1825. It was on his farm that the boys me,t to enjo}' the holi- 
day of all holidays — -the annual muster of the militia. This took place one week 
before what was called the Big Muster in Greenville, which was once each year. 
Mr. Cole says : •' Well, it was just about as much as a boy could stand, to hear the 
martial music, especially when John and Israel Cox were the fifers, as both were 
capital players, and Israel, especially, was excelled by none ; to see Capt. Marquis 
in his gay uniform, and hear his shrill command, and to see William Scott beat the 
tenor-drum. It was good enough for any boy of the day to see and hear, but 
big musters in regimental drill, with officers in full dress, mounted, was as much as 
the boy nature could endure. " 

It would not be true to say that these first settlers found the country just as 
the red man left it, for he had not gone. He was friendly, molesting neither 
man nor beast, and frequently called at the cabin door for food. It is not enough 
to say of these pioneers that the}' were farmers, for they were mechanics, teachers 
and preachers, as well. They tanned their own leather, made their own shoes, did 
their own coopering and blacksmithing, taught their schools, and had. in the per- 
son of John Wintermote, what has been called a " Hardshell " Baptist preacher — 
the first minister to locate in the township. 

Of the improvements of Washington Township, it is hard to tell where to 
begin, as it was an unbroken wilderness. The first road or trace to this settlement 
from Greenville was to cross Greenville Creek, just above what is now known as 
George Van Dike's ashery ; then by the D. Irwin farm, winding up the north side 
of Greenville Creek, by Dean's mill, to what was then known as the Byram cabin, 
about where A. I lays now lives, and crossing Greenville Creek just below the 
Murphy graveyard ; thence by D. Williamson's and Daniel Potter's. The next 
road was what was called the Jersey road, crossing Greenville Creek at the same 
point: thence, recrossing at Tecumseh's Point: thence, keeping south of the 
creek, crossing the west branch north of George Fox's mill, and so on west to the 
Jersey settlement and Krout Creek. 

The first grist-mill erected within the township was built by John Clapp, in 
1823. on tlii' second branch, on what is now known as the Bartow farm. It was a 
very rude structure, but as good as the times and financial conditions would permit, 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 441 

although the greater part of the work on the dam, digging the race and putting 
up the house, was done by volunteer work. The next, in the way of mill improve- 
ments, was a saw-mill, built by Jeremiah Rogers, on Hoover's Branch, on the farm 
now owned b}' Peter Skidmore, which was of service many years : but of these 
two old mills, only the landmarks are left. 

Soon after these mills were built, David Clapp, early in 1832. commenced to 
build a flouring-mill on the second branch. The same fall, a saw-mill was running. 
The grist-mill began to run in the following year. The race was dug nearly half a 
mile through the roots of the primitive forest. Samuel Hatter and Joseph Rarick 
took the job for $100, and they hired William Baldwin, William Dennison. John 
Dixon and George Young to assist them. These men worked at prices ranging 
from 2 to 3 shillings per day. Andrew Bickel was also employed. Being consid- 
ered rather an extra hand, he was paid 43 cents per day, the understanding being 
that he should keep the fact of greater wages to himself. Prior to the erection of 
this mill, the people here were used to going to a small flouring-mill near Cole- 
town. The year 1832 was marked by a severely cold winter, and the mill froze 
up. Mr. Bickel tells of working, in company with two others, nearly all day to 
get the ice cut out, and all the grinding done by night was a half-bushel of corn- 
meal. This they divided between them, in shares proportioned to the size of the 
respective families. There are now four water and two steam saw-mills in the 
township. McClure's mill is run by water and by steam ; it has been repaired and 
rebuilt, until it is now a first-class flouring-mill. and is worthy of the patronage 
given. 

These enterprising pioneers soon began to want a little nicer and safer chim- 
ney than the one of mud and sticks, so, with John Snell at the lead, they in com- 
mon set to work to burn a brick-kiln, but in order to succeed they were obliged 
to go over to Greenville Township to call upon Hiller to assist in the molding and 
burning. They did good work, as some of the old chimneys will yet testify. 
James Brady and John Chenoweth were the first to burn brick and to build brick 
houses, but Joel Cosad was the first to build a frame house. It was about 18x20 
feet base and one story high. One fact in this connection is worthy of note, that 
is, but few ever left the county who once settled in it ; they were either satisfied 
with the country or were else too poor to get away. As we have indicated, there 
are quite a number that have lived in the township from fifty to sixty years. In 
early times, there was a struggle for village notoriety between Nashville and Hill 
Grove, but long ago Nashville yielded the contest and not a building is left to 
mark the site of the would-be village, and Hill Grove came very near being 
absorbed by Union City. In this connection, it is well to recall Colona, a village 
located on December 31, which bloomed and died in a brief time. A few lots 
were laid out and sold, and a few dwellings were erected, but it soon became 
apparent that there was nothing to incite effort or induce settlement, and the 
vestiges of occupation soon disappeared, and few, if any, of the citizens of the 
township in 1880 remember or ever knew that the village of Colona ever had 
existence. It, like Nashville, was laid out on the old State road, and afforded a 
halting place to movers and travelers, where they might rest and might obtain food 
for themselves and for their teams. 

The village of Hill Grove is situated at the northwest corner of Section 4. It 
was laid out in 1818, by W. McKee. The population numbers about two hundred 
persons. It is distant from Union City but little more than two miles, and from 
Greenville nine and a half. The Greenville & Union pike and the Dayton 
& Union Railroad run through it. It contains three churches — the German 
Reformed, United Brethren and Methodist Episcopal. The former was originally 
built by the Old School Presbyterians, and purchased by the society named in 
1876, and Rev. J. Stuck has been Pastor ever since. It was rebuilt during the 
summer of 1879, and is a neat brick structure, pleasantly located on the north 
side of Liberty street, in the northeastern part of town. The United Brethren 



442 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 



Church is a neat frame, medium-sized building, near the township line, and built 
in 1878. The Methodist Church is situated over the line a short distance, in 
Jackson Township, in the northwest part of the village and near that end of 
Main street. The schoolhouse, which has a school enrolling ninety-four pupils, is 
located on Main street, opposite the southeast end of Locust street. On the cor- 
ner of Cherry and Liberty streets stands a two-story grist-mill, originally built as 
a warehouse when the railroad was put through. It has two run of buh'rs. and is 
employed exclusively in custom work. Its present owner is Louis Limperd, and 
it is run by Samuel Limperd. J. A. Bickell's general store is located on the south- 
east corner of Main and Liberty streets. On the opposite side of .Main street 
but farther south, on Lot No. 27, is a blacksmith-shop, built by J. Conspue in 
is.'x ; the old part was built by Wash. McKee about 1834. Mr. McKee kept the 
first store in Hill Grove, but a short time before there had been a trading station 
run by Charles Sumption. Herman Searles was among the early storekeepers in 
the township, and George Clapp built the first blacksmith-shop ; it was located 
about half a mile southeast of the present village. As to the schools, they were 
generally taught in old deserted cabins until the settlers saw fit to select some 
convenient site and unite on some day to build a cabin ; afterward a teacher was 
hired by the process of joint subscription. 

There is as yet no school law, no defined districts, and there is something yet 
lacking. It is the year 1822, and the house stands surrounded by a pathless forest 
and the woodmen's children cannot find their way securely. Parents and older 
boys select the best and nearest paths, which they blaze and cut away brush from. 
They cut small trees across slashes and branches. They put up hand poles to 
steady the children in crossing, and then, with Webster's Speller, English Reader, 
Pike s Arithmetic, slate and pencil, one-half quire blue paper, one-half dozen goose 
quills and a bottle of home-made ink, the most ad\ anced was thoroughly equipped, 
and. not unfrequently, several of the same family were used to study the same 
meager set of books. 

In this rude state, the children sat for hours on a bench, crowded together 
with feet swinging between bench and floor from morning till noon, and not 
allowed to whisper or scarcely look off their books without being liable to punish- 
ment. 

As to the teachers, they were usually limited in qualifications, being generally 
competent to instruct in orthography, reading, writing and arithmetic ^sometimes 
knowledge of the latter was very limited. All were skilled in the use of the rod, 
which was plied unmercifully on the slightest neglect or provocation. There were 
only three months' school each year, and these were in the winter, and unexcep- 
tionally taught by school masters. 

The first school taught in the township was under control of Samuel Cole 
during the winter of 1818-19, in one part of his double log cabin, on the farm 
now owned by Dilmon Mote. The pioneer school building was raised on the farm 
01 John Snell, now owned by Samuel Elston, in the year 1821 or 1822. The first 
schoolhouse in the Bickel neighborhood was built at an early day, not later than 
1835. \ arious persons taught subscription schools for short' terms therein. Still 
earlier, schools were kept as above stated. The first school taught in this house, 
after public money had been granted in partial support of education, was by 3. H. 
Williamson. His first school, taught when he was but fourteen years of age was 
ma neighboring district, the previous winter, lie afterward taught at McClure's 
Mills, and m various other districts. Joseph Worth taught three winters, amount- 
in- to ten months of twenty-six days to the month, for $lu per month, and boarded 
himself, save when (he weather was too bad for him to go home. Another pioneer- 
like schoolhouse was built in 1831. on the place of Martin Cox. and another of the 
Old teachers was Thomas Hoffman. 

Contrast the past with the present. There are now in the township eleven 
school districts, with a large brick house in most of them. Each house will seat 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 443 

an average of sixty pupils. There are elegant seats, fine desks, good blackboards, 
charts, and well-arranged rooms. Pupils are well supplied with as many books as 
they can well cany, and thrice as many as they can well study. There are com- 
petent teachers, well paid, and free schools full six months each year. The contrast 
of wages is from the $25 to $35 per quarter of sixty-five days' term olden times, 
paid in produce in part, to the from $100 to $120 per quarter of sixty days, cash 
in hand. 

A brief reference to the churches is appropriate in the detail of important social 
organizations. The Hiller Church, built on Section 36, was the first built in the 
township, and, also, was the first built in the county. The date of its construction 
is traditionally fixed in 1819, and it was the volunteer labor of the able-bodied men 
of the whole settlement, and, when it was completed, it was free to all. It was 
known as a Methodist Episcopal Church, and still stands. The next church was 
the Chenoweth Church, built on Section 32, at an early date, by the Methodists. 
It subserved the purpose of its construction, and has long since been leveled to 
the earth. The third building for purposes of worship was erected on the farm of 
Martin Cox, on Section 14, by the people of the Presbyterian society. It was 
known as the " Cox Meeting-house." These were points and places well known, 
but the usual place of worship was the cabin or barn of the settler, or, in warm, 
pleasant weather, in Cod's first temples — the shade of noble forest trees. 

A German Baptist Church is located on the northeast quarter of Section 9, 
about one and a half miles southeast of Hill Grove, on the Greenville and Union 
pike. The lot on which it was situated, comprising three-fourths of an acre, was 
donated by John Flory. The church was built during the spring of 1878. It 
is a neat frame structure, costing $800. The building committee were Jacob Mer- 
rick, John Flory and Daniel Wagner. The following-named preachers have offici- 
ated therein : William Simmons, Washington Wenrick, Samuel Puterbaugh and 
Benjamin Bowman. Services by some of the above were held on almost every 
Sunday. There is a good membership, but no Sabbath school. 

We have said that not unusually services were held in the forest. The Meth- 
odist frontier camp-meetings were once an institution that could not well be dis- 
pensed with, and seemed to be a recruiting point for the M. E. Church, and a 
place where all met on a common level for the renewal of their spiritual strength, 
and to extend a general acquaintance among the brotherhood. The first meet- 
ing or encampment of this kind held anywhere in Darke or adjoining counties, so 
far as known, took place in Washington Township, on Section 33, in the vicinity 
of what was then known as the Devor Spring, but what is now denominated the 
Houpt Farm. The date of the meeting is not remembered. In 1838-39, a 
Methodist camp-meeting was held on the farm of John Chenoweth, on Section 
32. Of the ministers present and actively engaged, but one is recalled, and this 
was Rev. W. W. Jordan. The camps were built of poles, and on three sides, 
forming what might be termed a hollow square, with the seats between the camps, 
and the pulpit having a central position at one end, facing the center. The period 
of encampment usually lasted from ten days to two or three weeks. It is needless 
to say that the "rowdies," as styled by the church people, had their full share of 
recreation at these assemblies. 

The oldest record that can be found of the board of township officers com- 
mences with 1828, yet there is a record of the ear marks of animals running at 
large which goes as far back as April 20, 1819, thereby preserving the names of 
the Township Clerks that far back. The first Township Clerk's name thus obtained is 
Moses Rush for 1819 ; the second John McNeal, for 1820 ; John Wintermote for 
1821-22 ; Samuel Cole for 1823, and Christian Miller for 1824. In 1828, there is 
a full board given, as follows : Charles Sumption, James Brady and Leonard 
Wintermote, Trustees ; Samuel Kimber, Treasurer ; John S. Hiller, Clerk. The 
governing motives of those early officers of Washington Township was undoubt- 
edly purely patriotic, for no Trustee, Treasurer or Clerk ever charged one cent for 



444 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

his services until 1838, when the Clerk, Aaron Ilillor. who had to perform extra 
services in regard to school affairs, made a charge of and was allowed the sum of 
$5. All settlements prior to this show that the Township Board gave their 
services gratuitously. 

The receipts and expenditures of each year, from the formation of the 
township up to 1835, range from nothing to $12 : but in this } T ear the amount in 
the hands of the Treasurer was $43.00;}, mostly from the sale of stray animals. 

The following are two settlements in full given by the Township Board : 

James Brady, Treasurer, receipts and expenditures of Washington Township for the year next 

preceding the year 1830. 

Dr. 
Received on note on Jesse Gray $2.18§ 

Cr. 

Paid to Henry Creviston, as per order $1.00 

Paid for paper 31} 1.31} 

Balance in Treasurer's hands 87$ 

Hugh Martin, } 

Josiah D. Elston, > Trustees. 
John Snell, ) 

John S. IIiller, Township Clerk. 

In 1833, this settlement occurs with Aaron Hiller, Treasurer : 

Received nor laid out no money this year: the amount in the Treasury this year is $20 75}, and 

the Treasurer makes no charge for his services. 

John Carnahan. 1 „, 

t, , . V Trustees. 

Davih Clapp, ( 

Joseph Cole, Township Clerk. 

In like manner the settlements run until 1840, when money matters began to 
increase, especially as the public money for school purposes was handled by the 
Treasurer. The records show that but five different men had filled the office of 
Treasurer since 1827, namely : Samuel Kimber, James Brady. Aaron Hiller, 
John McClure and George McClure. John McClure has filled the position con- 
tinuously since 1838, save one term when he was a member of the Ohio Legisla- 
ture, being Treasurer thirty-six years. The office of Justice of the Peace has run 
much after the style of Treasurer. Aaron Hiller served as Justice for twenty-one 
years, and T. F. Chenoweth for twenty-three years, and is still (187(3) holding that 
Office. 

In 1824, the political cast was all on one side, nearly all voting for Andrew 
.Jackson for President, there being but three votes cast against him. Though in 
Utter years not so radical, except in 1854, when the township took another freak, 
and all went solid for the Know-Nothing ticket, except seven who voted the Dem- 
ocratic ticket. These were the extremes. Usually in township elections there has 
been but little party strife. 

The citizens are strictly agriculturists. The township expenses have been 
moderate, and the rate of taxation has always been among the lowest in the 
county, while her improvements have equaled the best. The old survivors of the 
early day have seen much change. Where Indian traces wound their sinuous way 
through the forest, there are now many miles of turnpike roads and well-improved 
dirt roads. Log house and stump-marked clearing are replaced by handsome 
homes, well-tilled fields and well-drained lands, and tin- present of the township is 
a constant source of satisfaction to pioneers as the rightful result of years of toil. 

GERMAN TOWNSHIP. 

Located in the west tier of townships and in the second tier from the south. 
U has been formed since December, 1820. Its lands were taken from the south 
part of Washington and the north part of Harrison, the north tier of sections in 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 445 

the last-named township being added. Then the northern boundary was a line 
running some forty rods north of the Whitewater road. In June, 1827, it was 
reduced to its present size, which includes all of Town 11 north, Range 1 east. 
In December, 1833, the north tier of sections was thrown into Washington Town- 
ship, but these were returned to the township in December, 1834. 

In area, it includes about thirty-three square miles, or over 21,000 acres of 
land. The surface in the eastern part is gently undulating, and in the western 
part flat and level. Several sections in the south central part are considerably 
broken. West Branch Creek and Second Branch Creek are the principal streams. 
West Branch Creek drains the eastern portion. Extending along the line of its 
general course there is to be seen a beautiful and valuable tract, known as West 
Branch Prairie. In the early day, this ground was wet, boggy, and generally 
deemed useless for agricultural purposes, but it has been reclaimed in the main, 
and is productive of heavy crops. There are few places more fascinating to the eye 
than is this prairie as it gently slopes upward on both sides of West Branch Creek. 
There are numerous springs along its course, which supply it the year round with 
pure running water. There is virtually no waste land in the township, and there 
is nowhere any soil better adapted to tillage. As is well known, but not realized, 
the surface was in the early day covered with a growth of a great variety of for- 
est trees. In places the sugar maple abounds, and has been utilized to the rnanu- 
acture of sirups especially. Many extensive gravel beds of the best quality are 
interspersed throughout the southern and eastern parts. Many of them are of 
use in the improvement of the highways, most of which are excellent. 

From indications, this township was a favorite resort for the aboriginal occu- 
pants. On the arrival of the whites, several Indian camps were found, but within 
a few years, they disappeared. The prairie, heretofore mentioned, was a favorite 
resort, having for the red man a peculiar attraction. 

Old settlers affirm that a spring on the lands of Elias Ross was a special 
attraction, not only to the Indian, but to troops of wild animals, on account of the 
purity and sweetness of its waters. 

Indications show at least two Indian villages of considerable size within the 
present limits of the the township. One of these was located on Section 10, and 
the other on Section 3, both near fine springs. Indian implements of great variety 
and in considerable abundance are found strewn over the surface in the vicinity. 
A collection of such relics, made by C. M. Young, resident upon Section 3, within 
the years from 1876 to 1880, consist of about 1,000 specimens, most of which were 
found in this township, and many of which are rare. Remains of skeletons, 
supposed to have belonged to Indians, are found in abundance in many of the 
gravel banks, which have been opened up. One skull was found near the residence 
of Jesse Woods, of remarkable size. 

The topography of the township shows that it possessed many points of 
interest and attraction ; its running waters, its prairies and its gently rolling sur- 
face were points at once marked to the quick, searching eye of the pioneer, and 
the date of its settlement was far back toward the beginning of the century. To 
whom the titular honor of being the first settler belongs is hard to determine. It 
lies between James Cloyd and Jonathan Pearson, with the evidence in favor of 
the former. Mr. Cloyd was born in Virginia, in 1790, and removed to Ohio when 
a child. Engaged as a soldier during the war of 1812, he was stationed much of 
the time at Fort Greenville. In 1815, he married Elizabeth Norftsinger, daughter 
of Andrew Norftsinger, one of the pioneers of the county. Mr. Norftsinger had 
built a block-house during the troublous period, and in this he lived until peace 
was declared. The site of this old fortification was in Neave Township. 

In 1814, Mr. Cloyd moved to this township and settled on the prairie, just 
south of the present site of Palestine. He was one of the first grand jury 
empaneled in the county, and bore a good name for energy, generosity and benev- 
olence. His death took place May 20. 1872, and his remains rest in the Palestine 



446 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

Cemetery. Jonathan Pearson settled on the prairie southeast of the village 
named, about 181 (i. but little was known of this man more than that he came 
originally from South Carolina, as did. also, Alexander Pearson, who was. per- 
haps, the third settler. Samuel Loring, who settled on the southwest quarter of 
Section 14. and who laid out the town of Palestine, was the next permanent set- 
tler. Peter Crumrine moved into German Township on March 12, 1817. The 
name of Daniel Wagner is associated with those of the pioneers. The family of 
which he was a member located on the northeast quarter of Section 24, on the 
edge of the prairie. They were originally from Berks County. Penn.. whence the}' 
migrated, in 1806, to Ohio and then to this county and township. The elder 
Wagner was a soldier in the war for independence, and, at its conclusion, like other 
of the Continentals, returned to peaceful pursuits and derived a good farm for the 
family growing up about him. John Wagner had ten children. His oldest son, 
George, who was an early settler in Neave Township, was a solder in the later war 
of 1812, and was one of those surrendered by the cowardly Hull at Detroit, Mich. 
Two other sons, Daniel and William, located in German Township. The latter, 
still living on the homestead, has been a resident of the township since the fall of 
1816, with the exception of a single year. He was born December 1, 1806, in 
Montgomery County, near Germantown, and was consequently only a mere lad 
when he came to the township. Himself and brother Daniel, six years his senior, 
were sent to the farm with some stock to winter through on prairie hay, which 
they had cut and stacked near where the house now stands. They came with 
their cattle in the fall of 1816, and built a hut to serve as a temporary shelter till 
the family could join them in the spring. In this rude dwelling, with a family or 
two of Indians for their nearest neighbors, the first winter went by. They were 
shy and distrustful of the " sons of the forest," for the memory of atrocities com- 
mitted upon the whites a few } T ears previous was yet fresh in their minds. Daniel 
Wagner died March 9, 1876, just seventy-six years of age. He is remembered as 
a man of enterprise, fearless and free-hearted. The Wagner family were of Ger- 
man descent. 

The fall of 1817 marked the actual beginning of the settlement of the town- 
ship. A number of families arrived at this time and entering lands began the work 
of providing home and field. Martin Ketring and family and George Teaford. 
then a young man, arrived this fall and entered a part of Section 22. These 
people were likewise of German descent. The former was a native German. Their 
more immediate previous home was Fairfield County, Ohio. John, son of Martin 
Ketring, had been married previous to coming here, and is still living at a good 
old age. Teaford was soon married to Miss Magdalina Ketring and raised a large 
family, two sons of whom still live in the township and are among the largest 
tanners in it. The same fall, and in October, Henry Ross, a native of Virginia, 
located on land in the northwest part of Section 24. He came here from Pickaway 
County, and, about the same time, George Stingley and family, Virginians, 
located on the southeast quarter of Section 12, where a son now resides. The 
settlement in the extreme southwest part of the township was dela3'ed until 1826, 
on account of its wet, level nature. Thus, briefly, we have noted the founders of 
improvement in German Township, and spoken of those who more than three 
score years ago laid the foundation for subsequent labors. 

The staple products of the townshp are corn and wheat, with considerable 
«>ats and barley raised. Much of the corn is fed to stock, which receive consider- 
able attention. There is no grain market in the township ; the nearest being 
Weaver's Station, in Neave Township, on the Piqua, Cincinnati & Indianapolis 
Railroad. In the early years, what surplus grain was raised was hauled by team. 
either to Dayton or Piqua, and later, to Richmond, Ind. No line of railroad has. 
as yet, been constructed through the township, though it is thought one could be 
built with great advantage to the people and profit to the builders. The appreci- 
ation of education was a marked feature of pioneer settlers. As early as 1820, 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 447 

a schoolhouse was erected oil the southwest quarter of Section 14. on land now 
owned by George Kester. The structure was by no means imposing or attractive. 
It was of logs and nailless. without glass or sawed lumber. The first teacher was 
William R. Jones, whose reputation comes down to us, as of " an excellent man and 
teacher.' - The second schoolhouse was built in 1822, on the northwest quarter of 
Section 13, on land now owned by J. Wenrick. This dates the beginning of school 
interests in German Township, which have held even place with those of other 
townships from origin. There are now eleven school buildings, besides the one 
situated in the village of Palestine, three of which belong to the colored settle- 
ment. The number of school children enumerated in German Township in 1370 
was as follows : White youth, 364 ; colored, 151 ; total, 515 ; number in the Pales- 
tine school, 133 ; total number in the township, 648. The number of youth 
between the ages of sixteen and twenty-one was 140. The school buildings are 
all good, substantial structures, with the single exception of a frame house, and the 
schools are reported to be in fine condition. The first settlers were obliged to 
erect their cabins without the use of sawed lumber, there being no saw-mills 
accessible at the time, in the vicinity. One of the first demands of the settlers 
was for lumber, to erect buildings. In the absence of saw-mills, this want was 
frequently met by the use of the whip-saw. or more commonly, the puncheon. 
The former of these methods was extremely slow and laborious, and the latter was 
the dernier resort to secure lumber. To meet the urgent demands, the rude 
pioneer saw-mill was erected, propelled always by water power, as steam was not 
then in use as a motor. The first mill of this kind erected in the township was 
built by Joshua Mitten, in 1820, on Section 24, on West Branch. This was rude 
enough, but still a great advance over the former method. Some years after, this 
mill had been built, an apparatus for cracking corn was attached to it, and this 
was noted as the pioneer grist-mill of the township. She served to supply the few 
scattered inhabitants with cracked corn, which, at the time, largely took the place 
of wheat flour. In order to supply another and urgent demand, a copper still was 
erected on Section 36, by John Puterbaugh. Its capacity was not very great, and 
for its influence, value and success, we cannot speak. A cheese factory was soon 
started at the same place, and by the same person, the Mr. Puterbaugh above 
named. All of these pioneer enterprises, rude, but bespeaking a disposition to 
make the most of home products, have been supplanted by more pretentious and 
modern structures. At present, a large steam flouring-mill run by Ira McClure, 
and a large saw-mill owned by James McCabe, in Palestine, furnish the necessary 
supply in this direction in the township. 

CHURCHES AND MINISTERS. 

The first religious meetings in German Township were held in the cabins of 
the settlers. The pioneer preacher was Jacob Ashley, of the Lutheran Church. 
He came up once a month from Germantown and held services, for which he 
received a salary of $12 per year. David Miller, son of old Jacob Miller, first 
minister of the Miami Valley, and Benjamin Bowman, came over from Indiana at 
an early da}*, and spoke to the people of things eternal and spiritual. They were 
ministers of the German Baptist Church. The first church built in this township 
was known as the "St. John's," a Lutheran enterprise, erected in 1826, south of 
Palestine, on land owned by John Ketring. The old structure was constructed of 
tree-trunks cut from the forest surrounding, but. in 1868, this was supplanted by 
a more comfortable and pretentious frame building. The old church was used by 
the Lutherans alone for many years, and then the German Reformed organization 
united with them, the two using the same church, employing the same minister, but 
having two separate and distinct societies, and two sets of church officers. In 
1S66, the latter-named society re-organized, and -the Lutherans from that date were 
merged with them. Rev. I. Stuck was the first minister under the new organization. 

M 



448 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

Wesley Chapel, on Section 29, was probably the next church erected. It was 
built and used up to within a few years of the present time by the Methodists. It 
is not now in use by any denomination. Possibly the next church building con- 
structed was the house built on Section 24, on the farm of William Wagner, by 
the Lutherans. It is now used by the members of the German Reformed denomi- 
nation. 

The Cniversalist Church at Palestine was organized by Rev. Elihu Moore and 
ten others, on June 1 8, 1 868. The minister named was the one first employed. Their 
first meetings were held in the old Palestine schoolhouse. Within a few years 
subsequent to the organization, the society erected their present fine building, at a 
cost of about $3,000. The first officers of the society were H. L. Hill. George 
Kester and M. M. Jeffries, as Deacons ; George Kester, Treasurer, and Harrod Mills 
as Clerk. Six deaths have transpired in the society since its origin, and there is 
a present membership of 105 persons. The Disciple Church of Palestine was 
organized in April, 1873, by John M. Smith, with about twenty members. Earlier 
meetings were held in the Universalist Church. In the summer of 1877, the 
denomination erected their present fine and commodious building at a cost of $1,500. 
The officers at organization were Joseph Snyder and James Willery, as Elders ; 
Mrs. Elizabeth Miller, Deacon, and J. A. Spittler. Clerk. There is an adjunct of 
value in a flourishing Sabbath-school, superintended by James Wilcox. 

The German Baptist Church was constituted an organization at an early day 
by David Miller and Benjamin J. Bowman. John Weaver was the first preachar 
to serve the new society. He was succeeded by John Crumrine. Since then, 
William Marius, Mr. Harter and Jacob Miller have had charge of the congrega- 
tion. Meetings were held in barns and houses till 1868, when their present fine 
building was erected, just south of Palestine. The membership is about one hun- 
dred and seventy-five persons. The Pleasant Grove U. B. Church is situated in 
the extreme northern part of the township, near the Washington line, thus serv- 
ing both townships. The society was formed January 14, 1857, and meetings 
were held in a private house, located on the southwest quarter of Section 3, for 
two years, when room was supplied by the construction of the present church edi- 
fice. The organization was effected by Rev. Jacob M. Marshall. Elias Ross has 
been Steward since its formation. The Palestine Christian Church was organized 
in the year 1836, by Elijah Williamson, with a small membership. The first meet- 
ings were held in an old schoolhouse. Mr. Williamson and Richard Brandon 
were the first ministers. James Woods, Thomas Himes, John Crum, Joseph Heck, 
Henry Grove and their wives, and Philip Manuel were among the first members. 
The present meeting-house was built in 1859, and the society has an enrollment of 
103 members. 

The early custom of burial at sites near the homes has originated a number 
of grounds in the township. There are eight cemeteries in the township, of 
which the one at Palestine is the chief and largest. 

The population have been peaceful and law-abiding, hence any infraction of 
right is the more marked. Two crimes have been committed of late, most san- 
guinary in character. The victims were Wesley Guger and Stephen Wade. On 
the evening of October 24, 1877, after dusk, a body of armed and masked men 
halted before the house of Mr. Guger in Palestine, called him out, and deliberately 
shot him down. Where the mob was from, where they went, or who they were. 
has never been ascertained. The murder had no grounds so far as known save a 
charge of petty thieving. The second murder was committed in the dead of 
night in the fall of 1878. Stephen Wade, a colored man, was shot in his own 
house by a body of mounted men, masked and armed. He was charged with 
stealing, or more especially with harboring his sons, who had annoyed the com- 
munity by various thefts. Two notices were served upon them to leave the coun- 
try. The first was thus worded": "To Stephen Wade. Robert, Benjamin and 
Philip Wade — you are each and every one of you hereby advised to leave and 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 449 

stay away from Darke County, Ohio, within thirty days from date, or suffer the 
penalty. This means business." The above was penned in red ink. A second 
notice was dated September 14, 1878, but not received by the Wades till October 
1. following. It was as follows : 

" You and your whole family are hereby notified, for the last time, to leave 
this count}- in haste." 

This was legibly written in black ink. No notice was given to these warnings. 
A mob. at midnight, surrounded Wade's dwelling, and aroused him. A shot was 
fired through the front window and struck an old clock just over Wade's bed. He 
discharged a shot into the mob, without effect, followed by yells and execrations. 
Wade reconnoitered from a window, and saw the mob firing at random into the 
house. He ran to the back door to escape, but. as he threw it open, a gun was 
fired, and he received a load of shot in the left eye. which penetrated the brain. A 
cry, and then he expired without a struggle. A post-mortem examination dis- 
closed sixteen No. 1 shot in the brain. We turn relieved from the inscription of 
these acts, whose bearing is a cloud upon the fair fame of any community, and 
reflect upon a love of law and justice. Such acts belong in localities destitute ol 
school and church, and the better class of townsmen reprehend them, and would 
gladly see their perpetrators punished with the rigors of the law. 

We find that the first piece of ground platted for a village site in the township 
was located on the northwest quarter of Section 24. The survey was caused at 
the instance of Nathaniel Ross, and the incipient town at one time contained a 
saw and grist mill, a grocery and a store. Bright anticipations of churches, 
schools and factories were doomed to disappointment. A rival sprang up across 
the prairie, which in time proved its ruin, and New London City exists only in this 
brief allusion to it. 

Palestine was laid out, in 1833, by Samuel Loring. A beautiful view from 
the site of the present village is thought to have suggested the name. Loring's 
plat consisted of ten lots in the southeast part of the present corporation. Kester 
made the first addition, just north of the original sites. Samuel Gruger and 
Abraham Weaver laid out the northwest part, and William Miller the southwest 
part. Col. David Putnam has since made an addition to the northeastern part. 
Palestine is to-day a very flourishing country village, containing one drug store, 
two groceries, one dry -goods store, one hotel, two blacksmith-shops, a wagon-shop, 
meat-market, grist-mill, saw-mill, shoe-shop, and health is attended to by three 
physicians. 

In the northwest corner of the township, there exists a colored settlement, 
the foundation of which was laid by a man named Clemens. It has grown to con- 
siderable proportions. They have three schools, and a church (Methodist Episco- 
pal) building. There is a small hamlet, known as Tampico, here. 

NEAVE TOWNSHIP. 

This township was organized on the 5th of December. 1821. and at that date 
contained eight sections, in what is now Van Buren Township, making it eight 
miles east and west and four miles north and south. All of Neave Township lying- 
in Range 3 was taken, in June, 1838, to form the township above named, and so 
the present dimensions were reached. 

The pioneer settler in the lands now constituting Neave Township was 
Andrew Noftsinger. who came to Darke Count}' in 1810. Sometime about 1817, 
he built a grist-mill on Mud Creek, below the outlet of the lake, where later stood 
the mill of Dr. Otwell. In the order of construction, this was the third mill built 
in the county. At the old post, known as Fort Jefferson, James Hayes was one of 
the earliest settlers. John Ryerson moved in in 1810. ami during the two vears 
following, settlement was made in the township by Moses Arnold, George W. Hight. 
William Townsend, Hezekiah Veitz. John Puterbaugh and Christian Schlechty. 



450 HISTORY OF DAKKE COUNTY. 

Dennis Hart, of Connecticut, located on Bridge Creek, in the fall of 1819, on 
the lands of George, W X. Wright, near the farm now owned by A. IT. Vandyke. 
During the year 1820, the neighbors built a log sclioolhou.se. on the Greenville and 
Eaton road, cast of the present residence of A. H. Vandyke, on the land then 
owned by Joseph Townsend. In this house. Mr. Hart taught during the winter of 
1820-21. Mr. Hart died at the ripe age of eighty-four years. He was known 
as an honorable and worthy townsman. 

Peter Weaver came from Butler County. Ohio, to this township in 181!> ; here 
purchased land, cleared him a farm, and year after year has found him living upon 
it. till 1880. He built the first house in Weavers Station, named after him. and 
since grown into a thriving little town. On his first arrival, he found here a block 
house, situated about one-fourth of a mile north of where Mount Zion Church now 
stands. This rude pioneer fort was built by Mr. Nbftsinger, of whom we have 
spoken. It is claimed by some that this same man built the first cabin in the 
county. It was located on Mud Creek, about one-half a mile south of Mr. Weav- 
er's cabin, as early as 1816. Its structure was unique and commensurate with the 
ability of the builders. It consisted of forks set in the ground, upon which poles 
were placed, and covered with clapboards. 

In 1819. John Puterbaugh built a mill, whose motive power was found in 
oxen. It stood about two and a half miles southeast of Mr. Weaver's land. This 
improvement dispensed with water-power, and motion was communicated to the 
buhrs by cog-wheel connection with an upright shaft, which was turned by attach- 
ing oxen to transverse levers, passing through it. When the inflow of settlers and 
the organization of the county into townships set in operation a system by means 
of which public improvements could be made, numerous roads were laid, and took 
up a sinuous course around obstructions, and in close proximity to settlers' doors. 
Sparse settlements caused the formation of districts extensive in area and meager 
in population. 

Mr. Weaver went six miles to the first bridge that was erected across the mouth 
of Mud Creek, to work out his road tax. As an illustration of the manner of 
procedure, it is said that settlers were accustomed to work during the winter clear- 
ing a patch of ground. This was planted to corn in the spring, and in the fall it 
was sown to wheat or other winter grain. 

When the settler wanted groceries, he went into the woods and cut a load of 
hoop-poles, and took them for sale to Martinsburg. Coonskins and hoop-poles were 
Darke County currency in those days. All the cabins, single and double, were 
built of logs, with puncheon-logs split and hewed on one side for floors ; greased 
paper took the place of glass, and wood latch and string were the pioneer's substi- 
tute for door-knob and bell. At this time there were only two cabins between what 
is now Louisburg and Matchett's Corner, and only one little cabin between Weaver's 
and Fort Jefferson. Deer, turkeys, bear and other animals abounded, and fur- 
nished meat supply to the table. Mr. Weaver himself killed about one hundred 
deer, two bears, and very many turkeys. As is the case with all old sportsmen, 
Mr. Weaver enjoys a relation of early experiences, and tells the following concern- 
ing a bear-hunt in which he was engaged. 

It so happened that he had loaned his gun to some boys of the neighborhood, 
to kill squirrels, and after hunting nearly till night the dogs struck the trail of a 
bear, which they followed rapidly, and soon drove the animal to seek refuge in a 
tree. 

It was near where Mr. Weaver chanced to be, and. hearing an outcry, he 
went to the spot and found several of the settlers already standing around the 
tree, endeavoring to get a good position for an effective shot, Weaver took his 
gun from one of I he number, and soon after delivered his fire at the bear. But 
the load did not even cause the animal to change position. A neighbor then fired, 
and struck a leg, upon which the bear scrambled down, and set off up the banks 
of the creek, followed pell-mell in hot pursuit by all the men and dogs. One only 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 451 

remained behind of the men. Weaver stopped to put a heavy charge in his gun, 
and had just completed the act and was about to set forward when down the creek 
he saw men. dogs and bear coming bark with as great celerity as they had departed, 
only the conditions were reversed, and instead of many for the one, it was one for 
the many. Weaver waited till the bear was within ten feet of him, when he fired 
with fatal effect. 

George Noggle and T. C. Neave, William and Simeon Chapman and Adam 
Belles were all of that class known as early settlers in this township. It is said 
that, when this township was organized, a game of cards was played by H. D. 
Williams and John Douglass on the one side, against Easton Morris and T. C. 
Neave on the other, to determine who should have the honor of giving to it a name. 
The first party won, and they two playing again between themselves, the game was 
won by Williains, but Neave was so anxious to name the township, that he paid 
Williams $10 for the privilege, and then named it after himself. Fort Jefferson, 
built by the soldiers of St. Clair, in 1791, was the first structure erected by white 
people in the county. There is much of real interest connected with this old post 
which should be gleaned and placed on record. 

The schoolhouses of this township are all of brick, well built, comfortable, and 
supplied with the apparatus needed to advance school work. 

There are a number of churches in the township, among which are a Metho- 
dist and a Union Church at Fort Jefferson, a United Brethren near Weaver's Sta- 
tion, and a church at Sampson. The village of Fort Jefferson was laid out in 1818, 
and Sampson in 1816. There are about fifty miles of road, much of which is piked. 
The population in 1870, of Neave Township, was 1,093. 

VAN BUREN TOWNSHIP. 

In June, 1838. Van Buren Township was organized, and named after the Presi- 
dent then in office. James Grower, an early settler and a present pioneer of ninety- 
three years, was the "moving spirit" in its formation, which was not accomplished 
without much opposition and difficult}-, and this now aged man was he who gave 
the township its name. It was taken from the south end of Adams and the east end of 
Neave, and contained all of Township 8 north Range -1 east, that is in this county, 
and all of Township 9 north. Range 3 east, except Sections 5, 6, 7 and 8, which are 
included in Greenville Township. In June, 1839, Franklin Township was formed, con- 
taining all of Van Buren east of a line running north from the southwest corner of 
Section 36. Township 9 north Range 3. The township, as now constituted, con- 
tains t wenty-six sections. The surface is extremely level and the soil excels in 
fertility, being of alluvial formation, with good body to it. In years past, from 
one to five feet of water covered most of the surface, during half the year. Now, 
by an artificial S3'stem of drainage, it has been reclaimed to the uses of civiliza- 
tion, and is producing a hundred fold. The eastern part of the township is not 
so well advanced in improvement as is the rest, from the fact that its lands were, 
for man} T years, held mostly by speculators, who would not or at least did not 
either dispose of or improve it. There are no considerable water-courses in the 
township, the channels by which its surface is drained being small tributaries to 
Greenville and Panther Creeks. An extensive moraine passes from north to 
south through it, along the track of which are found an abundance of bowlders, 
many of which are of remarkable size, being from ten to twelve feet in diameter. 
Some gravel beds have been deposited on its surface, which afford convenient and 
valuable material for the improvement of public highways. The roads are mostly 
in good condition, the larger proportion of them being piked. Some of these, 
however, from much travel and heavy hauling, are well-nigh worn out, and need 
considerable repairs. The staple products are corn and wheat, the soil being 
admirably adapted to the cultivation of the former grain. Barley, oats, rye and 
tobacco are raised to a considerable extent. The entire township is thoroughly 



452 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY 

agricultural, and in 1870 contained a population of 1,212, a small part of whom 
were colored and some foreigners. A few settlements were made within the present 
limits of the township before the close of the lirst quarter of a century, but 
improvements were slowly made, and for many years the clearings formed a small 
part of the area of the lands, owing to the wet. swampy condition of the country. 
Just who was the first settler and when he moved in, cannot be known with pre- 
cision. There were probably no settlers in Van Buren Township previous to 1818, 
about which time several men built them cabins within its present limits. .Sam- 
uel Pearce, Samuel .Martin and Elias Burt were probably the first to erect houses 
in Van Buren, in about 1818. Eli Townsend and Jacob Sebring followed soon 
after. In the spring of 1820, came John Charkwith. and settled in the extreme 
southwest corner of the township. He was born in New Jersey, and came to this 
part of Darke County from Montgomery. Isaac Byers, who was the first Justice 
of the Peace, moved up from Preble County the same spring ; a Virginian by 
birth, he yet preferred this section to his native State. His widow still survives. 
James Gregory settled, about this time or perhaps a year or so sooner, on lands he 
afterward sold to Benjamin Roe, and now owned by William Shields. David and 
William Byers. brothers to Isaac, came soon after he had got located. Richard 
and James Gower moved, in 1826, into the extreme north part of the township, 
where they were among the first settlers. John Fourman entered land in the 
southeast part of the township. Mordecai Ford, who was the first Clerk in Van 
Buren. was, also, a pioneer. Jacob Potoff, at Nineveh, was an early settler at that 
point, and is remembered to have built the first blacksmith-shop in the township. 
Several others are deserving of mention in this connection, as pioneers of Van 
Buren. but authentic accounts of them have not been gained. The first election 
of the township was held in the smithery of Potoff, at Nineveh, at which time 
there were about forty or fifty votes cast. Improvements progressed quite slowly 
for some time, the characteristic pioneer cabin prevailing for many years. Finally, 
these began to give way to the more pretentious frame buildings, and occasionally 
a brick residence made its appearance. The first two of the last-named were built 
by John Fourman and John Walker. At the present day, there are many fine 
frame dwellings and substantial brick residences in the township. 

There being no water-power facilities of any consequence, manufacturing 
industries developed slowly. The first mill of any kind in Van Buren was an old 
" flutter-wheel " saw-mill built by John Fourman, on Panther Creek. This estab- 
lishment furnished lumber for a large tract of country for a considerable period, 
some of the buildings in the extreme southern part of the county having been fur- 
nished with lumber from this mill. The second mill of this kind was erected near 
Jaysville, by Messrs. Kilbourne and Jay. There are now four saw-mills in the 
township, with capacities ranging from three to six thousand feet per day. These 
represent the manufacturing interests of Van Buren. 

Schools began in a small, crude way. about a half-century ago. and have 
steadily advanced to their present nourishing condition. There is a great contrast 
between the pioneer log houses and their rude belongings, as compared with the 
newest structures. Then a single small rude house stood on the land of William 
Townsend, and within was Mordecai Ford, well skilled to rule and ferule. Now 
there are eightsubstantial brick buildings, having ten rooms, and requiring the 
employment of eight teachers. School statistics for the year ending August 31, 
1879, are as follows: Amount paid teachers, $1,906.20; expense of sites and 
buiidngs, $2,143.14 ; incidental expenses, $499.97, and the entire expenditure! was 
$4,549.31. There were eight gentlemen and live ladies, or a total of thirteen 
teachers employed, at wages averaging, for males. *:',!», and for females, $20 ; 212 
boys, lsn girls, or a total of 392 pupils attended the schools ; the average monthly 
enrollment was. of boys, 161 ; of girls. 139 ; total. 300. Daily attendance of boys, 
114 : of girls. 99 ; total. 21:!. 

To the Christian denomination belongs the honor of having tirst borne the <ion 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 45-3 

pel into the forests of Van Buren. The pioneers of this sect were Revs. Sneithen, 
Ashley, Williams and Mordecai Ford. They erected their first church in 1851. at 
Delisle There are now three churches in the township. Two United Brethren 
and one Methodist. The former at Abbotsville, and the Methodist at Jaysville, 
were built about the same time, not far from 1850. The other United Brethren 
Church was built about 1868 or 1870, at Nineveh, and was called Keyler's Chapel, 
from the name of him who was the means of its construction. 

There are but two cemeteries in the township, one of which, old and dilapi- 
dated, is now almost abandoned. The first was established nearly fifty years ago 
by the society of the Christian Church, and is known as the Abbottsville ceme- 
tery. The second was recently established under the auspices of the Township 
Trustees, and is located upon a fine tract of six acres, inclosed with a substantial 
board fence. 

There are several small villages in the township, but the tendency was to 
farms exclusively. The proximity to Greenville and Arcanum to a great extent 
dispenses with the necessity of more than exist. The first regularly laid out town 
in the township was Abbottsville, deriving its name from its founder. Abbott. This 
center for a time made an advance which promised much to its anxious inhabitants , 
but it was a transient effort, and its existence is known only to the pages of history. 
The eager speculation of that day caused the platting of thousands of sites which 
showed in later years a few ominous-looking houses and straggling occupants and 
seeming mourners of a drifting center of settlement, and Abbott was one of those 
not favored. Storekeeping was first engaged in by George and William Falkners 
and in addition to the store, there, was a wagon and blacksmith shop. Delisle, now 
the only village regularly laid out in Van Buren Township, was platted under 
direction of the widow Fairchild in 1850. and a building for the purpose having 
been erected, the pioneer store in the place was opened by John Tillman and Jesse 
Lease. Aaron Vanatta was the first smith. The village, as at present constituted, 
contains a dry -goods and grocery store, a blacksmith and a wagon shop and saw- 
mill. It is located on the Dayton & Union Railroad, which gave rise to the place. 

Jaysville is a small hamlet on the same road, and is located about five miles 
south of Greenville. It contains a single store and a saw-mill. In the township, 
there are three post offices — one at Delisle, at Jaysville and at Poplar Ridge, in the 
northeast part of the township. 



FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP. 

This township comprehends thirty sections, or over nineteen thousand acre, 
of land. It lies in the eastern tier of townships, and was formed in June, 1839, 
from a portion of Van Buren Township. It received its name from the illustrious 
printer, Benjamin Franklin, and possesses a surface almost a monotonous level, the 
sameness being broken here and there by occasional gravel drift or cairn. 

The soil is extremely fertile, and is composed of a rich alluvial formation of 
well-nigh inexhaustive durability. Formerly, it was very wet. but has now been 
nearly all reclaimed by general and thorough drainage. The principal stream is 
Painter Creek, which flows diagonally across the township. Entering in the 
southwest corner, it trends to the northeast till it reaches the northeast corner of 
Section 18, whence it takes an almost due east course, passing out of the township 
in the southeast corner of Section it. This, with its tributaries, constitutes the 
central drainage system of the town. The northern part is drained by tributaries 
of Greenville Creek, and the southeastern by tributaries to the Stillwater. 

In the way of improvements, Franklin Township is not in the van. but, since 
1 870. rapid advance has been made in this respect. The chief products are corn 
and wheat. The cultivation of tobacco has become a subject engaging consider- 
able attention. 



454 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

The manufacturing interests are aot extensive, there being only three saw-mills 

in the township. 

The German Baptists had the first organization in the township. Philip 
V ounce, a minister of this society, preached the first sermon in this part of the 
county. Having held meetings for some time at their several homes, the people 
at length erected a building on land now owned by Samuel Bean, for such use as 
occasion might require, and the Baptists therein held services. 

The Christians were the second religious sect to form an organization in 
Franklin, and, in time, built them a church on land now owned by John Spidel 
The sect has now two organizations in the township, the one named, and the other 
in the northeastern part of the township. This latter society was formed, in 1S77. 
with seventy members, now increased to one hundred. 

The " Brethren in Christ" have had a society since 1863. This was founded, 
with twelve members, by Revs. John Winger and Jacob Swank. The society now 
numbers thirty-eight members. 

The German Baptists now have a fine church building on the farm of John 
Flory. The above denominations comprise all the religious bodies in the 
township. 

Daniel Oakes is by some accredited with having been the first white man to 
build a cabin within the limits of Franklin. He came hither from Montgomery 
County, and settled on the banks of Panther Creek, on land now owned by Hiram 
Rhodes. Theophilus Penny arrived about the same time as Oakes, and entered 
land now owned by Jacob Swinger. Eli Inman was the pioneer in the northeast 
corner of the town, to which he removed from Miami County. F^lisha Penny, 
Christian aSewcomer, Martin Brant, Jacob Stauffer, Henry Finnifrock, William 
and John Hess, Samuel Hall, John Hayworth, John Karl, Gideon Varnum, Jacob 
Marker. Varnum Aldrich. Charles Birch and John Brooks were all early settlers in 
Franklin. Hall and Hayworth came in 1824; Eli Inman, in 1826. William Hess, 
in 1829 or 1830. opened a little stock of goods and groceries, consisting principally 
of whisky and tobacco, these being disposed of to the settlers ; there was received 
in exchange staves, hoop-poles, skins and pelts. 

In 1830, Jacob Marker, an old wagoner, came and settled on land now owned 
John Swinger. He had a good team of horses, and a strong wagon, and his serv- 
ices were in almost constant demand, hauling staves, etc.. to Dayton, loading back 
with salt and other goods for the stores on his route, and to those of Greenville, 
Adams' mill, etc. Until the date of the township's formation in 1839, the settlers 
voted at New Harrison or Adams' mill, as the little settlement was then called. 

The first schoolhouse built in the township was put up by John Hess in 1838. 
on the present farm of Hiram Rhodes, on Section 19, on Panther Creek. Prior to 
this, however, school had been taught for some time in a private house owned by 
William Hammel, and located on the Swinger farm. The first teacher was David 
Clevine. There are now in the township seven brick schoolhouses and one frame. 
There are 655 youth of both sexes in the township, ranging in age from six to 
twenty-one. Between sixteen and twenty-one, there are 131 persons. The amount 
paid teachers was $2,111.26; contingent expenses. $264.24; total, $2,375.50. 
Value of school property is $8,000. The average wages is $38 and $18, and the 
average time of school session for the year was thirty-four weeks. There is but 
one village in the township ; it is known as Vienna. It is situated on the Green- 
ville and Milton turnpike, in the south central part of Franklin, and was laid out 
in 1870 by George Wright and John Hayworth. The hamlet contains two dry- 
goods stores, a confectionery and a saloon. There are in Franklin two post offices, 
and the population in L870 was 1,366. 

On October 2i!. 1879, Wiley Coulter was shot to death by Monroe Roberson 
in Vienna, lie died on the evening of the next day. Roberson was tried in Feb- 
ruary, 1880. and March 6, was sentenced by Judge Meeker to be kept in solitary 
confinement until Friday. July 10. 1880, and on that day to he " hanged by the 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 455 

neck until you are dead, and may God have mercy on your soul. Such is the 
penalty to follow an outraged law. 

MONROE TOWNSHIP. 

Monroe Township was laid off in June, 1836, being taken from the east end 
of Twin Township, and contained all of Township 7 north, Range 4 east, that is 
in the county, and the eastern tier of sections of Township 8 north. Range 3 east. 
This is the southeastern township of the county, and is bounded on the north by 
Franklin Township, on the east by Miami County, on the south by Preble and Mont- 
gomery Counties, and on the west by Twin Township. Ludlow's Creek runs 
diagonally across the northeast part of the township, entering the east half of 
Section 6, and running south by east, leaves the township from the center of Sec- 
tion 16. This creek has many small tributaries that afford excellent outlets for 
the many underground drains that farmers are putting in to dry out and warm 
up the land. In an early day this township was very low and wet, but, owing to 
the large quantity of decayed vegetable matter, these low lands are ver} r pro- 
ductive ; in fact, what was once swamp and quagmire is now choice fanning lauds. 

There is no village or city within the boundaries of this township, but a 
place that bears the name of Pittsburg, of which, perhaps, in a day away back in 
the past, some had an idle dream of future greatness. But, alas, the ravages 
of time, the destroyer of all things, have lain in the dust the ambitions of its 
founders, and Pittsburg lives only in name and stoiy. 

The first to brave a settlement in this township, and undergo the privations 
and hardships of a pioneer life in a wilderness, was Asa Jones and Henry Adding- 
ton, who built their cabins on Section 8. in about 1819. They were followed the 
next year b}- Mr. Mote and family, who were the third actual settlers in the 
township, and he lived only one year after his settlement when he died, the first 
death that occurred among the settlers. His remains were taken to Milton. Miami 
County, for burial. 

Thomas Jones, brother of Asa, came in 1823, and settled in the northern 
part of the township, and George Gabel in the southern part in the same year. 
Among others who settled in the township in an early day were William and 
John Richardson in the northern part, Samuel Cams and Peter Shank in the 
southern part, and Joseph Brown. Peter Abrain and John Snorph in the south- 
western part. Settlers came in very slowly, which can be attributed only to the 
wretched state of the country at this time. 

Reader, imagine, if you can, this beautiful country of to-day. shrouded in the 
mantle that nature gave it, a dense forest, gloomy and almost impenetrable swamps, 
not a mark of civilization to greet the eye of the hardy pioneer ; no churches, no 
schools, with nothing but the howl of the wolf, the screech of the panther, the 
rapid flight of the timid deer ; the whoop of the red man or the whiz of his arrow, 
to break the enchanted stillness that reigned supreme in nature's wild dominion. 
Such was the condition of this now beautiful township of Monroe, with its highly 
improved and productive farms, its fine residences, its commodious barns, its 
churches, its schools, its roads ; and, can we not truthfully say, we owe as great a 
debt of gratitude to those early pioneers, as we do to our fathers that broke the 
chain of oppression, and freed our beloved country from the despotic rule of cruel 
tyranny. We certainly do, for freedom and civilization go hand in hand ; advance- 
ment and development are the fruits of liberty, and most nobly have these pioneers 
discharged the dut}- intrusted to them, and we are in the possession to-day of the 
fruits of their labor and privation. 

CHURCHES. 

In an early day. these pioneers, like the Israelites of old. were without a place 
in which to worship, but with a spirit true to devotion, they met in each others' 



456 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

cnli ins, and raised their voices in unison and praise in magnifying the name of 
their great. Preserver. Among the early pioneer preachers in this locality was 
Philip Y ounce, a German Baptist, who preached the first sermon within the present 
bounds of Monroe Township. 

This denomination of religionists began their labors in the Miami Valley, at 
the same time the first ray of civilization illumined the great forest, and with a 
purpose as true to the development of Christianity as the magnetic needle to the 
pole. They have kept unswervingly to their course, have triumphed over every 
opposition, borne down every calumnious thrust, and to-day the beautiful Miami 
Valley is dotted with their churches, their schools, their other improvements and 
developments. In fact, the little germ planted and so carefully nourished and 
trained has expanded and grown, and to-day its success is without a parallel in 
the great Miami Valley. These people are unostentatious, make no display of 
finely, or a gaudy appearance, are strictly temperate, industrious, and are among 
the best citizens to be found in the land. The} r have two churches, one in Monroe 
Township, the other in Franklin; they are known as the Ludlow and Painter Creek 
District, and have a membership of 400. who are presided over by the Rev. Jesse 
Stutsman. Elder William Cassell and the Rev. Tobias Kreider, all gentlemen of 
ability and refinement, and are doing good work in the advancement of Christianity 
and enlightenment. 

The first members of the German Baptist Church that lived in America emi- 
grated from Swartzenau, Germany, in the year 1719, and settled in Germantown, 
Penn. They had been severely pei'secuted on account of their religious faith, and 
fled to America with a hope of gaining liberty and having the privilege of wor- 
shiping God according to the dictates of their own conscience and according to 
His word. For sixty years their progress was slow, owing to the difficulties and 
hardships of a new country in its unsettled state, caused by the French war of 
175") and the Revolution, twenty } r ears later, and many subsequent Indian wars 
along the borders of the new settlements. The Indian's ruthless hand was 
severely felt, and many fell victims to the scalping knife. At times, their danger 
was so severely felt that when the father or sons left the house they bade their 
friends good bye, with a fear of never meeting them again. 

But the long, long night of woe finally began to give way, and a bright morn 
shone forth, which has lasted for over a century, and still shines. In 1748, 
Christopher Saur printed the first German Bible in America, also edited the first 
paper ever issued from the church. They organized their first Sabbath-school in 
1740. and the first annual conference, of which we have any knowledge, was held 
in 1778. The liberty and protection the Constitution of the United States gave 
them instilled new energy, and their progress became more visible. 

The first meeting-house of the church that we have any account of was built 
in Franklin County, Penn., in 1708. 

The first Brother that settled in Virginia was John Garber, in Flat Rock 
V alley, in 1777 ; he was an eminent minister, and built up a large congregation. 
From this valley. Jacob Miller moved to Ohio, and settled on the west side of the 
great Miami River, near Dayton, in 1800. He was the first one that settled west 
of the river, and was an able man. and Labored faithfully in the cause of promoting 
and advancing the principles of Christianity. He was born in Pennsylvania, in 
1735, and, a1 the time of his arrival in Ohio, the country was a dense forest, 
inhabited by numerous tribes of Indians. It is said of Brother Miller that he 
often visited them in their wigwams and sang and prayed with them, that his kind 
treatment led them to protect him. They said lie was the good man the Great 
Spirit sent from the East. He raised a very exemplary family of twelve children, 
nine sons and three (laughters ; three of his sons became able ministers, and reside 
in Indiana, and have done much in building up the church in that State, which 
numbers eighty-five organizations at present. There are. at this time, about seventy- 
live organized churches in Ohio, with very large, commodious houses for worship. 



HISTORY OK DARKE COUNTY. 457 

There are organized churches in twenty of the States of the Union, and one in Den- 
mark,with an estimated membership, in the aggregate, of over one hundred thousand. 

There are eleven religious periodicals printed by members of the church, and 
devoted to its advancement. 

There are three colleges under control of the church — one at Mount Morris, 
111., conducted by Elder J. W. Stein ; one at Ashland, Ohio, conducted by Elder 
S. G. Sharp, and one at Berlin. Penn.. conducted by Elder James Quirter. These 
colleges are large and commodious, and have all the advantages and conveniences 
of modern architecture. The students are watched over with great care, and 
everything of an immoral nature is strictly excluded, and students are welcomed, 
regardless of religion or sect, if they conform to the moral standard required. 
Their church has four organized congregations in Darke County, with a member- 
ship of eleven hundred — one congregation in the southern part of the county, 
known as Ludlow and Painter Creek ; one in the northeast part, known as Oak- 
land ; one in the northwest part, known as Union City, and one in the southwest, 
known as Palestine Congregation. There are twent} r -three resident ministers of 
this denomination in the county, and they have nine houses of worship, which are 
very neatly constructed and finished. 

The Lutherans also have a church organization in the township, but are not 
so numerous as their German Baptist brethren. They have a good church build- 
ing, and a membership of about forty, presided over by the Rev. Mr. Peters, a 
very able clerical gentleman. 

Great enthusiasm prevails among the people in regard to their church, and a 
true Christian feeling predominates among the members. The}' are the best of 
citizens, take great pride, generally, in educating their children, are sober and 
industrious, and their farm improvements are number one in every particular. 
They are mostly old settlers, and came here with little or no money, and, by hard 
labor and good management (characteristics of the German people), they have 
made good, comfortable homes, and are living in the full enjoyment of all the 
necessaries of life. 

There are, also, a goodly number in the township belonging to other denomi- 
nations, of which we might mention the Baptists, the Methodists, the Brethren in 
Christ, etc., bnt, as they belong to churches outside of the township, cannot, prop- 
erly, be spoken of here. 

schools. 

A school district was laid out in this township in 1836, three east and west 
and one mile in width, thus leaving out a mile on the western side. Much dissat- 
isfaction was caused by this arrangement, so new districts two miles square were 
formed, and in 1837, a schoolhouse which had been partly finished was removed to 
Section 28. There are now seven school buildings iu the township, erected at an 
estimated cost of $6,000. The township has a total enumeration of 548 scholars. 
Enrollment — males 230. females 216, total 446. Average daily attendance, 126 
boys and 140 girls : average per cent in attendance 72 ; number between sixteen 
and twenty-one years of age, 39 boys and 31 girls ; total, 70. Average 
price paid teachers per school month — men, $40 ; ladies, $20. Thus we see that 
the school advantages in this township are good, and the people in general are 
making strenuous efforts to educate their children, which certainly is very com- 
mendable to the patrons of the schools. 

Asa Jones, Monroe's first settler, taught the first school in the tow nship. 
Children were obliged to come long distances, and we were surprised in looking 
over old records to find the average per cent in attendance quite as good as no w 

The journeying of the children to and from school at certain times was fraught 
with great peril, and the labyrinth in the woods was so intricate that roads had to 
be " blazed" so that the children might not lose their way. 

The first schoolhouse was a small log structure with puncheon floor, and 



458 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

clapboard roof sections of the logs were removed to admit the light of day. and again 
replaced as a protection against the fury of storms and the biting blasts of winter. 
A fireplace in one end gave warmth and comfort to the occupants. In the severity 
of the winter, a semi-circle was formed around this fireplace, and frequently an 
exchange of places would occur, so that all might have a slight- benefit of the 
coveted place, tint 1 am sorry to say the schoolmaster most generally occupied the 
"warm seat." much to the dissatisfaction of his pupils. 

Heats were improvised by splitting linn logs in two, boring holes in the ends, 
into which wooden pins were inserted, so that the tiat side would lie up. and 
undoubtedly these made very comfortable seats for the boys and girls of fifty 
years ago. 

No maps, charts, globes or finely glazed black boards adorned the walls, no 
improved text-books to elucidate the mysteries of science, thus making school days 
more profitable and agreeable. Owing to these disadvantages, it was only by dint 
of hard labor and persevering industry that the young men and women of an early 
day acquired the rudiments of an education, and from these humble temples of 
knowledge men of sterling worth and ability have descended. 

TWIN TOWNSHIP. 

Twin Township was erected in July, 1817, from Greenville Township, which 
then comprised the whole territory within the limits of Darke County, conse- 
quently Twin was the second civil division of land made. Its limits embraced all 
that part of the county south of a line running due east from the northeast corner 
of Section 31. Town 11 north. Range 1 east. 

The area of the township has been reduced b}' the successive formation of 
other townships till it now lacks one tier of sections on the east, of including all of 
Town S north. Range 3 east. Its name was taken from Twin Creek. It contains 
no considerable streams. Miller's Fork rises in the northwestern part, and flows 
in a southerly course, passing out of the township from Section 33. This stream 
throughout its course Mows with a rapid current, and with its many tributaries 
affords an excellent system of drainage for the surrounding country. Painter 
('reck Hows eastward across the north part of the town on into the Stillwater. 
Several creeks which flow into Ludlow's Creek head in the eastern part and afford 
drainage thereto. 

The eastern half and north part of Twin Township have a Hat surface, origi- 
nally swamp lands. The rest of the land has a more elevated and rolling surface. 
The soil is rich, black and very productive. Corn, wheat, oats, flax and barley 
are successfully and profitably grown, and the cultivation of tobacco is gradually 
assuming greater proportions as acreage annually increases, the strong soil being 
well adapted to sustain its rank growth. There is scarcely any waste land. Most 
farms are well improved, and the general appearance of the country suggests 
thrift and enterprise. Twin was early settled. .Miller's Fork, with swift water and 
high land, attracted the settlers' eyes, and Wayne's trail from Lewisburg to Fort 
Jefferson and Greenville ran along the banks of flu- stream. Here the pioneer 
was monarch, untrammeled by society restraints, and free to wage war with the 
kingly trees of the forest. The pioneer of Twin Township was Jacob North. The 
date of his arrival is conjectured to have been previous to or during the war of 
1812. He moved from the Lewisburg settlement and built his domicile on the 
creek bank, near the present location of the township cemetery. His sojourn was 
but transient. The passions of the \v(\ men were aroused, and depredations upon 
his little property became frequent. North was several times admonished to leave 
the locality, but he apprehended no danger and still remained. At length. Stoner 
and Elliott fell victims to the tomahawk and scalping knife, and the pioneer was 
marked as a victim. One day. a half-breed quietly stepped into into his cabin 
and informed him that for the safety of himself and family he had better return 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 459 

to the settlement at once. Acting upon this advice. Mr. North and his wife gath- 
ered up their few movables and went back to his old home. Shortly following his 
departure, a party of Indians surrounded his cabin and burned it to the ground, 
and it was probably well for the owner that a friend had given him warning. 
Thus terminated the first attempt at a residence in the land of Twin Township. 

On Christmas Day, 1800, a company of emigrants began a long and toilsome 
journey from North Cai'olina westward, across the Ohio River, and northward, 
into the Indian country. Accounts of the fair, fertile valleys of the Miamis had 
reached their homes and incited them to go forward to settle upon the banks of 
the Upper Miami. These emigrants located north of Dayton, in the fertile valley 
of the Stillwater. From the ranks of this colony, about 1816, came the first per- 
manent settlers of our township. The van was led by Richard Robbins, born in 
Randolph County, N. C, where he celebrated his marriage previous to his removal 
to the Stillwater. He became a resident of Twin Township in 1815, having settled 
on land just west of the present site of Ithaca. From this dates the actual settle- 
ment of the township. The war had closed, but the Indians remained, and white 
and red men regarded each other with distrust. Both went armed. One day, 
while Robbins was feeding some pigs which were confined in a small pen to pro- 
tect them from the wolves, the sharp report of a flint-lock rifle was heard, and 
the settler saw an Indian neighbor withdrawing his body behind a tree hard by. 
He charged the attempt to shoot him upon the Indian, who earnestly denied any 
such intention. Robbins would not be convinced. He always maintained that 
the shot was fired with a view of getting possession of a fine rifle much coveted by 
the Indians. The settler was carried off by an attack of the measles, in 1824. 
David Lucas, from the same company of immigrants, followed Robbins in 1816, 
and located just south of Ithaca on land owned by Champe McGoff. In the same 
spring, two brothers, William and Eli Curtner, entered land and began a clearing 
further up Miller's Fork, on land now owned by Mr. Albright. These men located 
here in March, and in May following, a son, named William, was born to Eli Curt- 
ner, and this was the first white child born in the township. 

The fall of 1816 brought in a few more settlers from the Stillwater. Land 
was cheap and good, and attracted many intent upon securing themselves homes. 
One after another settled along the creek and began his labor, encouraged by the 
older settlers, former neighbors. In the fall, came Philip Shank, his father, Fred- 
erick, and their families, and entered the land now owned by George Corwin. 
Again the season went round, and again there came an influx of ininiigrants. 
David Shearer and James McDole settled on the Colville farm, just west of Ithaca. 
The Shanks were natives of Virginia ; and of the earliest settlers on the Stillwater, 
Philip Rutter, of Virginia, and Daniel Baumgardner, of North Carolina, located on 
Section 16, school land ; three brothers. Isaac, Thomas and George Walker, pri- 
marily from Rhode Island, and later from Virginia and Tennessee, from which 
State they early made their way to Stillwater Valley, whence they moved to this 
township, locating on land owned by Troxel & Trump. Frazee Doty came in the 
spring of 1817, and settled just west of Ithaca, on land now owned by Matthew 
Guy. Mr. Dot}' was one of Twin's prominent townsmen, and officiated as a local 
minister. A few years ago, he removed to Missouri, where, a short time ago, he 
was found by the roadside dead, as was the horse which he had been driving. The 
cause of the accident was unknown. Mrs. Doty, his widow. Mrs. Shank, wife of 
Philip Shank, and Mrs. Curtner, wife of William Curtner, are the only surviving 
persons of the original first settlers. During the fall of 1817, quite an addition 
was made to the settlement from Stillwater. Andrew Burkett was one who came 
at this time. For several years, immigration was slow, but constant. We are not 
able to trace in order the arrival of settlers ; however, we may recall Michael 
Bickett, Emery Rogers and William Lemon, who was the first Justice of the Peace 
and Captain of the militia company of the neighborhood. For many years, the 
east and northeast parts of the township remained somewhat unsettled, owing to 



460 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

the swampy condition of the surface, but, in time, these lands were entered, drain- 
age was resorted to, and. as elsewhere, they have become by far the choice farming 
lands of the country. 

The early settlers have nearly all been called from their toils and privations 
to final rest. Peace be to their memories, green grow the grass over their gravis. 
May the present generation preserve inviolate, and carry to perfection, the sacred 
heritage bequeathed by them. In this as in nearly all newly settled countries, 
the industries dependent upon trade were slow of development. Pioneer wants 
were proportionate to their abilities to satisfy them. Milling was done at the 
Stillwater and Big Twin, at the Lewisburg settlement, for many years. The first 
mill — and this appellation is scarcely applicable to it — was erected upon a branch 
in Section 32, by John Osbrook. This was the old-fashioned corn cracker, and 
cracked corn then constituted one of the staple articles of food. The daily 
capacity was limited to a few bushels, and the mill ran but a short period of the 
year. The first saw-mill built was on Miller's Creek, near Ithaca, by the enter- 
prising John Colville. This man was an early settler, and by energy and enter- 
prise did much for his neighbors and for the township. This mill, like the 
preceding, was imperfect and rude, but answered its purpose and well fulfilled its 
work. As the country increased and the wants of the townsmen demanded more 
pretentious manufactures, these were supplied by remodeling the old mills or by 
building others. The water-power of the country was defective and difficult of 
being utilized. Steam power had to be introduced. The first steam grist-mill 
was erected in Ithaca, by Caswell Sharp. This marked an epoch in the milling 
line of this section of country. The mill is still in use, being owned and operated 
by Watson West, and doing good work. In order to preserve the health and 
spirits of the community, a copper still was erected in the southern part of the 
township by Daniel Phillips. It was probably the only one ever operated in Twin 
Township. How long this "venomous worm - ' was operated, or what was its 
capacity, it is not known, but it was inefficient to meet the local demand. If ever 
intemperance reigned and ruined in after-times in the history of the township, but 
little harm can be charged to this still. There are now in the township three 
grist-mills of good capacity and four saw-mills, three of which are circular, with 
large capacity. These, with several manufactories in Arcanum to be mentioned 
hereafter, now mark the improvement which the industry and enterprise of a half 
century have wrought in the township. Almost as soon as the settler had 
provided a shelter for himself and family, he took counsel with his neighbor for 
the erection of a place for public worship. From house to house the preacher 
traveled until increased numbers permitted a house, and as time wore on this was 
kept in repair, until increased wealth enabled the worshipers to erect churches in 
cost and character in accord with the times. 

The first ones to bear the glad tidings of salvation to the settlers of Twin 
Township were Abraham Sneethan and Levi Purviance, of the Christian society. 
Who came first is not known, and a third name, that of John Williams, is given 
as a cotemporary with them. This trio were early engaged in the work of dis- 
seminating (lospel truths. The first church built in the township was by the 
Christians, on land now owned by W. H. Tillman. At a later period, they erected 
another church, just one mile south of Arcanum. Both of these have gone down 
years ago, and now the denomination which was seen to have planted the first 
germs of practical religion in Twin Township has no organization within its bound- 
aries. The United Brethren in Christ had the next regular organization. They 
built their first church in Ithaca, where the present one now stands, which building 
was the second of the kind raised in the township, nearly fifty years ago. The 
church interest is strong and healthy at both Ithaca and Arcanum. 

The Methodists, progressing with the van of civilization, were here, as else- 
where, early promulgators of the Scriptures in Twin Township. The first organ- 
ization was effected at Ithaca, in 1840, with forty-two members, and two years 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 4b" 1 

subsequently, their present house of worship was erected, the first in the town- 
ship. They now have three societies — one at Ithaca, one at Gordon, and the third 
at Arcanum. Four other organizations, two of them Lutherans, one German 
Reformed and one Baptist, complete the list of the religious associations in Twin 
Township. 

There are two cemeteries in the township ; these cities of the dead are both 
located at Ithaca. One is under the control of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, 
and the other belongs to the township, and takes its origin from the date of the 
first settlement therein. Here was buried Jacob Baumgardner. who died in the 
spring of 1817, and was the first burial in the township. 

Twin has its full proportion of villages, thei'e being three regularly laid out 
villages within its limits. The oldest in point of survey is Ithaca, which was 
platted by John Colville, in 1832. This served as the trading center for a cir- 
cumference of many miles and for a number of years. Joseph Evans established the 
first dry-goods store in the place. It was kept by " Jacky " North, previously 
mentioned. The first tavern, or at least place where the public were invited to 
" bed and board," was kept by Eli Shearer, upon the site occupied by the present 
hotel. The village now contains one dry-goods store, one grocery, one clothing' 
store, two blacksmith-shops, one hotel, and among shops, a shoe, a meat, a harness. 
a cabinet and an undertaker's. There is a single physician onl} r in the place. 

Here are the headquarters of Ithaca Lodge, F. & A. M., No. 295, whose charter 
was granted July 17, 1857. At this time the members were William H. Matchett, 
Daniel Ridenour, William Colville, S. C. Engle, Martin J. Colville, Milton McNeal, 
J. H. Engle, Caswell Sharp, Clark Baker and Elijah Heath. 

The first Master was William H. Matchett ; the first Senior Warden, Clark 
Baker ; the first Junior Warden, Martin Colville. The lodge has a present mem- 
bership of sixty-three, and is in a flourishing condition. They have a large three- 
story building, whose uppermost room is large, spacious, well furnished and in 
use as a lodge-room. 

The next place laid out was Arcanum, in 1849, by Gunder. As growth continued, 
additions were successively made by land-owners, on all sides. Of these were addi- 
tions to the north and west by Ivester; Allread & Houck, on the south, and by Falk- 
ner, on the northeast. On June 20, 1851, the first store in the place was begun, by 
Messrs. Samuel and John Smith, and in the year following, the railroad came 
through from Dayton. The building of this road, which extended diagonally 
across the township, from north to south, marked an epoch in the history of town- 
ship and village. It put an end to the necessity of the previous long, tedious and 
expensive journey, through swamps and over corduroy roads, to Dayton, with 
produce. It brought a good market to the township, and, to the extreme surprise 
of many, " increased the price of horses." The M. E. Church was built in 1856, 
and the people came here instead of to the old log church on Painter's Creek. 
The United Brethren was put up in 1872 or 1873, and they were no longer depend- 
ent upon the old schoolhouse, and the Reformed Church perfected an organization 
in 1879. 

On June 20, 1851, the Messrs. Smith, as stated, engaged here in merchandise 
and trade, and to their energy Arcanum, now a village of 1 ,000 people, largely owes 
its present prosperity. It contains four dry-goods houses, seven groceries, two drug- 
stores, two hardware, four harness, three carriage, four blacksmiths, three meat, 
three shoe, two milliner, three dress making and two barber shops. There are two 
livery stables, a hotel, a printing office, two bakerys, four grain warehouses, one 
lumber yard, two flouring-mills, a saw-mill, a planing-mill and a sash and door 
factory. A synopsis this of the interests of a live, thriving place. Among pro- 
fessional men, there are four physicians and one dentist. A schoolhouse has eight 
rooms and four teachers employed therein. Taken in business, religious, educa- 
tional or other views of the village, it is seen to be aspiring and enterprising, man- 
ifesting a spirit valuable to the community and securing prosperity to themselves. 



462 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

The presence of such places in a township serve as a stimulus to trade and agri- 
culture, enhancing real estate values and inciting to cultivation. 

BUTLER TOWNSHIP. 

The most current statement with regard to the name chosen for this township 
is that it was in honor of Maj. Butler, who fell in the battle known to history as 
St. (Mail's defeat; but this is probably true in an indirect way only. The town- 
ship was principally settled, to begin with, by pioneers from the neighboring 
county -Butler — and direct reference was had to the old home county rather than 
to the hero, in the choice of the name which the new township should bear. 
Butler County j however, was named undoubtedly in honor of the hero above men- 
tioned. 

The history of Butler Township will be somewhat meager, owing to the 
unusual difficulty of collecting data concerning it; but enough has been gleaned 
from various authentic sources to form an interesting and instructive sketch. 

It is somewhat remarkable that the most diligent search of the records in the 
county offices gives no information concerning the date, etc, of the organization 
of this township, and conversations with the oldest residents now living afford 
no definite clew to the myster}'. The general impression among those who are 
now most likely to have opinions on the subject that approximate accuracy is 
that it took place in 1819-20. Dr. J. P. Love, now in his seventy-fifth year, and 
a resident at New Castine since 1833, says that about twenty years after the first 
settlement of what became Butler Township, the anomaly existed of four school 
districts that had never been legally or formally constituted, and of several road 
districts that had not been authoritatively defined ! In 1834, for the first time, 
these districts were legally bounded and laid out. 

Butler Township is situated in the southwestern part of the county, being in 
the southern tier, and the second from the Indiana line. Harrison intervening. 
It is six miles square. The general surface is level, but is somewhat broken in 
the northwestern portion and in the vicinity of New Madison. There w T as a smali 
tract in the central part, known as Maple swamp, the value of which was depre- 
ciated on account of being subject to frequent inundations, but a drain was put 
through it by order of the County Commissioners, thereby draining this locality 
and rendering the " swamp " the richest and best of farming land, from the deep 
alluvium of the surface soil. Originally, the township was heavily timbered with 
such woods as no weak land can produce, and the fair proportion of timber that is 
still left standing is stalwart and symmetrical. It has been claimed that since the 
reclamation of Maple swamp there is less untillable soil in Butler than in any 
other township of Darke County. This is saying much, probably too much, but 
the fact remains that its fertility attracted within its limits at an early day men of 
ability and energy, who have brought it to a high state of cultivation and of public 
and private improvement. Eleven years ago, it had thirty miles of turnpike (or 
almost a mile to even* square mile of its area) under contract, at a cost of 
$60,000 — ample evidence of the truth of the above statement. The land was 
originally entered in eighty and one hundred and sixt}' acre parcels, princi- 
pally, but more of the latter than of the former. In some instances, quarter 
sections have been divided, but in more cases two eighties have been thrown 
together. Among the large farms of to-day are Joshua Fowble's, 250 acres and 
upward, one and a half miles northeast of New Castine ; Jacob Wolverton's, 
about 175 acres, just north of Castine, and Esquire Voris', just south. 

The Pittsburgh, Cincinnati & St. Louis Railway runs through the northwest- 
ern corner of the township. Twin Creek rises near the northern boundary of But- 
ler, runs almost south into Section 22, thence southeasterly to New Castine, and 
by a circuitous but still southeasterly course leaves the township a short distance 
west of the center of Section 36. Between Section 22 and the south line of Butler, 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 463 

it sends off several branches to the right and left, at an average distance of three- 
fonrths of a mile apart. Mud Creek also enters near the center of the township 
line and extends southeast into Section 8. The Middle Branch of Mud Creek 
enters the township one-fourth of a mile east of the railroad, in the eastern part of 
Section 5, near the center of which it crosses the railroad and then runs nearly par- 
allel therewith until it leaves the township, at the northwestern corner of Section 
18. The first turnpike was built in 1869, a north and south road, running from 
Greenville to Eaton, through New Castine, called the Greenville & Eaton Pike. 
The east and west road, crossing the other at right angles at Castine, is popularly 
known as the « New Garden Road." The name arose from the circumstance of 
semi-annual meetings held by the Quakers of New Garden, Ind., and the regular 
pilgrimage thereto of large numbers of Quakers from Union Township, Miami 
County, this State, over this road. 

Job Camp, who came in 1814, is reputed to be the earliest settler in Butler. 
Francis Harter and his sons, also James Mills, came in 1817 or 1818; Jacob Wein- 
gardner in 1819. Abram P. Freeman came only a little later. Charles Harriman 
came to Butler in 1821 and settled where New Castine now stands. Jonathan 
Pitman, Joseph Danner and John Ellis also came at a very early date. Ellis was 
from Kentucky. Job Camp was from Hamilton County, but was raised in New 
Jersey. Jacob F. Miller was Justice of the Peace as early as 1816. Mark Mills 
represented the county in 1832 or 1833, and was probably also a Justice of the 
Peace. 

David Harter, one of the oldest settlers, lived in the northwestern part of the 
township. Esquire Peter Fleck, for a long time a Trustee, lived close to the north 
line, toward the east. Esquire Baker, somewhat noted as a Democratic politician, 
lived east of Castine. He was elected to the State Legislature and settled in Green- 
ville in the practice of the law. Politically, Butler Township is largely Democratic 
—so much so as to have been termed the "South Carolina of Darke County." 
Religiously, most of the people are either church members or in sympathy with the 
church. There are five church structures in the township, at which services are 
held at stated times, and six resident local preachers — men capable and earnest in 
their calling. 

The first schoolhouse was built in 1824, on Section 35, near the present site 
of New Castine. A second schoolhouse, a log cabin, was located up the road 
toward the creek. A man by the name of -Bentley now lives on the ground occu- 
pied by the old schoolhouse, in the southeast corner of the town° The third 
schoolhouse in this neighborhood was a frame building, located about half a mile 
east of Castine. The fourth was a brick structure, put up on the same ground. 
The last and present schoolhouse is a frame, two stories, also on the same ground. 
One teacher is employed in the summer and two in the winter. There are nine 
school districts in Butler Township ; the houses are mostly of wood. Samuel Sat- 
terley was the first teacher in Butler. James L. Hunt and P. V. Banta (the latter 
now of Greenville) were teachers about 1833. The first meetings were held in pri- 
vate houses, and afterward in schoolhouses. The first church was built at New 
Castine in 1849, by the United Brethren ; Otterbein Chapel, located in the north- 
western part of the township, was built about the same time. In 1830, a black- 
smith-shop was built by Joseph Danner, on the west side of the southeast quarter 
of Section 26 ; his land patent, for eighty acres, bears date the same year. In 
1833, Dr. J. P. Love bought him out. From 1833 to 1837, coopering was' the most 
conspicuous mechanical business in the township, but there were also blacksmith- 
shops, while shoemaking had begun to be quite a business outside of household 
manufacture ; pottery was carried on at Castine and elsewhere, and there was also 
a hatter's establishment in the place. From that time until 1842, we are credibly 
informed by an old resident, the little village did more business than ever before 
or since. These and the still earlier days of which we have spoken formed the 
log-cabin period. The old-fashioned spinning-wheel was in every home, the flax 



464 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

brake on every farm, and in every third or fourth house the loom did faithful serv- 
ice. Candle-molds went the rounds, and woe to the unlucky borrower who 
caused a dent therein. Splint-bottom chairs served the twofold purpose of seats 
and. when turned over, of racks, for the suspension of tallow dips in the formative 
stage. The distinction between base-burning parlor and cooking stoves had never 
entered the heads of the foremost families ; indeed, the only arrangement for both 
heating and culinary purposes was the old-time, wide-mouthed, friendly fireplace, 
save and except an occasional plain box-stove, made of unadorned plates of iron — 
and these were scarcer in the community then than pianos are now. Even as late 
as 1833 the township was a wilderness. Hardships had to be overcome, of course, 
and difficulties surmounted, but it should not be supposed that there were no com- 
pensating advantages. The pioneers not only lived, but lived well. Game, fish, 
wild fruits, berries, etc., were abundant and cheap. Clothing, though not stylish, 
was neat and comfortable, and cost little more than the labor necessary to make 
it. The habits of the people were simple, and their expenses light. Per contra. 
nearly all modern conveniences were wanting, and modern luxuries unthought of. 
The usual place for milling was at Frazier's stone mill, six miles down Twin Creek, 
in Preble County. The market was at Dayton and Cincinnati — thirty -two and 
sixty-two miles distant. Now the distance is two miles to the nearest shipping 
point, viz., Manchester, on the Dayton & Western Railroad. In 1830, the popula- 
tion of the township was 512 ; in 1870, 1,524. 

NEW CASTINE. 

This is a village of 200 inhabitants, a little over twelve miles south from 
Greenville and six and a half miles southeast from New Madison. It is located on 
Sections 35 and 26, at the center of the east and west line between them, and one 
and a half miles within the eastern boundary of Butler Township. New Castine 
was laid out in 1832, on land that belonged to John Ellis, Joseph Danner and 
Frederick Smith. Dr. J. P. Love, who came in 1833, bought out Danner's and 
part of Smith's, and a man from Pennsylvania, Samuel Brosserman, bought the 
rest of Smith's interest. The original proprietors had. without legal notice or due 
course of law, got a surveyor to lay off lots and had commenced selling the same. 
when Mr. Love, who was somewhat posted in legal matters, informed them that 
they had no right so to do, and that for every lot they had sold the}- were liable 
to a fine of $50. A plat was immediately made, and the necessary steps taken to 
prevent prosecutions. Castine was incorporated in 1842-43, but the charter was 
allowed to expire through default of the citizens, and the place has now no corpo- 
rate existence. Dr. J. P. Love occupied the first house built in Castine — on the 
northeast corner of Main and Main Cross streets. At the same time, another log- 
cabin was put up by William Boswell, but not finished until afterward. Soon 
after, another was erected by George Hickman. The present "Eagle Hotel " was 
built by John L. Robinson, located at the southwest corner of the two principal 
streets. Russell Evans, now deceased, ran a hotel on the east side of Main street. 
the third lot from the corner. He began in the hotel business in 1843. He had 
been keeping a " grocery " here and there in rented quarters. His hotel was 
burned down in the fall of 1879. "The Eagle" was the first and only hotel 
built as such. It has changed hands man}' times. James Hanway was for 
a long time a resident of New Castine, but moved to Kansas in 1857. 
R. M. Pomeroy, now President of the Pacific Railway, sold goods here two 
years from 1838 to 1840. Pomeroy kept store at New Paris, then at Castine. 
then at Spartansburg, Ind., then at Cincinnati, and finally went to Boston. 
Mass. Dr. Love sold the first goods in New Castine and continued in the trade 
until 1838 ; he began again in 1842 and continued until 1851 ; for six years, he 
dealt in pork and hauled the cured meat to Cincinnati in wagons. He has only 
practiced medicine at intervals and upon urgent solicitation of his patrons. The 
following physicians have practiced in the village and township since 1833, viz.. 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. ±$5 

Drs. Birt, Cooper, David Marsh, Stevens, Palmer, John L. Matchett, T. R. Luff, 
Isaac Thomas, Humphre}- and Frank Matchett, the two latter being the present 
resident physicians. 

The United Brethren Church was built in 18-49, as before stated. Among the 
leading promoters of the enterprise were George Byers, Samuel Coblentz and Henry 
Wehrly. The Dunkard Church was built about eight years ago. Wendell Min- 
nich, a preacher of that denomination, was the first man who worked up an inter- 
est in the matter. At first, the meetings were held in a house that was built for a 
potter's house, located on Lot No. 12. Minnich died some twenty years ago, after 
which his brother-in-law, George Syler, was preacher till the new house was erected 
eight years since. The Dunkards bought their lot of Frederick Trump. Among 
the early preachers in this vicinity was a Presbyterian named Cracken. William 
McCale preached in George Byers' barn in 1833. The United Brethren held meet- 
ings there, and also at Samuel Coblentz. For an account of the schools, see Town- 
ship History. 

HARRISON TOWNSHIP. 

Harrison is one of the very best townships in the county and is peopled by 
able and thrifty farmers, who are purchasing many of the small lots of land here- 
tofore occupied as farms and attaching them to their first possessions. This shows 
fewer farms than in 1860. In other townships there are greater portions of the 
land unoccupied, and as it settles, population increases. 

The township was erected May, 1818, from territory taken from the west end 
of Twin Township, and contained all of that township west of a line commencing 
at the southeast corner of Section 31, Town 10 north. Range 2 east, and running 
thence north to the township line. It was reduced to its present size in 1820. 
Numerous streams have their source within its boundary, the principal of which 
are East Branch of Greenville Creek, branches of Mud Creek fiowing northward and 
eastward, and the East Fork of Whitewater, which rises in the northeastern part and 
flows southeasterly through its lands. The Middle Fork of Whitewater flows across 
the northwest corner, while many springs gushing out from the hillsides contribute 
their waters, which by their natural channels supply abundance of water and an 
excellent natural drainage. Save in the northwest, the valleys of these streams 
and much of their basins were swamp}- and well-nigh impassable. In some places, 
there were tall rank grasses and swamp weeds ; in others, timber and thickets of 
vinous brush — brier}' and woven as a network of nature's weaving, while on 
higher ground bordering these were walnut, hackberry, sugar maple and oaks : in 
the southeastern part, beech predominated. The native scenery presents an 
appearance of a western forest repelling the settler from interference with its 
domain. Such were the general features of this region before the pioneer had 
chosen his home, or any surveyor had ventured to trace the boundaries of town or 
range. All was wood and swamp. Nature reigned in unbroken solitude save the 
song of birds, the graceful flight of deer, the nightly howl of wolves and the 
occasional unearthly screech of the American panther. Abundance of game, the 
rolling lands, the springs and streams were marked by explorers. 

Ishmael Bunch, one of the earliest settlers of Wayne Co.. Ind.. if o-enerallv 
accepted tradition maybe accepted, built a log cabin and lived some time previous 
to the Indian outbreak on land now included in Harrison Township, but he was 
rather a roaming frontiersman than a pioneer settler, and depended more upon his 
rifle than upon his plow for subsistence. 

Before the war of 1812, the Brawleys, Purviances and McClures, had made 
entries in the southern part along the present beautiful East Fork Valley, but the 
hostile attitude of the Indians compelled them to seek more secure quarters for 
their families. Some went to the fort at Greenville and some to the older settle- 
ments south. Again the lands were left to solitude and the rude attempts at 
settlement, but served to make the wilderness more wild and strange. Soon after 



46tf HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

the treaty at Greenville, the families above mentioned returned and repaired the 
work begun, and entered anew upon the clearing-up of lands for future farms. 
They were shortly after joined by William and John Wade, who located farther 
north and near to Fort Black, and by Zadoc and John Smith, whose entr}- included 
the old fort, while James Emerson. Joseph Gist, the Tillsons and the Harlands, 
selected lands lying along the Middle Branch of Whitewater. The ring of the 
woodman's ax. and the triumphant shout of the pioneers as the last log was placed 
by the " corner men"' upon each new cabin, proclaimed the progress of civilization 
here. 

So rapid was settlement that by 1817, Zadoc Smith was encouraged to attempt 
the speculative movement of laying out a town at Fort Black. This old fort was 
established during the fall of 1813 by Lieut. Black, of a company commanded by 
Capt. Nesbitt, who at the same time built a fort in Preble County. David Baldwin, 
now of Kansas, aided to build the fort, and was for some time one of its garrison. 
Mr. Smith platted a tract of land near the fort, which was for many years and till 
its incorporation called by the name of Fort Black. On Christmas Da}'. 1817, a 
public sale of town lots was held, but the sequel proved that he had anticipated 
the needs of the times. Henry Hutton and Frederick Fulke were the only pur- 
chasers who built upon lots then sold; nevertheless, there were besides the families 
of these two men, Dennis Hart, Judson Jaqua and the Lawrences, in the neighbor- 
hood which became known as Yankee Town ; Solomon and Jonathan Thomas, 
southwest of Madison; John and Aaron Kush, on Section 11 (?) and 14; Thomas 
Micham, on Section 16 ; John Downing, on Section 10 ; Frances Spencer, on Section 
3 ; Samuel Boberts, at Fort Nesbitt, and his brother George, on Section 29, and 
John and Jacob Miller, Daniel Owens, David, James P. and Daniel Edwards and 
John Watson were in the central part and north of Fort Nesbitt. There was also 
John Tibbs, who gave his time to hunting, and David Gibbs and Newland, mill- 
wrights, and Bobert Campbell, in the southwest portion. The openings had grown 
numerous, clearings were no longer far between, and now the township was consti- 
tuted and the people entered upon a government for themselves. Among addi- 
tional settlers were Ernestus Putnam, Solomon Broderick, James Wooden (who 
were the first Justices of the Peace in the township), M. Buckingham, Nazareth 
Bunch, John Carrier, William Jones, Daniel Forkner, Jonathan Thomas, the 
Motes brothers, John Foster, E. Lovall and Thomas Gray. The lands of 1830 
had all been entered, and some localities presented an appearance of a continued 
occupation. It must be borne in mind that these settlers came not as emigrants 
go to Kansas and other Western countries, upon the railroad. Neither had they 
cash in hand, nor an abundant outfit. The greater number were sons and daughters 
of the pioneer families of Kentucky, older portions of Ohio and the enterprising of 
Eastern and Southern States. Putnam and Foulke came from Washington, D. C. 
Here having married, they sought permanent homes, and being poor, their outfit 
was indeed meager. In some cases, a horse, a cow, a few swine, and some rude 
tools for felling trees and cultiva ting the ground. Those who came from Ken- 
tucky, especially, had a horse and a few cooking utensils. They journeyed, some 
on foot, while others more fortunate had teams. Generally two or three families 
came together, and had a wagon and team in common. Such was the case with 
McClure and his sons, the Wade brothers, the Smiths, Tillson and sons and the 
Harlands. In their course, they traveled over the new roads of the older settle- 
ments, as most not from the older portions of Ohio came in by way of Cincinnati, 
up the Miami from Dayton and the Stillwater, or up the Whitewater via llichmond 
to or near the present Miami Count}' line. They then struck through the woods, 
sometimes being compelled to cut their own wa}- until the}' reached the spot which 
husband or friend had previously selected. The family sometimes entered a cabin 
provided months before by these pioneers, while other times the immigrant sought 
temporary shelter in the cabin of a neighbor, while yet others made rude shelter 
until a cabin could be built. 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 467 

It is surprising to us, and creditable to the discernment of these pioneers, 
that in the rough of nature they should have seen the wealth of their lands and so 
wisely selected them. To cut away the trees and brush, and to erect a cabin, was 
to these woodmen their easiest labor, as all within reasonable distance were ever 
ready to leave their own work to aid a neighboring old or new settler, whether 
friend or stranger ; but how to provide for their families until the ground could be 
made to yield its increase was a subject uppermost in mind, and injury by weather 
or animals was dreaded, for they had no money to purchase supplies if their own 
resources failed them. Frequently, the family was left while the father or husband 
went upon long and wearisome journeys to the older settlements upon the Miami 
or the Whitewater Valleys, and, at times, to Kentucky, where supplies could be 
obtained from friends or acquaintances. Unavoidable and unexpected delays in 
their return, which sometimes occurred, would occasion alarm, and, not infre- 
quently, the privations of hunger were endured. Had not the first settlers 
possessed natural ingenuity, developed by a frontier life, their progress, situated 
as they were, so distant from any mercantile or manufacturing center, would have 
been rendered almost impossible. The " openings " with growing crops, the rattle 
of the bells upon the cows in the deadening or in the woods, the voices of children 
and the neighborly visits of settlers, presented scenes pleasant and prophetic. 

When a crop had been raised, it was almost worth the meal or flour to get it 
ground. Daniel Riegel relates that, as late as the winter of 1842-43, he went to 
Covington from Butler Township with a grist, found several others ahead of him 
and the mill frozen up ; left his grain and returned home till the weather softened, 
then went back and helped to loosen the wheel, at the first revolution of which, the 
weight of ice that went over broke the wheel ; after which, he was compelled to take 
his grist to a mill on the Whitewater, below Paris, traveling, in all, going and coming, 
over ninety miles to get his flour. Some went down on the Whitewater, some to 
Stillwater, while others journeyed to Adams' mill, on Greenville Creek. These 
trips were prominent undertakings. They were made, mainly, on horseback, and, 
when the water was low, settlers traveled thirty or forty miles to mill, and some of 
the first settlers even went to Dayton in order to get wheat flour. A produce 
market was unknown ; provisions were raised and pork was fattened to eat. 
Clothing was not bought, but made. Ernestus Putnam, who had kept a little store 
at his house at Fort Black and was Supervisor, built, mainly at his own expense, 
a log road and bridge across the East Fork swamp. Aaron Rush was the chief 
contractor, and the money thus obtained probably saved his being compelled to 
relinquish his " claim." The Miami Canal was completed to Dayton in 1829, thus 
placing Darke County many miles nearer the commercial world, and causing the 
settlers to look forward more hopefully. 

The settlers earlier named were of the better class of pioneers. Nearly every 
one remained upon and improved his lands. Few of them now survive. Mr. 
Samuel Roberts and George Roberts, who still reside where they first settled in 
1817, are of the number. From Mrs. Roberts, now in her eighty-fourth year, is 
obtained the full, accurate statement of early settlers. Solomon Thomas and 
Henry Hutton [Henry Hutton died since this narrative was written — the last of 
April, 1880], who are now upward of ninety years of age, are residents of New 
Paris. There is a Mrs. Keener, residing in German Township, who was the wife 
of a son of Frances Harter and Solomon Harter, who was a lad when his father 
settled on that tier of sections which at first belonged to Harrison, and in 1820 
was assigned to Butler. Such is the short roll-call of surviving pioneers. 

Moral principles and intelligence have ever been known as essential factors to 
the stability and growth of our country, and these were characteristics of the 
pioneers of Harrison. 

Such was John Purviance, a descendant of David Purviance, who was promi- 
nent in the organization of the first Christian Church in Kentuck}\ At his home, 
meetings and schools were occasionally held, as, also, at the house of Samuel 



468 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

McClure, who was both preacher and teacher, conscientious and philanthropic — a ' 
good man. John Forster, Isaac Mains and William Polly were all early preachers 
of the Christian denomination. The efforts of such families as the Tillsons, Har 
lands and Pollys and of Solomon Broderick, produced a wholesome moral and 
religious sentiment in the southern and western part of the township. At Fort 
Black, lived Ernestus Putnam, a strict Presbyterian, and there were John Rush, 
John Downing, Jiidson Jaqua, Hart, and others, who were men of good character 
and public spirited. Jacob Miller was of marked intelligence, but his moral influ- 
ence was not of the best. The first house built for public worship was a log 
meeting-house, near where Friendship Church now stands. There are now eight 
churches in the township, viz.: one Presbyterian, one Methodist and one Univer- 
salist, at New Madison ; one Christian at Hollansburg. and one each of Christian, 
Presbyterian, New Light and United Brethren elsewhere in the township. It was 
also used as a schoolhouse, wherein John Purvianee taught the first school, sup- 
ported by subscription. The first schoolhouse, intended as such, was built at 
Yankeetown, in 1819. and Moses Woods was the first teacher there. The second 
was built upon Section 16, and William Hill was the first to teach in it. The 
township now has six district schools, besides the school at Hollandsburg, which 
includes two districts, and the school at Madison, of which mention is later made. 
A brief sketch of New Madison will be read with interest in this connection. 
We have referred to the Christmas auction of lots and the few sales made. It 
seems that the attempted sale was made an occasion of a regular pioneer jollifica- 
tion, but its failure was disheartening to Smith, who, in 1819, sold his entire claim 
to Ernestus Putnam, who had entered the quarter-section just west of Smith. The 
purchaser bought up all lots sold, vacated the plat, and, in 1831, surveyed New 
Madison by laying off seventeen lots on each side of what is now Main street, 
beginning with the lot where the old tannery stands and running south on the east 
side of the street and back on the west side. Mr. Putnam kept the first store in 
the place, to which he transferred his stock from Fort Black. A Mr. Hyde was 
the first blacksmith. At the southeast corner of the new plat, a rectangular- 
shaped piece of land remained, upon which Putnam placed a log house and donated 
both lot and house to the people for school purposes. This was the first schoolhouse 
within the limits of the present corporation. He and John Wade also gave a 
piece of ground for a cemetery, provided public ground for a militia parade, and, 
when a church was needed, he gave the ground, and he and others built the pres- 
ent brick church and gave it for the use of the public, with the restriction that it 
should be used by orthodox denominations only. Before the church was built, 
Mr. Putnam, who was the prime mover in the undertaking, made several proposi- 
tions toward securing co-operation. Several gave sums ranging from $50 down- 
ward. The Foulkes and Hollingsheads gave t>50 ; Mrs. Wilson (now the only sur- 
vivor) gave $50 ; Mrs. Carson, $50 ; Dr. Kilpatrick, $50, and the Lawrences, 
the Schribers, the Rittenours, etc., varying smaller amounts. The church was 
erected in 1847. Mr. Putnam superintended the work ; Jason Downing was one 
of the brickmasons ; William Biddle did a large part of the woodwork. It was 
not until several years after the church was built that funds were subscribed to 
purchase a bell, and the bell was not put up until after the German Reformed 
Church had possession of the building, which occurred in the latter part of 1857. 
After the church w r as built, there was for some time no regular preaching by Pres- 
byterian ministers, but frequent services by preachers of that and other ortho 
dox denominations. Rev. Benj. 0. Springer came here about two years after the 
church was built, and he was succeeded by Peter Crocker, who preached frequently, 
but did not occupy all the time, until 1855-5<>. In 1857, Rev. Voght, of the (4er- 
nian Reformed Church, awakened a great interest here and organized a church, a f . 
which time Mr. Putnam joined the new organization and the Presbyterian Church 
was turned over to its use. he himself appointing the following Trustees, viz., 
Elias Barter, Robert Snodgrass and Echard Worch. Mr. Snodgrass died, and 



HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 469 

Daniel Ream was appointed his successor. For over twenty-one years, the Ger- 
man Reformed Church held and occupied the property under quitclaim limitations, 
hut now have the ownership in fee simple. At present, there are services every 
two weeks by the German Reformed and United Brethren denominations, altern- 
ately. A union Sabbath school is held at 9:30 o'clock A. M. every Sunday. 
Average attendance, seventy-five. Among the Superintendents have been Wallace 
Jones, L. Adair, J. M. Adair, John 0. Harter, James Armacost, E. Lockett, H. 
Seig, David Wheeler, Elias Harter. D. Lott is the present Superintendent. The 
church and Sunday school are provided with an organ. 

The new village was slow of growth. While Putnam did work at gunsmith- 
ing, Mrs. Putnam, who is reputed to have been the real business manager, attended 
to^the business of the little store. As time went on, Putnam started a small pork 
house, and bought and packed pork, which was regarded by the neighbors as a 
doubtful enterprise. Rouk, who came in 1818, was a sort of saddler, and devel- 
oped a small shop. A mill was begun by John G. Putnam in 1850, and finished 
by Dr. Kilpatrick. It was burned in 1852, and rebuilt by P. V. Moore and Daniel 
Schults in 1856. The Universalists organized a church on April 3, 1859, with 
thirty-one members, Henry Gifford being Pastor. During the summer of 1859, 
subscriptions were received, and a church building was erected and dedicated in 
January, 1860. Christians, Universalists and Presbyterians have churches in the 
township. The latter, about 1821, at a meeting in which John Wooden, Thomas 
Carson and Jacob Miller were Trustees, the name Providence was given to their 
church. A lodge of F. & A. M.. known as Fort Black Lodge, No. 413, was char- 
tered October 21, 1868, with sixteen charter members. The first Master was L. S. 
B. Otwell. Present membership, fifty-three. 

New Madison has a fine town hall, a brick structure, built in 1878, 70x40 
feet, three stories, including basement. The middle story is used as a public 
assembly, lecture, concert, etc., room, also for festivals and dances. The basement, 
on the latter occasions, serves as culinary department, and a part of it is in gen- 
eral use for storage, etc. The upper story is the Odd Fellows' Hall. George 
Bacon was Chairman of the Committee on Construction and contractor. The 
building cost about $7,000. The lot was bought of Mrs. Matthew McWhinney 
for $600, and then sold for the same price, enough ground being retained for the 
erection of the town hall. 

Few villages of the size and population of New Madison (population 562 
according to census of 1880) have so commodious and complete a school building. 
It is located on the southeast side of Main street, on a lot seven-eighths of an 
acre in extent. The lot was bought of J. B. Schriber for $200. He purchased it 
at Sheriff 's sale, subject to a dower of $66. The building is 50x50 feet, two 
stories, four rooms, and was put up by William Lindsay, lowest bidder, for $6,500. 
The seating, outhouses, fences and other improvements have made the total cost a 
little above $7,500. The building was put up in 1870. The first Superintendent 
was Mr. Thomas Eubanks. The following were his successors, viz., Edwin Lock- 
ett, Mr. Christler, Mr. Reed and Mr. Christner. Thomas Eubanks is now again in 
charge of the school. Miss Rebecca Riddle has taught nearly every term since 
the erection of the new structure, and Miss Ella Rush has also taught several 
terms. The lot above spoken of adjoined ; ' the old-school lot " mentioned in the 
foregoing sketch and history of New Madison, and the present school grounds of 
course includes both. The first (log) schoolhouse, which was also used for relig- 
ious and other meetings, is still standing, and is now used as a stable. It was 
erected when the town was laid out. The second schoolhouse (of brick) is 
located on the same side but at the other end of Main street, near the old brew- 
ery, and is also still standing. It was built in 1850. 

A new brick grain warehouse has just been completed, near the depot. 40x75 
feet, two stories. The shipments of grain and stock from New Madison have 
averaged, of late years, 40,000 bushels of wheat, 60,000 bushels of corn, and 



470 HISTORY OF DARKE COUNTY. 

3,000 head of live stock and hogs per annum. These are the aggregate figures 
representing the business hitherto done by Swisher & Templeton, and more 
recently by Swisher, now the only grain and produce shipper. The new ware- 
house was put up by Mr. Edward Bunch, and will doubtless be used for the pur- 
pose intended the ensuing fall and winter. 

The Methodist Episcopal Church was built in the summer of 1878, and is a 
frame structure 36x50 feet ; cost about $1,100. It is located nearly opposite the 
Presbyterian Church, on the south side of Washington street. The lot contains 
one-fourth of an acre less fifty feet, and was purchased from Obadiah Hill for the 
sum of $100. Regular preaching by Rev. Allbright and Rev. Kerm. Average 
Sabbath-school attendance, forty. 

The Universalist Church, more particularly referred to elsewhere, is about 
40x50 feet, located on the north side of Washington street, at the southeast end 
thereof. The lot upon which it is situated was purchased of John B. Schriber for 
$75, in June, 1859, and contains -^\ acres. There has been no regular preaching 
for over two years past, but the Universalist Sabbath School is in regular session. 

There are two steam saw-mills and a stream grist-mill in New Madison all 
doing a good business; one of the former has attached to it a flouring department, 
also a planing, flouring and bracket-manufacturing branch, and nearly every 
branch of mercantile and professional pursuit is represented. The village enjoys 
all the advantages of a railroad town, and is surrounded by a country that can 
hardly be surpassed and is very seldom equaled as to beauty and productiveness. 

Among the older institutions and landmarks of New Madison, the New 
Madison Brewery, John Lantry, proprietor, must not be omitted. This ancient, 
yet not very old, establishment is located at the corner of Main and Franklin 
streets, and was commenced in 1858. Successive additions have been made until 
it is now 144 feet in length by 18 feet in width, about 50 feet of the front being 
considerably wider. It has never changed owners, but part of the time has been 
run by other (hired) parties than the proprietor. Since 1875. the brewery has 
been idle. Mr. Lantry is disabled so that he seldom leaves the premises, but is 
known by those who visit and converse with him to be a quaint but good-hearted 
specimen of the "rale ould stock," half-hermit, it is true, and afflicted, but more 
genial and less cynical than a casual observer might suppose. 

The tannery is another representative of ye olden time. It was built bv 
Robert Snodgrass and Thomas and Henderson Fleming, in an early day. The 
original building was 60x20 feet, but, in 1844, an addition was made of 15x20 
feet. The business passed from the above firm into the hands of Joseph 
Snodgrass (son of Robert), who ran it until his death three years ago, when his 
widow rented it to Mr. Lewis Stolder, who continued to run it up to March. 1880, 
since which time it has been idle. 

HOLLANDSBURG 

is located near the center of Section 5, in the northwestern part of the township 
about half a mile east of the Middle Fork of the Whitewater River, and distant 
from New Madison five and eight-tenths miles. It was laid out in 1817. Present 
population about three hundred. The different businesses, religious and educa- 
tional interests, etc., are well represented. The adjoining country is fertile, and 
while the progress of the village has not been rapid, its growth in many substantial 
respects has been far greater than mere external evidences would indicate. The 
new Methodist Episcopal Church is a conveniently located and commodious 
structure, as well as the Christian Church, elsewhere mentioned in these pa^es. 
There are many pleasant residences, and some that may be said to be of the iTest 
class of dwellings in the county. Intelligence and thrift characterize the people 
generally. 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



GREENVILLE TOWNSHIP. 

WILLIAM ALLEN, lawyer, jurist and statesman; was born in Butler Co., Ohio. 
Aug. 13, 1827. His father. John Allen, was born in Ireland, and emigrated to America 
in 1812 ; after residing six years in the State of New York, he moved to Butler Co.. 
Ohio, in 1818 ; he moved his family into the woods of Darke Co. in 1838. his 
dwelling being a log cabin with puncheon floors and a mud and stick chimney ; in 
the latter part of his life, he was a preacher in the United Brethren Church. Our 
subject was favored with no educational advantages, except those afforded by the 
common schools of the day, yet by making most of these, he was able to teach at 
the age of 15, and for several years followed that vocation ; at the age of 19, he 
commenced the study of law, under the late Felix Marsh, of Eaton, Ohio ; was 
admitted to the bar in 1849, and in the following }-ear commenced practice in 
Greenville ; in 1850, he was elected Prosecuting Attorney of Darke Co., and re- 
elected in 1852 ; in the fall of 1858, he was elected to Congress from the Fourth 
District, comprising the counties of Darke, Shelb} T , Mercer, Auglaize and Allen, 
and re-elected in 1860, thus serving in the Thirty-sixth and Thirty-seventh Con- 
gress ; in the winter of 1865, he was appointed by Gov. Cox as Judge of the 
Court of Common Pleas of the first subdivision of the Second Judicial District of 
Ohio, composed of the counties of Butler, Darke and Preble, to fill a vacancy made 
by the resignation of Judge D. L. Meeker ; in 1878, Judge Allen was nominated 
for Congress by the Republicans of the Fifth District, but he declined. In 1851, 
he married Miss Priscilla Wallace, whose father settled in Darke Co. in 1834 ; the 
issue of this marriage was four sons and four daughters, of whom only one son 
survives ; four of his children died of diphtheria under the most afflictive circum- 
stances, in the space of as many weeks ; this was in the winter of 1861, when he 
was summoned from Washington City to his despoiled home ; Mr. Allen, although 
he has risen from poverty to affluence by his own unaided exertions, is one of the 
most charitable of our citizens, and his integrity has never been questioned ; his 
positive character, while it wins friends true as steel, also makes bitter enemies, 
but even his enemies concede to him great ability and unflinching honesty of pur- 
pose ; he is at present, Vice President of the Greenville Bank, and President of 
the Greenville Gas Compairy. 

MATTHEW T. ALLEN, lawyer, Greenville ; was born in Butler Township, 
Darke Co., Ohio, Sept. 17, 1848 ; he lived on his father's farm, and enjoyed the 
usual educational privileges of farmers' sons of that period (his father and mother 
are noticed in the sketch of his brother. Hon. William Allen) ; in the fall of 1S64, 
he entered Otterbein University, at Westerville, Ohio ; after a partial course at 
that institution, he removed to Winchester, Ind., where he was employed as clerk 
in a shoe store one year ; he next taught school one year ; in 1867, he commenced 
the study of law with D. M. Bradbury, of Winchester ; after admission to practice, 
he was appointed Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, for the Nineteenth Judicial Cir- 
cuit of Indiana, comprising the counties of Wayne. Randolph, Jay and Blackford ; 



472 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

in the summer of 1872, he came to Greenville, and continued practice as junior 
member of the firm of Allen, Devor & Allen. In 1878, the firm dissolved, and, 
subsequently, young Allen formed a partnership with Hon. John Devor, under the 
style of Allen & Devor. In 1878. Allen was the Republican candidate for Prose- 
cuting Attorney, and. such was his popularity, that he was fairly elected in a 
county giving 1,200 majority against his party, but was counted out by reason of 
mistakes in writing his initials on scratched tickets. Mr. Allen has already won 
an enviable distinction as a counselor and advocate, and his genial social qualities 
render him immensely popular with all classes. His marriage with Mary V. 
Whiteside, was celebrated upon the 23d of April. 187!). She was born in Camden, 
Preble Co.. March 17, 1860. 

HENRY ALTER, farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 12 ; P. 0. Greenville ; was 
born in Washington Co., Md., March 18, 1833 ; he was a son of Jacob Alter, who 
was born in Pennsylvania in 1799 ; emigrated to Maryland, and in 1866 came 
to Darke County ; and after residing in Greenville one year, made his home with his 
son until his decease, which occurred in May, 1875. He was married, in 1819, in 
Maryland, to Eliza Tice ; she was born in Washington Co. in 1806, and is now in 
her 73d year, and makes her home with her son. Henry Alter went to Clark Co., 
Ohio, in 1858, and followed farming there until 1866, when he came to Darke Co. 
and located upon his present place. His marriage with Elizabeth Ilges was cele- 
brated in 1864 ; she died in 1870 ; one child was born to them — Mary L., born 
Aug., 18, 1866 ; his marriage with Mary Clew was celebrated Dec. 17, 1874 ; she 
was born and raised in Darke Co., and is a daughter of D. B. Clew, one of the early 
pioneers of Darke Co. 

JOSEPH AMANN, Jr., deceased. The subject of this memoir was born in 
Dayton, Montgomery Co., Ohio, in 1840, and was a son of Joseph and Francis 
Amann ; in early life he learned the blacksmith trade ; in 1853, he came to Darke 
Co. and followed farming and blacksmithing until the breaking-out of the rebellion, 
when he enlisted and served four years in the Union army ; after being mustered 
out of service he returned to Greenville, and in 1867 was married to Barbara 
Caron ; six children were the fruits of this union, viz., Nora, Louisa, Joseph, 
Katie. William and Barbara. He engaged in business in Greenville soon after his 
return from the army, and in October, 1873, he purchased his brick buildings on 
Third street, and followed the restaurant and saloon business until his decease, 
which occurred in October, 1879. The business has since been conducted by 
his widow. 

JOHN ATEN, farmer ; P. 0. Jaysville. The subject of this memoir was born 
in Twin Township, Preble Co., Ohio, April 1, 1823, and is a son of Adrian Aten, 
who was a native of Kentucky but came to Preble Co. in 1822. John Aten was 
raised to agricultural pursuits upon the home farm, and, upon the 6th of April, 
1854, was united in marriage with Lavina Russell, who died Sept. 19. 1875 ; nine 
children were the fruits of this union, viz.: Abraham R., born June 30, 1855 ; 
Adrian, April 29, 1856 ; John H., Oct. 3. 1S57 ; James P., Jan. 25. 1859 ; Theo- 
dore C, Oct. 20, 1860 (died Aug. 8, 1863) ; Emma, July 11, 1862 (died June 29, 
1863); William, Jan. 6, 1864; Charles, Oct. 23. 1865, and George W., June 1, 
1867 ; upon the marriage of Mr. Aten, he continued tanning upon the old home- 
stead three years, when he purchased a farm in Preble Co., and, in the fall of 1860, 
purchased property at Arcanum, Darke Co.. residing here five years ; he then pur- 
chased the saw-mid at Jaysville, selling the following year. and. in 1866, purchased 
his present property where he has since lived : he has 111) acres upon his home 
farm, a large part, of which he has reclaimed from a swamp by means of a ditch 
and tiling until it is now as productive as any land in the county. He is one of 
the self-made men of Darke Co.. and has by his hard labor and correct business 
habits placed himself among the large Landholders and successful farmers of Darke 
Co. He was raised to the Sublime Degree of Master Mason in the King Hiram 



GREENVILLE TOWNSHIP. 473 

Lodge, at Alexandria, Sept. 25. 1850, and is now a member of the order of A., F. 
& A. M. at Greenville. 

J. B. AVERY, farmer, Sec. 3 ; P. 0. Woodington ; an old settler of Darke 
Co.; born in New London Co., Conn., Aug. 27, 1826 ; at 17 years of age, he com- 
menced farming and school teaching until 1847, when he came to Darke Co., and, 
in the following year, purchased his present place of 80 acres, where he has since 
lived for a period of thirty-one years ; upon locating here, there were some 7 
acres only partially cleared ; no building, no fences ; he first put up a small frame 
house in which he lived several years, and to which he has since attached a much 
larger residence ; he has cleared some 55 acres of his place and brought the same 
to a good state of cultivation by his own hard labor. His marriage with Marcella 
Earhart occurred Nov. 14, 1848. She was born in Darke Co. Jan. 10, 1827, and 
has always lived within one mile of the place where she was born ; she was a 
daughter of Samuel Earhart, one of the early pioneers, who was born in Warren 
Co., Ohio, in 1802, and came to Darke Co. in 1820, and located on Sec. 10, Green- 
ville Towhship ; he died January, 1854 ; he married Elizabeth Scribner ; she was 
a daughter of Azor Scribner, who was the first permanent settler of this county ; 
he established a trading post in Mina Town in 1806 ; Mrs. Earhart died March, 
1873, at the age of 67 years. The children of J. B. and Marcella (Earhart) Avery 
were five in number — Prudence M., born Sept. 20, 1849 ; Franklin P., born Jan. 
21, 1852 (died May, 1869) ; Emily M., born Oct. 8, 1858 ; Lizzie M., born July 
28. 1862, and Ira J., born Feb. 28, 1869. Mr. Avery has been a member of the 
Presbyterian Church for upward of thirty years ; his wife, for a period of thirty- 
eight years, and all the children, save the youngest, also being members of the 
same church. 

ANDREW B AIRD, farmer and stock-raiser ; P. 0. Greenville ; the subject of 
this memoir was born in Warren Co., Ohio, Oct. 26, 1844, and is a son of Tunis 
Baird, also a native of Warren Co., Ohio, his father coming from New Jersey, and 
are of Scotch descent. Andrew was raised in the above county, his early occupa- 
tion being that of a farmer's son ; he obtained the advantages of a common-school 
education ; he remained with his father upon the farm till the spring of 1864, when 
he enlisted in the 146th 0. N. G., and went forward to battle for the Union. He 
was forwarded to West Virginia, where he served the full term of his enlistment, 
and received his discharge at Camp Dennison, Ohio, in September, 1864. He then 
returned to Darke Co., and farmed one year upon the old home farm, and in the 
latter part of the year 1865, he went to Illinois, where, upon the 22d day of June, 
1866, he was united in marriage with Miranda Collett. She was born and raised 
in Darke Co. In September, 1866, he returned to Darke Co., since which time he 
has followed farming with the exception of some eighteen months, during which 
time he was engaged in the coal and wood business in Greenville. The children 
of Andrew and Miranda (Collett) Baird are five in number, four daughters and one 
son, viz.: Lula, Ella M., Franklin T., Cora D. and Kittie. 

JACOB BAKER, attorney at law, Greenville ; born in Butler Township in 
1840 ; practiced law in Greenville since 1864, where he has been connected with 
some of the most important legal proceedings had in the county ; was defeated for 
the Legislature in 1865, and elected in 1867. He introduced and carried through 
several important pieces of legislation. He was a delegate from this Congress- 
ional District to the St. Louis Convention at which Mr. Tilden was nominated for 
President. 

CHARLES BACHMAN, tailor and clothier, No. 88 Broadway. Greenville. 
Ohio. There are probably but few of the successful business men of Greenville, 
who have shown the energy, enterprise, and quick conception of the wants and 
demands of the public, as the subject of our sketch, who is among the popular 
clothiers of Greenville. He was born in Prussia June 1, 1836, and emigrated to 
to America when 18 years of age ; in 1861, he located in Eaton, and followed the 
occupation of merchant tailor, until 1867, at which date he came to Greenville, 



474 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

where he has since followed the above business, with the exception of two years. 
As one of the patrons of the above gentleman, we can cheerfully recommend him 
as educated in his business, and to his honorable dealings, together with his large 
and carefully selected stock of seasonable goods and to his personal attention to 
the details of every branch of his business, may be attributed the secret of his 
success. A card of his business is to be found in the business directory of Green- 
ville, in another part of this work. His marriage with Julia Marenthall was cele- 
brated in 18G1. She was also a native of Prussia. They are the parents of three 
children, viz., Jennie, Samuel and Maley. 

DAVID BEANBLOSSOM (deceased) ; one of the early pioneers of Darke 
Co., was born in North Carolina, May 25, 1801 ; when 1G years of age, he came 
to Ohio and located in Darke Co., consequently he was one of its very early 
settlers. He was twice married; his first wife was Susannah Rarick ; she died 
about the year 1834 ; eleven children were the fruit of this union, of whom one 
is now living — Joseph, now living in Greenville Township. His marriage with 
Mary Delk was celebrated Nov. 6, 183G ; she was born in Darke Co., a few miles 
south of Greenville, Sept. 30, 1816 ; she was a daughter of Etheland Delk, who 
was born in North Carolina, and came to Darke Co. in a very early day. The 
children by the last marriage were fourteen in number, of whom two are deceased. 
The living are Ludena, born May 20, 1840 ; Enos, Jan. 6, 1842 ; Ann Eliza, born 
Oct. 25, 1843 ; Julia A., born Nov. 24, 1845 ; William, Jan. G, 1848 ; Elizabeth S., 
born Oct. 22, 1849; Margaret M., born Feb. 9, 1852; David D., Jan. 14, 1854 ; 
John C., April 18, 1856 ; Rachel and Isabell (twins), and Henrv A., born Jan. 
13, 1859. Of the deceased, Nancy, born Aug. 28, 1838, died Feb. 26, 1854; the 
other died in infancy. Mr. Beanblossom died Dec. 8, 1861, upon the same 
place he located, in 1817, and where he lived forty-four years ; his old residence, 
which he built in 1820, is now occupied by his son Enos. Mr. Beanblossom 
suffered all the privations and hardships of frontier life. He commenced with- 
out capital, and split rails at 25 cents per hundred to obtain his wedding 
ding outfit. He, with the assistance of his wife, fought the battles of life nobly, 
and at the time of his death, had accumulated upward of 400 acres of land ; built 
his present residence in 1856. He took a deep interest in the cause of religion, 
and was a Deacon in the Christian Church and was a member of the same for forty 
years. He died respected and beloved by all who knew him. 

ENOS BEANBLOSSOM, Sec. 1 ; P. O. Pikesville. Another of the old settlers 
of Darke Co.; born upon Sec. 1, Greenville Township, Jan. 6, 1842, where he has 
always lived, with the exception of three years that he served in the arm}* ; he is 
a son of David Beanblossom. who was born in North Carolina, and emigrated 
to Ohio, and located in Darke Co. in 1817 ; he entered Government land, 
upon which he lived until his death, which occurred Dec. 8, 1861, aged 63 years. 
The mother of Enos Beanblossom was Mary Delk, who was born in Ohio, and is 
now living in this county. Our subject was raised to agricultural pursuits, which 
lie followed until July 10, 1862, when he enlisted in the 45th 0. V. I.; he served 
in the arm}' of Gen. Sherman until the fall of 1864, when he was made prisoner in 
Tennessee and taken to Belle Island ; after remaining there three months, he was 
taken to Andersonville, where the cruel treatment received here was in keeping 
with its well-known acts of barbarism ; during his imprisonment his weight was 
reduced from 155 to 94 pounds ; he remained in prison some five months, and was 
released in the spring of 1865. and received his discharge during the summer, at 
Columbus : thence returned home and engaged in farming, which business he has 
since followed. He now owns 100 acres of well-improved land. His marriage 
with Ann E. Sipple was celebrated March 31, 1872; she was born in Darke Co., 
Feb. 3, 1845 ; they have four children — Irene M., born May 17, 1873 ; Daisy V., 
born July 31, 1875; Ora E., born July 20. 1877. and an infant, born September 14, 
1879. The residence in which Mr. Beanblossom now lives was erected by his 
lather in 1820, and is now a good comfortable home. 



GREENVILLE TOWNSHIP. 475 

JOSEPH BEANBLOSSOM, farmer and stock-raiser ; P. 0. Greenville ; 
another of the old settlers ; born in Darke Co., Ohio, Feb. 7, 1826, he was the 
oldest son of David Beanblossom, one of the early pioneers, whose biography 
appears among the sketches of Greenville Township in this work. The subject of 
our sketch was raised to agricultural pursuits upon the farm of his father, until he 
attained his majority, when, upon the 22d of February, 1847, he was married to 
Rhoda Brandon ; she was born March 12, 1823, and died Sept. 3, 1853. leaving 
three children— Thomas A., bom Nov. 7, 1847 ; Mary A., born Oct. 19, 1849 ; 
David W., born Nov. 24, 1851. His marriage with Elizabeth Potter was celebrated 
Nov. 6. 1855 ; she was born in Greenville Township, Darke Co., Sept. 26, 1829, 
and was a daughter of David Potter, one of the early pioneers, who came to Darke 
Co.. in 1812 or 1813, and died in 1869 ; his widow who survives him, is now living 
upon the old place, where she has lived for upward of fifty years ; her maiden 
name was Maria Ulleiy ; the children by the union of Joseph Beanblossom and 
Elizabeth Potter are four in number, viz.: John R., born June 29, 1857 ; George 
N., born Aug. 24, 1858 ; Charles F., born May 26, 1860 ; Maria, July 27, 1864. 
Mr. Beanblossom located upon his present place in 1857, where he has since lived 
for a period of upward of twenty-two years. Upon locating here it was all woods ; 
he has since cleared some 70 acres, and brought the same to a good state of 
improvement. His home farm contains 140 acres, with good buildings, located 
two miles northwest from Greenville. Mr. and Mrs. Beanblossom are entitled to a 
place in the front ranks of the old settlers of Darke Co., having been continuous 
residents of the county for upward of half a century. 

JACOB L. BEATTY, farmer and stock-raiser ; P. 0. Greenville. Among 
the settlers of Darke Co. in 1850, we mention the name of the above gentleman ; 
he was born in Fayette Co., Penn., April 16, 1816, and was the only son of Thos. 
Beatty, who was born in New Jersey in 1787, and came to Pennsylvania with his 
parents in 1797, and to Guernsey Co., Ohio, in 1832, and, in the fall of 1848, came 
to Darke Co., and located in Neave Township, where he died Jan. 21, 1855. He 
married Mar}* Roury, in Pennsylvania, in 1815 ; she was born in Fayette Co., 
Penn.. April 8, 1798, and is now living with her only son, Jacob, in the 82d year 
of her age, is in possession of all her faculties, and can read any common print 
without the use of glasses ; there were two children by this union — Jacob L. and 
Eliza ; the latter is now Mrs. Dr. Thomas Duncan Stiles, of Neave Township. 
The subject of this sketch followed fanning in Guernsey Co. until 1 850, at which 
date he came to Darke Co. and located upon his present place, where he has since 
lived for a period of thirty years ; he has 120 acres of land upon Sees. 8 and 5, 
80 acres of which are under a good state of cultivation. His marriage with Hester 
Stiner was celebrated in 1840 ; they were the parents of six children — Mary E., 
born Sept. 18, 1841 ; William H., April 16, 1843 ; Sarah A., March 7, 1845, died 
An?. 30, 1846 ; Eliza J., born Nov. 20, 1847 ; Thomas, May 10, 1851, and Reuben 
L., Dec. 21, 1860. 

SAMUEL BECHTOLT, farmer ; P. O. Greenville ; born in Miami Co., Ohio. 
Jan. 10, 1819 ; when an infant, his parents removed to Warren Co., where the sub- 
ject of our sketch was raised to farm labor until 20 years of age, and, in the fall of 
1849, he came to Darke Co., and located in Greenville Township, and, in 1852. 
purchased his present place, where he has lived for a period of twenty-seven years. 
He owns 132 acres upon his home farm, with good farm buildings, and one-half of 
the woolen-mills owned by the firm of Fox & Bechtolt. His marriage with Eleanor 
Vannote was celebrated in 1840 ; she was born in Warren Co., Ohio ; they have 
four children now living ; lost two by death ; the living are Catherine E., Joseph, 
Mary E. and George ; the deceased died in infanc}-. 

'LEWIS BECKLER, farmer ; P. O. Greenville ; another of the old settlers of 
Darke Co.; born in Montgomery Co., Ohio, Aug. 30, 1837 ; at 10 years of age, he 
came to Darke Co., and made his home with Henry Beckler until 23 years of age, 
and, upon the 20th of December, 1860, was united in marriage with Elizabeth 



476 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

Dininger; she was born in Darke Co. April 14, 1843; they were the parents of 
two children. Mrs. Beckler is a daughter of Jacob Dininger, one of the early 
pioneers of Darke Co. Upon the marriage of Mr. B., he located upon his present 
place, where he has since lived ; he owns 100 acres, upon which is his home farm, 
under a good state of improvement. He is a son of Peter Beckler, a native of 
Pennsylvania, who came to Montgomery Co., Ohio, where he married Hannah Dill. 
He died in Montgomery Co. in 1840. His widow was born in Montgomery Co., 
Ohio, and is now living, at the advanced age of 73. 

CHARLES BILTEMIER, manufacturer and dealer in boots and shoes, 
etc., of the firm of Biltemier & Maitini, Broadway, Greenville. The above gen 
tleman is the oldest continuous person in the above business in Greenville : he 
was born in Hessian Germany in 1822 ; at the age of 14 years, he commenced the 
trade of shoemaking, which he followed twelve years in his native country ; he 
emigrated to America in 1848, and landed in Baltimore ; coming directly West, he 
located permanently in Greenville in 1849, where he has since lived; upon 
locating here, he received employment as journeyman until 1855, at which date he 
engaged in business for himself, which he has since successfully followed ; in 1864, 
he associated with his present partner, since which time they have conducted the 
business under the above firm name ; they carry a large and complete stock of 
gents', ladies', youths' and children's goods, and employ from three to five hands. 
He was married to Carolina Dohm in 1852 ; she was born in Hessian German v ; 
they have four children now living, viz., Lizzie, Caroline, Henry and Anna. He. 
wjth his wife, have been members of the German Methodist Church since 1853. 

WILLIAM J. BIRELEY, retired, Greenville; was born in Frederick Co., 
Md., in 1812 ; was the son of John and Barbara Bireley ; John was born in the 
same county, and Barbara was born in Hagerstown, Md.; her maiden name was 
Brindle ; the grandfather, John Bireley, was born in Saxony, and emigrated 
to this country before the Revolutionary war. The grandmother was from 
Wurtemburg, Germany, and also came to this country prior to the Revolu- 
tionary war. Mr. Bireley 's father came to Lancaster, Ohio, in the spring of 1822. 
and in the fall following came to Montgomery Co., where he lived till his death. 
which occurred in 1827. Mr. Bireley, the subject of this sketch, came to Darke 
Co. Oct. 15, 1830, and located in Greenville ; he carried on the boot and 
shoe business for William Martin, Sr., and continued with him about five 
months, when he returned to his mother, in Montgomery Co., where he remained 
till 1833, when, on Jan. 24 of the same year, he was united in marriage 
with Elizabeth Martin, daughter of Christopher and Elizabeth Martin. Sr.; they 
were both born at Sewickley, Penn., and came to Ohio in 1814 ; they settled 
in Butler Co., and then moved to Darke Co. in 1815, and settled about five miles 
east of Greenville ; after raising a large family of children, they moved to Green- 
ville, where they lived and died. Mr. Bireley, in the next May after his marriage, 
in 1833, came back to Greenville and entered upon the manufacture of earthen- 
ware, which business he followed for twenty-eight years, doing an extensive busi- 
ness ; he then bought a farm of 150 acres, one mile out of the corporation of 
Greenville ; he then took his family and moved on to the farm, which was in 1851 ; 
in 1858, he sold this farm and bought another, five miles east of Greenville, upon 
which were several quarries of limestone, and went into the manufacture of lime, 
and continued at this business till January, 1880, when he rented it to Martin 
Smith and Emanuel Hershey for five years, receiving $400 yearly, or $2,000 for 
the five years ; Mr. Bireley moved from the farm into Greenville in 1870, where 
he has since resided. Mr. Birelev is the father of ten children, seven of whom are 
living, viz., Henry P.. Elizabeth E., William W., Barbara C, Harvey H, Wade 
G. and Mary R., all married and settled in life except the youngest, who is still 
single, and remains at home. At the commencement of the rebellion, his three 
oldest sons enlisted in the 44th O. V. I., and. after being out eighteen months. 
they went into the 8th O. V. C and in this they served through the war till 



GREENVILLE TOWNSHIP. 477 

honorably discharged, and all returned safely home. Mr. Bireley was one of the 
pioneers^ coming here when all was a wilderness, and but few houses constituted 
Greenville ; he has lived to see the wilderness pass away, and now a flourishing 
town of 4,000 inhabitants occupies the spot where then all was woods and wild 
animals ; even the citizens who lived here then have all passed away, with but 
few exceptions, viz., Henry Arnold and wife, Dr. I. N. Gard and wife, John 
Wharry, Esq., Allen La Mott and Mrs. Farrer. Mr. Bireley and wife are active 
members of the M. E. Church, having united in 1834. Mr. Bireley started in life 
upon sound principles, having resolved never to take the wine cup or waste his 
time and means in attending shows and theaters, which resolution he has firmly 
kept ; he is one of the few whose life is filled up with usefulness, and whose busi- 
ness interests in his various undertakings have met with remarkable success, and 
we may trust that from his Christian life he will enter that " life beyond the vale " 
in due time, with the same assurance of success and happiness, unalloyed with the 
cares and conflicts which attend this life, and that the record he has here left upon 
the pages of time will be a worthy example for all future generations. 

WILLIAM F. BISHOP, retired ; P. 0. Greenville ; another of the old set- 
tlers ; born in New Jersey April 27, 1800; is a son of Frazee Bishop, who was also 
a native of the same State, born in 1775 and married, in 1797, Elizabeth Lamb, 
also a native of the same State. Our subject came to Ohio when 5 years of age, 
and was raised in Butler Co.; in 1842, he came to Darke Co. and purchased 217 
acres of land upon Section 9, southwest of Greenville, where he lived until 1865, 
when he purchased his present residence on Fourth street, where he has since lived, 
retired from active business. His marriage with Maria Bogus was celebrated 
Sept. 6, 1825 ; she was born in Kentucky Dec. 6, 1805. They are the parents of 
ten children, of whom seven are now living, Thompson L. being the oldest, and is 
prominently mentioned among the sketches of this township. Mr. and Mrs. 
Bishop have peacefully trod the path of life together for a period of upward of 
fifty-four years ; the anniversary of their golden wedding was celebrated, at their 
residence on Third street, Greenville, upon Sept. 6, 1875, to which were gathered 
some 300 persons, representatives of all ages, from childhood to old age, to pay 
their respects to this aged couple. They came loaded with costly gifts, among 
which we mention a gold-headed cane and gold spectacles to Mr. Bishop ; Mrs. 
Bishop received her full share. Mr. Bishop has been a member of both the I. O. 
0. F. and Masonic Orders for many years, and is held in respect and esteem by all 
who know him. 

THOMPSON L. BISHOP, fanner and stock-raiser ; P. O. Greenville ; one of 
the old settlers of Darke Co.; born in Butler Co., Ohio, Nov. 8, 1829 ; he attended 
the common and high schools, until 12 years of age, and in 1842 came to Darke 
Co. with his parents, and located on Section 9, where he assisted his father in agri- 
cultural pursuits, until he attained his majority. In 1850, he went to Wan-en Co. 
and for three years was employed by the month as farm laborer ; the first year he 
received for his wages $144, and for the next two years he received $15 per month ; 
in 1853, he returned to Darke Co. and cropped with his father two years, receiving 
one-third of the proceeds. The summer of 1855 he passed in traveling through 
the Western States, and in the spring of 1856, he purchased an interest in the 
saw-mill at Gordon, Twin Township, and followed this business four years, and in 
the spring of 1860 purchased ninety acres of his place, and has since added, by 
purchase, three acres, and has made improvements upon the buildings to the 
amount of $5,000, and has brought the same to a fine state of cultivation, located 
one mile from the city limits of Greenville. He was united in marriage with Cyn- 
thia A. Dunham, in Warren Co., Ohio, Dec. 10, 1856 ; she was born in the same 
county in 1836. They have three children, viz., Sylvan E., Cora, and William G. 
Mr. and Mrs. Bishop have been members of the Baptist Church for a period of 
twenty years. 

JAMES J. BLEASE, manufacturer and dealer in boots and shoes, No. 9 



478 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

Third Street, Greenville, Ohio. Greenville, like all cities of its size, has its repre- 
sentative business men in nearly every branch of trade, and to the above gentle- 
man must be accorded the honor of being the representative merchant, in his line, 
of the place. He is a native of Birmingham. Warwickshire, England, and was 
born April 18, 1843. At 7 years of age, he emigrated to America with his parents, 
landing in New Orleans March 17, 1851 ; thence to Cincinnati, where he attended 
public school continuously until the spring of 1857, at which date he removed to 
Richmond, Ind., and learned the shoemaker's trade, and, in 1863, engaged in the 
boot and shoe business, which he continued to follow until 1868, at which date he 
came to Greenville, and in October, 1869, engaged in the above business, which he has 
successfully followed. He has given a great deal of attention to the manufactur- 
ing of boots and shoes to order, and also manufacturing for his retail trade ; he 
gives emplo3 T ment to from five to ten hands, and carries the largest stock of boots 
and shoes in Greenville, and by honorable and fair dealing, together with his per- 
sonal attention given to eveiy detail of his business, has built up a large trade, 
which is yearly increasing. His marriage with Martha A. Pannel was celebrated 
in 1869 ; she was a native of Eastern Virginia ; thej r were the parents of three 
children, of whom two are deceased ; the living is James S. 

B. BLOTTMAN, groceiy and provisions, queensware, fruits and country 
produce, Greenville. Among the most enterprising and energetic business men of 
Greenville, the gentleman whose name heads this sketch requires more than a 
passing notice ; he was born in Baden, Germany, May 6, 1846 ; at 9 years of age 
he emigrated to America, coming to Greenville Dec. 31, 1854 ; he was employed 
at various pursuits for several years, among which were draying, ditching and 
farming, and as hostler ; in 1864, he had accumulated $90, with which he pur- 
chased a dray and harness, then purchased a horse on time and commenced dray- 
ing as his first business adventure, and by close attention, hard labor and correct 
business principles, he succeeded beyond his most sanguine expectations ; in 1868, 
he disposed of his draying, and with the fruits of his previous earnings embarked 
in the groceiy trade, which business he has since successfully followed, his sales 
having increased until 1879, and exceeds upward of $30,000 ; Mr. B. is one of the 
self-made men of Darke Co., commencing in life without capital, and has, by his 
energy and correct business principles, placed himself in the front ranks of the 
successful merchants of Greenville. His marriage with Maiy A. Kelly was cele- 
brated in Greenville, Sept. 15, 1868 ; she was a native of Pennsylvania ; they have 
three children now living, having lost one bj' death — the living are William B., 
Mary M. and James F. 

H. BORNSTEIN, wholesale and retail dealer in wines, liquors, etc., Greenville. 
Born in Berlin, Prussia, Sept. 18, 1827, where he received his education in the 
subscription school, and was engaged as clerk in the dry -goods store of his father 
until 17 years of age, when he emigrated to America, landing in New York in 
1 844 : he then devoted several years traveling in the Southern and Western States, 
and in 1853, located in Dayton, Montgomery Co., and until 1875 was engaged in 
business in Dayton and Cincinnati ; in the fall of 1875, he removed to Greenville, 
where he has since successfully followed the above business ; a card of his business 
appears in the business directory of Greenville in another part of this work. He 
was married in Cincinnati in 1860, to Sarah Chilcls, who was born in that cit}' ; 
they have four children — Rosa, Eddie, Malcolm and Blanche. 

DR. LEO MYERS BUCHW ALTER, physician and surgeon, Greenville : 
the paternal ancestry of Dr. Buchwalter, whose portrait appears in this work, 
can be traced, not without many missing links, however, to the }'ear 1527, at 
which time the Mennonites or Anabaptists (to which denomination they belonged), 
on account of their peculiar belief, were compelled through religious persecution 
to flee from their native canton, Berne, Switzerland, first to the Netherlands, and 
subsequently to the United States, arriving in Lancaster Co., Penn., about the year 
1709. From the time of their exodus until the birth of Gerhardt Buchwalter, 



GREENVILLE TOWNSHIP. 479 

grandfather of Dr. Buchwalter, the line of genealogy cannot be traced with cer- 
tainty. He, it appears, was born in Lancaster Co., Penn., June 9, 1771. Married 
Maria Brobsten in 1796, who bore him thirteen children : Benjamin, the oldest, 
father of Dr. Buchwalter, was born August 9, 1797 ; married Catharine Miller, 
daughter of Joseph Miller, of Middletown, Md., in 1824, the fruits of which were 
eight children, two of whom survive ; in 1826, he removed to Dayton, Ohio, and 
after remaining here ten } T ears, went to Laurel, Franklin Co.. Ind.. where he 
followed his calling of millwright, erecting many of the best mills in the country ; 
in 1842, he left Laurel and located in Harrison, Hamilton Co., Ohio, at which place 
he was appointed Postmaster in 1852, in which capacity he served until 1861. 
when he was elected Mayor, the duties of which office he creditably discharged for 
a period of ten years ; after this he came to Darke Co., and soon after died at 
Euphemia, Preble Co., Ohio ; his wife followed him July 11, 1877. Dr. Buch- 
walter, the subject of this sketch, was born April 11, 1831, in Dayton, Ohio ; his 
boyhood days were passed in the usual routine incident to youthful life in general 
up to a suitable age to attend school, which in those early days was not over a 
stone pavement a few blocks distance to a fine schoolhouse, but, when the boy 
was determined enough to encounter the difficulties, he took his lonely way through 
the woods, along a winding path for many miles to a rude log cabin ; these very 
hardships, stamped upon that boy an energy of purpose, which intensified by 
maturer j-ears, defies all opposition; at the tender age of 12, Dr. Buchwalter's 
father placed him in his mill, requiring his time eighteen hours out of the twenty- 
four — six of which, however, viz., from 6 P. M. until 12 M., being watch 
duty, he employed in reading and study, thus acquiring a very fair education in 
the English branches ; in his 16th year he began teaching, which he followed 
about four years, then entered the store of Michael Miller, at Euphemia, as clerk : 
having thus by his own industry secured the necessary funds, he, in the fall of 
1855, began reading medicine in the office of Dr. G. S. Goodheart, of Harrison. 
Ohio ; before completing his course of reading, however, he was compelled to 
resume the counter, first with Miller & Moore, and subsequentby with Moore & 
Winner. On the 1st day of November, 1864, he married Miss Matella Wilson, 
second daughter of Hon. William Wilson, of Greenville, by whom he had one 
child — Anna. In the spring of 1866, Dr. Buchwalter graduated from the Miami 
College of Medicine, and immediately located in Hollandsburg, in which he 
remained nine years, in the meantime building up an extensive practice ; in 1874. 
he removed to Greenville, where he has by his indomitable will, untiring persever- 
ance, and thorough acquaintance with his profession, built up a practice, which, 
while it is inferior to none in the countj r , is rapidly and permanently increasing. 
Dr. Buchwalter possesses an excellent library, which he is constantly enlarging by 
the addition of the leading medical and scientific productions of the day ; he is, in 
the broadest sense of the term, a self-made man, and has won his way, conquering 
step by step, every opposing element that has impeded his pathway to that success 
and high professional skill to which he has at length full}' attained. In the 
Biographical C} T clopaedia, appears a biographical sketch of the Doctor, to which, 
through more recent information, we are enabled to add some additional facts and 
emendations. 

ABRAHAM N. BREWER, harness-maker, Greenville. The gentleman 
whose name heads this article was born in Warren Co., Ohio. July 1, 1833, 
and is a son of Abraham and Ann Brewer ; his father was born in Kentucky Jan. 
17. 1800, and departed this life Jul}- 27, 1843 ; his mother was born in Pennsyl- 
vania March 18, 1797, and died Aug. 26, 1873. Our subject's early days were 
spent on the farm, and, after he had attained a proper age, he learned the carpenter 
trade, which he followed for five }-ears, and then followed wagon-making in 
Arcanum, where he settled in 1858 ; in 1865, he turned his attention to the man- 
ufacture of harness, in which ever since he has been successfully engaged ; none 
know better how to do their patrons justice, and Abraham will always be found 



480 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

ready and willing to give his patrons the best stock in the market, and his jobs are 
turned out in a workmanlike manner. His first marriage was consummated with 
Mary Hough June 8, 1858 ; to their union, five children were given, viz., Lorenzo, 
Thomas N., Ella H., and two dying in infancy ; Mrs. Brewer departed this life 
Nov. i), 1863; his second marriage was celebrated with Miss Emeline Baker, in 
November, 1874. 

JOSEPH BRYSON, farmer and stock-raiser ; resides on Sec. 9, Township 
11. (ireenville Township ; P. O. Greenville. Among the old settlers of Darke Co., 
the gentleman whose name heads this sketch is assigned a place in the front ranks. 
being born upon the place where he now resides, on the 30th of November, 1821 ; 
he was a son of James Bryson, one of the early pioneers of Darke Co., who came 
from Bedford Co., Penn., and located upon the above place in 1817 ; he was born 
near Hagerstown, Md., May 21, 1786, and died March 20, 1863, upon the place 
where he had lived for nearry half a century. He married Mrs. Rachael Rush 
Aug. 12, 1817 ; her maiden name was Rachael Creviston ; she was born March 3, 
1784, and died Feb. 14, 1855 ; she came to Darke Co. in 1810 ; her first husband 
was Henry Rush, and Lemuel Rush, now living three and a half miles north of 
Greenville, is the only child now living by that union, and is probably the oldest 
continuous male resident of Darke Co.; the children of James and Rachel Bry- 
son were six in number — Morris, whose sketch appears in this work, born May 13 r 
1818 ; Mary Ann, born Jan. 29, 1820, died Dec. 15, 1854 ; Joseph, born Nov. 30 r 
1821 ; Rachel J., born Dec. 25, 1823 ; Eliza, born Jan. 23, 1826, and James H., 
born Feb. 26, 1829. Until 25 years of age, Joseph followed farming on the old 
place ; he then followed carpentering and farming during the summer, and school- 
teaching during the winter, for seventeen years, since which time he has devoted 
his whole attention to farming ; he has resided upon his present place for a period 
of fifty -eight years, and is the oldest continuous resident upon any one place that 
the writer of this article has yet found in Darke Co. 

MORRIS BRYSON, farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 8 ; P. O. Woodington ; 
one of the old settlers of Darke Co., Ohio ; born in Darke Co., what is now Green- 
ville Township, May 13, 1818 ; his father, James Bryson. was born in Washington 
Co., Md., May 21, 1786, and came to Darke Co. in 1816. He held various offices 
in the county, among which was County Commissioner, and served a term in the 
Assembly of Ohio ; was County Judge some ten years, and was Justice of the 
Peace man)' years, and held other offices. He died March 20, 1863. He married 
Mrs. Rachel (Creviston) Rush ; she was previously the wife of Henry Rush, who 
died in Ft. Rush, during the campaign of Harrison ; his brother Andrew was 
killed in 1812, by the Indians, upon their first depredation ; the first white child 
born in Darke Co. was Thomas Rush, a half-brother of the subject of our sketch ; 
the latter was raised to agricultural pursuits, and, upon the 8th of April, 1846, 
was united in marriage with Mar} T Ann Cole ; she was a daughter of Joseph Cole r 
one of the early pioneers of Darke Co., who located here in 1818 ; upon his mar- 
riage, he farmed rented land two years, and, in 1848, purchased 80 acres of his 
present place, where he has lived for a period of thirty-one years ; he now has 
287 acres of land, all of which he has earned by his own hard labor, with the 
exception of 80 acres. The children of Morris and Mary Ann (Cole) Bryson 
were ten in number, of whom seven are now living, viz.: James W., Rachel, 
Joseph O, Isaac N., Anna C, Volney D. and David H. 

JOHN K. BUTT, farmer, Sec' 24; P. 0. Greenville; born in Butler Co., 
Ohio, Oct. 22, 1824 ; when 5 years of age, his father died ; he lived with his 
mother until 16 years of age, when he commenced to learn the blacksmith trade. 
which business he followed with the exception of six years, until 1871 ; he then 
came to Greenville Township, and purchased 12 acres of land upon Sees. 12 and 
13, where he lived until the spring of 1879, when he rented the farm upon which 
he lives. He is now farming 89 acres, and is engaged in raising corn, wheat and 
tobacco ; he first came to Darke Co. when 1 3 years of age, and, after a residence 



GREENVILLE TOWNSHIP. 481 

of three years in Palestine, went to Preble Co. and has since lived in Preble, 
Montgomery and Darke Cos. He has been twice married ; his first wife was 
Delia Arnett ; they were married Oct. 10, 1844 ; she was born in Montgomery Co. 
and died Oct. 22, 1858, leaving two children, viz.: Sarah A., born Sept. 12. 1845. 
now Mrs. Jacob T. Miller, of Montgomery Co.; Marion A., born Feb. 8, 1852. now 
Mrs. Philip Hartzell, of Darke Co. His marriage with Eliza Lantz was celebrated 
in Montgomery Co. Dec. 6, 1859 ; she was born in Berks Co., Penn., June 3, 1837 ; 
the}' have three children — Flora F., born July 18, 1861 ; William P., born Oct. 3, 
1864; Franklin E., born July 11, 1867. 

ANDREW ROBESON CALDERWOOD, attorney at law, Greenville ; another 
of the old settlers of Darke Co.; born in Montgomery Co., Ohio, Sept. 14, 1818, 
and was a son of George and Margaret (Robeson) Calderwood, natives of Hunting- 
don Co., Penn. They were married Sept. 14, 1811 ; in the fall of 1817, they 
removed to near Dayton, Ohio, and from there, in 1832, to Darke Co.. where 
George Calderwood died Sept. 7, 1849 ; his wife survived him until Aug. 12. 1873, 
when her decease occurred. George Calderwood was of Scotch parents, and, 
though uneducated, was a man of sound judgment, great firmness and very cour- 
ageous ; of large stature and possessed an iron constitution ; he was kind and 
generous to a fault. Margaret Robeson descended from Scotch, Welsh and Irish 
ancestry, and was a woman of remarkable good sense, fine natural talent and great 
kindness. Our subject was employed in early life upon the farm, digging ditches, 
mauling rails, etc.; his education was meager ; being called upon to serve as juror, 
lie was so inspired by the eloquence of some of the attorneys in the case that he 
resolved to become a lawyer, and at once commenced the study of the same, being 
admitted to the bar and commenced the practice of law in 1851. Was elected 
Probate Judge in 1854 ; after serving three years, he entered the Union arnry as 
Second Lieutenant ; was promoted Captain of Co. I. 40th 0. V. I.; resigned his 
commission on account of injuries received from being thrown from a horse ; on 
regaining his health he was recommissioned as Captain by Gov. Tod, and, by Col. 
Cranor, assigned to the command of his old company ; after six months' service, 
in the above position, by loss of his voice and previous injuries he was again com- 
pelled to leave the active service of the arm}' and acted in the capacity of recruit- 
ing officer until the close of the war, after which he again resumed the practice of 
the law. On Dec. 3, 1876, he assumed the editorial control of the Sunday C<>uri< r, 
a leading organ of the Republican party of Darke Co. He has been three times 
elected Mayor of Greenville, and, in 1868, the Republicans of Darke Co. presented 
his name in the Fourth Congressional District of Ohio, his opponent, Mr. McClung, 
being nominated by a small majority over Judge Calderwood. He has a liberal 
share of the practice in this county, and enjoys somewhat more than a local repu- 
tation as a criminal lawyer; at the forum, his abilities are best shown ; he has an 
original faculty of developing a subject by a single glance of the mind, detecting 
as quickly the point upon which every controversy depends. There is a deep self- 
conviction and emphatic earnestness in his manner and a close, logical connection 
in his thoughts ; he wears no garlands of flowers to hang in festoons around a 
favorite argument, yet for impromptu appeals and eloquence he stands among the 
first in his profession, and, by his great knowledge of human nature, he is acknowl- 
edged to be one of the best judges of a jury at the bar. 

HENRY CALKINS, lawyer, Greenville. The subject of this memoir was 
born in West Burlington, Bradford Co., Penn.. upon the 5th of December. 1832, 
and is a son of Moses and Eveline (Broffett) Calkins, who were married in Penn- 
sylvania about the year 1826 ; Moses Calkins was born in Bradford Co.. Penn., 
April 6, 1797, his father being one of four men who first settled in the county in 
1 790. was the father of five sons and four daughters, and died at the advanced 
age of 80 ; his widow's decease occurred two weeks later, at the age of 78 ; of 
their children, three now survive, viz., Moses, the father of our subject, now 84 
years of age, and two daughters, aged 82 and 86 years, all in good health : the 



482 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

children of Moses and Eveline (Broffett) Calkins were six in number, of whom 
five are now living, viz., Charles, born Feb. 11, L 827, and whose biography also 
appears in this work, our subject being the next surviving member ; Edward, born 
in 1836, a prominent lawyer of Richmond, Ind., since 1862 ; Alfred, born in 1838, 
a resident of and Mayor of New Paris, Ohio; Emma, born in 1841, now Mrs. C. 
B. Northrup, of New Madison. The maiden name of the great-grandmother of 
our subject on his mother's side was Gore ; her husband was killed at the Wyo- 
ming massacre ; she, with two children, one of them the grandmother of Mr. Cal- 
kins, escaped with other fugitives by boat up the Susquehanna River, then across 
the mountains, and located in the Sheshequin Valley. Bradford Co.. Penn., where 
she died in 1 833, being 90 years of age ; her daughter Rebecca, the grandmother 
of Mr. Calkins, was born in 1774 ; was married, in 1794, to James Broffett, and 
were the parents of five children, all of whom were early settlers of Darke Co.. 
viz.. Silas and Alfred Broffett, at Broffettsville, Harrison Township ; Celinda, wife 
of Judge Jaqua, of New Madison, and Lucinda, wife of Rial Lawrence ; her sec- 
ond husband was Joseph Bloom, by whom she had four children — Charles. Guv. 
Hiram, and Celinda, now the wife of A. L. Northrup, residing in New Madison ; 
she died at the age of 84 ; the parents of Mr. Calkins are now living at New 
Paris, Preble Co.; they came to Darke Co. in 1852, and settled in Harrison Town- 
ship. The education of our subject was obtained in the common schools up to 16 
years of age ; he then received an academical course at Troy, Bradford Co., 
Penn. ; then was a student of the Delaware (Ohio) College two years ; afterward 
studied medicine and attended a course of lectures at Cincinnati Medical College ; 
in the spring of 1856, he went across the Plains, remaining until 1859. Upon 
Dec. 12. 1862, he was married to Harriet E. McClure, at Peru, Ind. The following 
August, he enlisted a company of 101 men, and went out as Captain of Co. C, 
87th Ind. V. I., serving through Kentucky and Tennessee. After returning from 
the army, he returned to Illinois and engaged in farming, stock-raising, etc. Was 
Police Judge of the city of Jerseyville, 111., in 1868 ; was admitted as a member 
of the bar in 1870, and was afterward elected two terms as City Solicitor ; in 
1874. he came to Greenville, and engaged in the law business with his brother 
Charles. Was elected Prosecuting Attorney of Darke Co. in 1877, and re-elected 
in 1879. Has alwa}-s voted the Democratic ticket. Henry Calkins is the father 
of three children now living, having lost three by death. During the residence of 
Moses Calkins in Pennsylvania, he was largely identified with the lumber trade, 
and. upon locating here, has been engaged in loaning money, etc.; he is a man of 
sterling worth, and a great champion of the cause of temperance. 

CHARLES CALKINS, attorney at law, Greenville. The subject of this 
sketch was born in Burlington Township, Bradford Co., Penn.. Feb. 11, 1827, and 
is a son of Moses Calkins, who is prominently mentioned in the biography of 
Henry Calkins in this work. The early education of our subject was obtained like 
other boys of the age, in an old log schoolhouse ; at 16 years of age. he entered 
the academy at West Troy, where he received his academic education under the 
instruction of Ezra Long. Afterward, his father becoming largely indebted to the 
Bank of North America, in Philadelphia, for lands then owned by him, required 
all his efforts, as well as of his son, to liquidate the same; accordingly he built 
four saw-mills, and Charles run one of them one-half of the time, day and night, 
until his majority, the balance of the time being employed in rafting and running 
Lumber down the Susquehanna River. At the age of 21, he commenced the study 
of law at Towanda. Penn., with John C. Adams, who was an able lawyer, a just 
man, and distinguished throughout the State for his prominence and ability. He 
continued his studies with the above gentleman until April 11. 1849, when through 
the kindness and generosity of Allen and Eliza McKean. he was furnished with 
means to take him to the gold mines of California, and to the above parties he 
holds the deepest feelings of gratitude and esteem. After remaining in California 
some eighteen months, meeting with fine success, he returned to Bradford Co., Penn.. 



GREENVILLE TOWNSHIP. 483 

thence to Darke Co., with a cousin, in 1851, with the expectation of remaining but 
two weeks, but through the fortuity of Providence, he has made it his home for 
nearly thirty years. Upon the 1st of June, 1852, he formed a partnership under 
the firm name of Collins & Calkins, this partnership continuing until September, 
1855, when it was dissolved by the death of Mr. Collins. In 1854, he was elected 
Prosecuting Attorney for two years ; re-elected in 1866 for two years, and again 
in 1868 for the same length of time, and has had an honorable and lucrative prac- 
tice since being admitted to the bar in 1 852. His marriage with Elizabeth Stamm 
was celebrated in the spring of 1853. She was also a native of Pennsylvania. 
They have four children now living, viz., Leulla, Harriet and Henry (twins) and 
George. 

L. E. CHENOWETH, attorney at law, Greenville ; was born in Washington 
Township, on the 3d of December, 1840. His father, Thomas F. Chenoweth, came 
to Darke Co., from Franklin Co., Ohio, in 1818, and entered the farm on which he 
has since resided. L. E. Chenoweth was brought up a farmer, but with three 
brothers learned the trade of bricklaying. He received a good common-school 
education, and, at the age of 16, taught a district school. He taught school sev- 
eral terms. On the 13th of May, 1861, he enlisted as a private in Co. K, 11th O. 
V. I., for three months' service, and was honorably discharged Aug. 17, 1861 ; re- 
enlisted Oct. 25, 1861, in Co. E, 69th O. V. I.'; was appointed Commissary Sergeant 
of said regiment, Feb. 1, 1863, at Murfreesboro, Tenn., and soon after appointed 
Quartermaster Sergeant of said regiment. Re-enlisted as veteran volunteer. Feb. 
26, 1864, at Chattanooga, Tenn.; was discharged from service as Quartermaster 
Sergeant, at Sister's Ferry, Ga., Feb. 1, 1865, and was mustered in on same day as 
First Lieutenant of Co. H, 69th 0. V. I., and, on same day, was appointed Quarter- 
master of said regiment. Was appointed Brigade Quartermaster on the staff of 
Gen. George P. Buell, commanding 2d Brigade, 1st Division, 14th Army Corps, at 
Goldsboro, N. C, March 27, 1865. Was commissioned and mustered as Captain of 
Co. I, 0. V. I., June 16, 1865, at Louisville, Ky., and was discharged on the 17th 
of July, 1865, at the close of the war. Was present at the following battles : 
Stone River, Chickamauga, Lookout Mountain, Mission Ridge, Ringgold, Snake 
Creek Gap, Buzzard's Roost, Resaca, New Hope Church, Kenesaw Mountain, 
Marietta, Chattahoochie River, Peach Tree Creek, siege of Atlanta, Jonesboro and 
Savannah and Goldsboro, N. C. Since the war, has been engaged in the grocery busi- 
ness, miller, engineer, merchant tailoring, boot and shoe store, foundry and machine 
shop and a traveling salesman, handling school furniture and supplies, in Ohio, Indi- 
ana, Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Canada. On the 5th day of 
December, 1876, in the Supreme Court of Ohio, was duly admitted to the practice 
of the law, since which time he has been engaged in the business of his profession. 
He married, on the 3d of July, 1867, Effle A. Arnold, daughter of Noah Arnold, 
Esq., of Jaysville, Darke Co. Has two children — Millie and James. 

B. H. CLARK, Sec. 4; P. 0. Woodington ; an early pioneer of Darke Co.; 
born in Lebanon Co., Penn., Sept. 16, 1821 ; he was a son of Samuel Clark, who 
was born in Pennsylvania March 31, 1796 ; he came to Darke Co. in 1831, and 
located in Washington Township, where he lived until his decease, which occurred 
in November, 1872. He married Margaret Hofnagle in Pennsylvania ; she was 
born in the same State in 1797, and died in Washington Township in February, 
1863. Our subject came to Darke Co. with his parents in 1831, and is, conse- 
quently, one of the early pioneers, and among the oldest continuous residents of 
the county, having lived here nearly half a century ; his education was obtained 
in a log schoolhouse with stick-and-mud chimney, a large fireplace in which they 
used logs as large as two or three of the largest boys could handle, and the desks and 
seats were made of slabs, as well as the writing-desks which extended around the 
house ; he remained with his father until 21 years of age, when he commenced 
farming for himself, and, in 1857, moved upon his present place, where he has since 
lived ; he has about 80 acres of land, with good farm buildings, which he^ has 



484 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

secured by his own hard Labor, in which ho has been nobly assisted by his amiable 
wife, to whom he was united in marriage April 25, 1844 ; she was born in Wash- 
ington Township, Darke Co., April 18, 1830; her maiden name was Mary Ann 
Martin, a daughter of Hugh and Kve (Cox) Martin; her father was one of the 
early pioneers, emigrating from Pennsylvania in 1818, and locating in Washington 
Township; her mother was a daughter of Jacob Cox, who located here in 1816 ; 
he was horn in 1801 and died April 7, 1842, upon the farm he first settled on after 
his marriage ; her mother was born in 17!Hi. and died Dec. 13, 1866. The children 
of B. H and Mary Ann (Martin) Clark were thirteen in number, of whom eleven 
are now living — William 14., Isaac N., John C, Frank, Margaret E., Clatie P., 
Angeline ML, Jennie, Sherman, Walter and Arthur ; the deceased were Charles 
and Baxter, dying in infancy. 

JOHN C. CLARK, firm of Breaden & Clark, attorneys at law, Wilson & 
Hart's Block, Greenville. The subject of this memoir was born in Washington 
Township. Darke Co., on the 17th of January, 1849, and is the son of B. H. Clark, 
another of our old settlers, whose biography also appears in this work. The early 
occupation of our subject was that of a farmer's son, his education being obtained 
in the common schools, until 18 years of age, after which he attended the graded 
schools of Greenville for three years ; the following three } r ears he devoted to 
school-teaching, and. during vacation, gave his whole attention to study ; in 1873, 
he commenced the stud}' of law with Calderwood & Cole, was admitted to the bar 
in 1877. and, shortly after, associated with J. E. Breaden, Jr., under the firm name, 
now doing an extensive law business, which is yearly increasing. 

HENRY M. COLE, lawyer, Greenville ; was born in Darke Co., March 17, 
1845. His grandfather, Samuel Cole, Sr., was a native of Sussex Co., N. J.; he 
was one of the earliest settlers, and the first Justice of the Peace of Washington 
Township ; his father and mother are natives of the same township ; his father, 
Samuel Cole, Jr., is a substantial farmer ; his mother was Elizabeth Cox ; of a 
family of eleven children, our subject is the eldest ; by arduous study, with only 
common-school advantages, he obtained a fair English education ; he entered the 
service of the United States in the war of the rebellion in 1864. and was fifer-boy 
in Co. G, of the 152d 0. N. G.; he read law with Messrs. Knox & Sater, of Green- 
ville ; graduated from the Cincinnati Law School in the spring of 1869 ; was at 
once admitted to the bar, and commenced practice in Greenville ; in August, 1872, 
he formed a law partnership with Judge A. R. Calderwood, of Greenville, and is 
still so associated. Politically, he is a Republican. He possesses good legal 
talent, is a close student, and is devoted to his profession ; as a pleader and advo- 
cate he is effective ; in legal and general literature, he is well informed, and has 
the manners of a polished gentleman. 

WILLIAM COLE, farmer and stock-raiser. Sec. 14; P. 0. Greenville; born 
in Greenville Township, Darke Co., March 3, 1849 ; he is a son of Samuel Cole, 
who was one of the early settlers of Darke Co., and is one of the oldest continual 
residents of the count}-, ami is now living in Washington Township, and is a 
brother of Joseph Cole, whose biography appeals among the sketches of Washing- 
ton Township in another part of this work. Wm. Cole received a common-school 
education, and assisted his father upon the farm until he attained his majority ; 
in 1872. he located upon his present place where he has since lived ; he has 160 
acres on his home farm, with good buildings. He married Clarissa Alexander 
Aug. 3. 1871 ; she was born in Preble Co., Ohio. Sept. 7. 1852 ; they have five 
children— Baxter, born April 11, 1ST:; ; Samuel G-., Aug. 8, 1874, John, Sept. 21. 
1875; George. March 2."). 1877. and an infant. July 10, 1879. Mrs. Cole was a 
daughter of Samuel Alexander, who died in Washington Township Oct. 7, 1873; 
her mother's maiden name was Elizabeth Roberts, who died in 1874. 

JACOB W. COX. manufacturer of hoots and shoes. Sec. 31 ; P. O. Green- 
ville. One of the old settlers, born in Greenville Township, Darke Co., Ohio, Aug. 
12. 1841. He was a son of Jesse Cox. the first white child born in Washington 



GREENVILLE TOWNSHIP. 485 

Township (date of birth, 1817), whose occupation was farming ; his death occurred 
on Oct. 4, 1873. He married Prudence J. Wintermute, a native of New Jersey, 
born in 1820, who is still living in Greenville Township. Jacob W. raised to farm 
labor until 14 years of age, when he commenced to learn the shoemaker's trade, 
which business he followed in connection with farming until 1873, since which 
time he has devoted his whole attention to his trade upon Sec. 31, where he resides. 
Upon the 14th of March, 1869, he was married to Mary E. Bechtold, daughter of 
Samuel Bechtold, whose sketch appears among the biography of Greenville 
Township ; they have three children— Charles N., Francis M. and Bellzoria. 

FRANK t. CONKLING, book-keeper, Greenville ; born in Hamilton Co., 
Ohio, Feb. 27, 1858 ; his early education was obtained in the common schools of 
his native place, and completed by a study of eight years in Cincinnati ; in 1875, 
he came to Greenville, and in July, 1876, accepted a position as book-keeper of the 
Greenville Bank, which situation he has since filled with credit to himself, and 
satisfaction to his emplovers. 

DAVID CRAIG, retired ; P. 0. Greenville ; another of the early pioneers of 
Darke Co. is the gentleman whose name heads this sketch ; born in Montgomery 
Co., Oct. 5, 1804, and was a son of John Craig, a native of Virginia, who had a 
hatred to the institution of slavery, and emigrated to Kentucky, then a free State, 
but upon slavery being admitted as one of its institutions, he came to Mont- 
gomery Co., Ohio, where his death occurred in 1812 ; in the spring of 1816, our 
subiect came to Darke Co., being then 12 years of age, and he and his twin brother 
contracted and cleared several acres of land in Wayne Township, by which they 
cleared upward of $1 per day each ; at 15 years of age, he went to Butler Co., 
and learned the blacksmith trade ; his skill and reputation in the making of edge 
tools soon became established, and for three years he found employment at 
Amanda, most of the time making stonecutter's tools for the contractors of the 
Miami Canal ; he was a witness to the commencement of the building of the 
canal, and saw the first dirt thrown out by Gov. Merrill, of Ohio, and Gov. Clinton, 
of New York ; in 1828, he and his twin brother purchased two lots on Main 
street, Greenville, erected a wagon and blacksmith shop, and carried on the above 
business in connection with the manufacture of plows and agricultural imple- 
ments until 1850, when he located upon his farm, two and a half miles south of 
Greenville, and here he engaged in farming until the spring of 1877, when he dis- 
posed of his farm, removed to Greenville, where he has since lived. Mr. Craig 
has suffered the privations and hardships of frontier life ; upon locating here he 
had to go to Montgomery Co., purchase corn at $1 per bushel, and bring it to 
Greenville upon horseback ; it may be said of him that he is one of the self- 
made men of Darke Co. ; coming' here at 12 years of age, he battled against 
adversity for many years, and now at the advanced age of 75 years is in posses- 
sion of all his faculties, and has accumulated sufficient property by his hard labor 
and correct business habits to carry him and his amiable wife through their 
declining years. Upon the 3d of August, 1834, he was united in marriage with 
Ruhanah Shanon, who was born in Cumberland Co., Penn., Feb. 17, 1816, and 
came to Darke Co. with her parents in 1832. They were the parents of three 
sons and four daughters, viz., Elizabeth A., born Sept. 15. 1835 ; James M.. Nov. 
29, 1836, now in Government employ at Washington ; Thomas A., born March 2, 
1839— died Feb. 22, 1845 ; Marietta.' May 5. 1842 ; Martha J., Jan. 18. 1844 ; 
Phoebe S., Dec. 17, 1845, and David Edgar. June 1. 1852. 

T. W. CULBERTSON, farmer and stock-raiser ; P. O. Greenville : was born 
Oct. 25, 1828, within sight of the place where he now resides ; he is the son of 
Samuel Culbertson, a native of Pennsylvania, who was born in June, 1801. and emi-^ 
grated with his family to this county at quite an early day, settling on a piece of 
land in Van Buren Township. At that time, this county was almost entirely cov- 
ered over with dense forests and immense swamps ; the labors of the pioneer had 
not yet made extensive inroads on the vast wilderness. He was united in 



486 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

marriage with Miss Rebecca Westfall in 1823; six children were born of this union, 
to wit : Orin, .Mary J., T. W. Elizabeth and James; Orin and Elizabeth are 
deceased ; the others are settled in this county. The privations and hardships of 
pioneer life soon told upon the health of the elder Culbertson, and in 1837, he was 
called to bid farewell to his family and take his departure to that "undiscovered 
country from whose bourne no traveler returns," leaving a loving wife and six small 
children to contend with the trials and difficulties incident to frontier life ; his wife 
remained upon the homestead and survived him about sixteen years, dying in 
1853. Our subject was quite small at the death of his father, after which he 
remained with his mother till her death, assisting in sustaining her and giving her the 
comforts of a home ; he early learned the brickmason's trade. His educati< >nal 
advantages were necessarily limited, as a pioneer's life is one of constant exertion 
for sustenance, but what opportunities did offer in this direction were well improved. 
At the death of his mother, the home was broken up and he went to live with his 
sister, Mrs. Studabaker. Nov. 26, 1857, he celebrated his marriage with Elizabeth 
Harper ; she is the daughter of William S. Harper, a native of Pennsylvania, who 
also emigrated to this county at quite an earl} 7 day. Immediately after the mar- 
riage of our subject, he moved upon a piece of land in Sec. 7, which he had pre- 
viously purchased ; this was all in the woods, and he was obliged to clear off a 
spot large enough to erect a cabin on ; this constituted the first home of his own ; 
here, in the dense forest, he set out with his helpmeet, on the course of life, and 
by their own exertions they have caused the golden grain to wave where once 
stood the mighty forest ; in his rich fertile farm, we again behold industry and 
frugality bountifully rewarded. They are the parents of seven children, to 
wit : Frank, Edward, Charlie, William H., Harry, Cora B. and Purlej', all of 
whom are yet living and residing under the parental roof. Mr. Culbertson, realiz- 
ing the advantages of an education in this advanced da} r , is offering his children 
all the opportunities now afforded b}' this county in this direction, and they, we 
are glad to chronicle, are making good use of them. 

JOHN W. DEARDOURFF, manufacturer and dealer in boots and shoes. No. 
13, Third street, Greenville. The subject of this memoir is a native of Preble Co., 
born June 3, 1845 ; he is a son of Daniel Deardourff, who was born in Adams Co.. 
Penn., and came to Preble Co. about the year 1849. He married Elizabeth Stouf- 
fer ; she was born in Lancaster Co., Penn., and is now living in Greenville, at the 
advanced age of 79 years. John W. was raised in Preble Co. until 20 years of 
age, during which time he attended the common schools, and learned and worked 
at the shoemaker's trade, which he followed until August, 1862, at which date he 
enlisted in the 50th 0. V. I., and went forward to battle for the Union ; he was in 
man} T severe engagements, among which was the battle of Perryville, and in the 
three months' campaign against Atlanta, during which time he was engaged some 
eighty-four days ; after the capture of Atlanta, he returned to Franklin, and after 
the battle of the latter place, the army fell back to Nashville, where he was engaged 
in the three days' fight; in the spring of 1865, he joined Sherman at Golds- 
boro, and was with his army at the surrender of Johnson ; he then lay in Salis- 
bury some thirty days, then returned to City Point and Baltimore; thence to 
Cleveland, where he received his discharge, in the latter part of July, 1865, hav- 
ing served in the Union army three years. Upon receiving his discharge, he came 
to Darke Co. and was employed at his trade until the spring of 1877, when he 
engaged in business for himself, which he has since successfully followed ; a card 
of his business is to be found in the business directory of Greenville, in another 
part of this work. His marriage with Phebe S. Craig was celebrated in March, 1869 ; 
she is a daughter of David Craig, whose sketch appears among the biographic of 
this work ; they have two children — Harry A. and Charles. 

JOS1AI1 B. DEETER, Sec. 4; farmer and manufacturer of all kinds and 
sizes of drain tile ; P. O. Woodington ; his factory is located one-fourth of a mile 
south of Woodington Station ; he may be considered one of our old settlers, being 



GREENVILLE TOWNSHIP. 487 

born in Greenville Township, Darke Co., June 3, 184-4 ; his father, Daniel M. 
Deeter, was born in Pennsylvania in January, 1801, and came to Darke Co. some- 
where about the year 1825, where he has since lived. He married Anna Bolinger 
in Pennsylvania ; she died in the spring of 1879 ; the subject of this sketch fol- 
lowed agricultural pursuits during the early part of his life, and subsequently 
purchased an interest in the tile factory of Hime, Martin & Co., which, after two 
years he became the sole owner of ; since that time he has conducted the business 
in his own name ; his yearly sales in tile have exceeded $3,000 ; he also owns 94 
acres of land, which extends to the station, his residence being located one-fourth 
of a mile from the same. His marriage with Hattie A. Crosson was celebrated 
July 17, 1873 ; she was born in Cincinnati July 18, 1855 ; she died in April, 
1875 ; one child was born to them— Claud M., born Aug. 29, 1875 ; died Feb. 19, 
1876. 

AAEON S. DENISE, farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 27 ; P. 0. Greenville : 
one of the early pioneers of Darke Co., born in Butler Co., Ohio, Jan. 16, 182.") . 
he was the oldest son of John S. Denise, who was born in the State of New Jer- 
sey March 25, 1803, and came to Ohio when quite young. He was united in mar- 
riage in Warren Co., Ohio, with Margaret M. Clark March 18, 1824; she was Lorn 
in Warren Co. Aug. 15, 1804 ; they were the parents of ten children, of whom 
seven are now living ; they were among the early settlers of Darke Co., coming 
here in 1829, and locating upon Sec. 27, Greenville Township, which at that time 
was a howling wilderness, and upon this spot Mr. Denise passed the remainder of 
his days ; his decease occurred April 25, 1852 ; his widow now lives upon the 
same place, and although upward of 75 years of age, is in possession of all her 
faculties ; our subject came to Darke Co. with his parents in 1829, and is conse- 
quently one of the old settlers of the county ; he remained upon the old home- 
stead until 1855, after which he went to Illinois and remained four years, thence 
to Missouri, staying there two years, and, in 1861, returned to Darke Co., and. in 
September of the same year, enlisted in the 40th 0. V. I., and went forward to 
battle for the Union ; he was first forwarded to Kentucky, where he was in several 
battles, after which he was transferred to the Army of the Cumberland ; partici- 
pated in the battle of Chickamauga, then the siege and capture of Atlanta, contin- 
uing upward of four months fighting ; in the fall of 1864 and the early part of 
the winter of 1865, he was in the Fourth Army Corps, under Maj. Gen. Thomas, 
operating in Tennessee in protecting the cities of Nashville, Chattanooga and 
other points, during which time he was engaged in the battle of Nashville for two 
days, at the expiration of which time the rebel army under Gen. Hood were 
badly defeated ; he was also in many other engagements ; in the spring of 1S65, 
he was forwarded to Texas, and stationed at Galveston and San Antonio for sev- 
eral months, and in the fall of 1865, returned to Columbus, where he was mustered 
out of service and received his discharge in October of the same year, having 
served in the Union army upward of four years ; after two years' service, he 
veteranized, and at the expiration of three years, was transferred to the 51st 0. 
V. I., and remained with the same until the close of the war ; he was never taken 
prisoner, but had many narrow escapes ; he was twice wounded, but only kept 
from duty a short time ; he returned home Oct. 25, and located upon his present 
place, where he has since resided ; he has 100 acres in his home farm, of which 
80 are under a good state of cultivation, one mile west of the city of Greenville ; 
also 40 acres in Daviess Co., Mo.; Mr. Denise is no politician, but is a strong 
Republican, and labors for the success of his party, and to make use of his own 
words, he always votes as he fought. 

JOHN G. DEUBNER, farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 13 ; P. O. Greenville ; 
one of the old settlers of Darke Co.; born in Saxony, Germany, July 2. 1825, 
where he received a good German education and followed farming and working in 
woolen mills until 23 years of age, when he emigrated to America, landing in New 
York in May, 1848; he immediately came to Darke Co., and was employed working 



488 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

in the Broadway Hotel. Greenville, some five years, and, in 1853, he located 
upon Sec. 13, where he has since lived for a period of twenty-six years ; he now 
bas 82 acres under a good state of improvement, with good farm buildings ; when 
locating here, there were only 15 acres cleared ; he has since cleared 35 acres and 
brought the same to a good state of cultivation ; when Mr. Deubner purchased his 
first land, he had a capital of about $50 ; he has since accumulated all the above 
property by his own hard labor, and it can be truly said of him that he is one of 
the self-made men of Darke Co. He is a Democrat in politics, and always labors 
for the success of the party ; he has held the office of Township Trustee of Green- 
ville Township for three years during his residence here. His marriage with Wil- 
helmina Bildemeyer was celebrated March 8, 1853; she was born in Hessen, Ger- 
many. Sept. 11, 1835 ; they were tne parents of thirteen children — John C, born 
Nov. 21, 1853 ; Frederick H., born Sept. 17, 1855 ; Charlotte, Feb. 25, 1858 (died 
Aug. 10, 1871) ; Lewis H., July 19, 1859 ; John W., Sept. 10. 1861 ; Wilhelmina 
P., Nov. 29, 1863 ; Charles A., July 14, 1866 ; Caroline S. and Louisa (twins), born 
Sept. 25, 1868 ; Sophia, March 6, 1871 (died July 20, 1874) ; Powell G., born Feb. 
14. 1874 ; Mary, June 11, 1876, and Amelia M., Dec. 3, 1878. 

JOHN DEVOR, lawyer, Greenville, was born in Darke Co. in 1831. His 
grandfather, John Devor, was born in Pennsylvania, and came to Darke Co. in 
1808 : he entered the first half-section of land m the present limits of the county, 
and laid out the town of Greenville in 1810 ; in 1816, he moved his family to the 
county, they having, for eight years previously, lived in Montgomery Co., Ohio. 
Upon the organization of the county, in 1817, he was appointed Treasurer, and 
served as such three years. He followed the business of surveying for some 
years. His son. James Devor, was born near Maysville, Ky.. while the family were 
on their way from Pennsylvania, in 1795 ; he learned surveying from his father, 
and. for a number of years, was County Surveyor. He was the first Auditor of 
Darke Co.; from May, 1844, to October, 1847, he was County Treasurer, and, for a 
number of years, he was a Justice of the Peace ; he died October, 1855. His wife. 
Patience Dean, was a daughter of Aaron Dean, one of the early settlers of the 
county ; they were married March 1, 1828, and ten children were born to them, of 
whom the second son is our subject. He received a common-school education, and 
acquired a knowledge of surveying under his father's instruction; at the age of 
19, lie commenced the study of law with the late Hiram Bell, Esq., of Greenville, 
and was admitted to the bar in the spring of 1852, and at once opened an office in 
Greenville. In 1855, he was elected County Surveyor, and was re-elected in 1858, 
serving six years ; from 1854 to 1867, he was a law partner of the late Michael 
Spayd. of Greenville ; in the fall of that year, he formed a law partnership with 
Hon. William Allen, which continued eleven years. For four years, he was Assist- 
ant Assessor of Internal Revenue for the Fourth District of Ohio ; he was also 
Registrar in Bankruptcy for the same district during the existence of the bank- 
rupt law, which went into effect March. 1867, and terminated September, 1878. 
July 29, 1856, he married Miss Elizabeth Travis, daughter of John Travis, of But- 
ler Co., Ohio : Mrs. Devor died Oct. 22, 1878. Formerly a Whig, Mr. Devor natur- 
ally became a Republican, and, for many years has been Chairman of the 
Republican Central Committee of Darke Co. * Mr. Devor is eminently social, and 
is an industrious and energetic business man. He is at present a law partner of 
M. T. Allen, and the firm is one of the strongest of the Darke Co. bar. 

ELM AH DEVOR, attorney at law. Greenville. The subject of this memoir 
was I torn in Darke Co., Ohio, Oct. 16, 1849, and is a brother of John Devor, 
whose sketch and portrait both appear in this work. Our subject was the sou of 
James Devor. one of our early pioneers, and who, as well as the grandfather, are 
prominently mentioned in the sketch of John Devor. as well as in the historical 
part of this work. Elijah Devor obtained a common-school education, and, at 19 
years of age. commenced the study of law with Allen & Devor: he attended the 
Cincinnati Law School, at Cincinnati. Ohio, one term, graduated from the same, 



GREENVILLE TOWNSHIP. 489 

and was admitted to the bar in April, 1871 ; commenced the practice of law with 
M. T. Allen, as a partner, in 1872, and continued the same two years ; in 1875, he 
associated with his present partner, and they have since conducted their business 
under the firm name of Devor & Bodle. He is, also, Treasurer of the Greenville 
Gas Co. On the 8th day of October, 1875, he was united in marriage with Emily 
A. Webb, daughter of H. A. Webb, of Greenville ; they have two sons by this 
union, viz., Henry Webb Devor and John Devor. 

WILLIAM H. DILL, merchant, Justice of the Peace and Postmaster, Pike- 
ville ; another of the old settlers of Darke Co., born in Beamsville, Richland Town- 
ship, June 8, 1839 ; he was the oldest son of John H. C. Dill, who was born in 
Germany March 16, 1805 ; he emigrated to America and located in Butler Co., 
and. about the year 1837, came to Darke Co. and settled in Beamsville, where he 
lived until 1855 ; he then removed to Dallas and engaged in the grain trade one 
year, after which he followed farming three or four years ; he then returned to 
Dallas and engaged in the dry-goods trade for one year, when he came to Pikes- 
ville, in the spring of 1862, and engaged in the general merchandise trade and the 
purchase of grain up to the time of his death, which occurred April 2, 1865. He 
married Martha C. Seigment, in Ohio, Nov. 17, 1834 ; she was a native of Ger- 
many, born Oct. 23, 1815, and died in Darke Co. March 7, 1858 ; they were the 
parents of eleven children, of whom eight are now living, six in Ohio, one in Indi- 
ana and one in Missouri. Our subject resided in Beamsville until 16 years of age, 
where he received some experience in the mercantile store of his father ; he then 
assisted his father in farming, in Brown Township, some four years, when he com- 
menced clerking in Dallas, and, the following year, his father located in Dallas, in 
the merchandise business, and he then assisted his father in his store one year ; in 
the spring of 1862, he came to Pikeville with his father, and remained with him 
until the latter's death ; he continued the business two years, and, in 1867, the 
store and stock were destroyed by fire ; he was then engaged in various pursuits 
until the spring of 1879, when he engaged in the merchandise trade, which busi- 
ness he now follows. He received the appointment of Postmaster under the 
administration of Lincoln, in 1862, and was the first Postmaster of the town ; he 
has also held the office of Justice of the Peace for twelve years in succession. 
His marriage with Julia A. Reed was celebrated in Darke Co., Ohio, Sept. 8, 1861 ; 
she was born iu Darke Co. March 28, 1843 ; they have two children— Ida E., born 
Sept. 3, 1862, and Frank E., April 26, 1874. 

JOHN DININGER, farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 32 ; P. 0. Greenville. The 
subject of this memoir is justly entitled to the credit of being one of the early set- 
tlers of Darke Co.; he was born in Montgomery Co., Ohio, Nov. 7, 1823, and was 
the oldest son of Jacob Dininger, who was born in Germany Sept. 26, 1798 ; he 
emigrated to America when 18 years of age, and located in Montgomery Co., Ohio, 
and, in 1834, came to Darke Co. with his family, and followed farming in this 
township until his decease, which occurred June 11, 1875. He married Margaret 
Swank ; she was born in Montgomery Co. in 1806, and is now living upon the 
home farm, where she has resided for forty-five years. John Dininger made his 
home with his parents until 30 years of age ; at the age of 24, he commenced to 
clear his present place, and has since cleared some sixty-five acres of his home farm, 
which contains 100 acres, besides upward of one hundred acres in Washington 
Township, with good farm buildings upon each place. He has taken a* deep inter- 
est in the cause of religion, having been a member of the Lutheran Church for 
upward of twenty years, his wife and son also being members of the same church. 
His marriage with Catherine R. McClure was celebrated Oct. 1, 1857; she was 
born in Montgomery Co., Aug. 25, 1834 ; they were the parents of three children 
—Ira, bom Aug. 31, 1858, died Oct. 8, 1879; John L. and Hattie (twins), born 
March 31, 1864 ; Hattie died April 2, 1864, and Ira died from quick consumption 
at the home of his parents, after an illness of one year. Mrs. Dininger was a 
daughter of George and Maria (Merkles) McClure, who came to Darke Co. in 



490 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

1843 ; her father was born in Lancaster Co., Penn., April 23, 1803, and died in 
Darke Co. in 1870 ; her mother was born in Berks Co., Penn.. March 8, 1812 
and died Aug. 25. 1870. 

MICHAEL W. DININGER, farmer, Sec 32 ; P. 0. Greenville. The subject 
of this sketch is a brother of John and Lewis Dininger, who are also mentioned in 
this work, and a son of Jacob Dininger, who is prominently mentioned in the 
-ketch of John Dininger. Michael W. was born in Montgomery Co., Ohio. Jan. 
20. 1833, and came to Darke Co. with his parents in 1834; his education was 
obtained in a rude log schoolhouse, and, by hard study, he obtained a lair com- 
mon-school learning; he assisted his father in agricultural pursuits until 21 years 
of age, when, on the 21st of September, 1854, he was united in marriage with Mary 
A. Kerst; she was born in Pennsylvania in 1835; they are the parents of five 
children, of whom four are now living— Sarah E., Isaac, Mary C. and Margaret 
R.; the deceased died in infancy. Upon the marriage of Mr. D., he located 
upon his present place, where he has since lived ; his home farm contains 100 
acres, with good farm buildings, which he has brought from a wilderness to its 
present high state of cultivation by his own hard labor. He has been a mem- 
ber of the Lutheran Church for many years, his wife and three of his children 
being members of different churches. 

LEWIS DININGER, farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 6 ; P. O. Greenville. This 
gentleman is a brother of John and Michael W. Dininger, and a son of Jacob 
Dininger, all of whom are mentioned in this work ; Lewis Dininger was born in 
Greenville Township, Darke Co., Ohio, March 30, 1840, and has always followed 
agricultural pursuits. At 2G years of age, he was united in marriage with Miss 
A. E. Kerst, their marriage nuptials being celebrated on the 8th of February. 
1866 ; she was born in German Township, Darke Co., in 1844 ; six children were 
the fruits of this union, viz., Flora S., Anna M., Charles, Achie E., Harley and 
Otto S.j Charlie died at the age of 1 year and 10 months. Mr. Dininger erected 
his present residence in 1870, where he has since lived, and upon this place 
he lias lived since his birth ; he now has 100 acres of land, with good farm build- 
ings. He has been a member of the Lutheran Church since early boyhood, his 
wife also being a member of the same church. 

J. N. DITMAN, merchant tailor, Greenville ; the subject of this sketch was 
born in Germany Sept. 25, 1837, and is a son of Henry and Louisa Ditman : our 
subject emigrated with his parents to this country in 1840, and landed at Balti- 
more ; he was reared in Carroll Co., Md., and removed to Richmond. Ind., in 
L863, where he remained for a short time ; thence to Connersville in 1864 ; thence 
back to Richmond in 1873, and remained about two years, when he moved to 
Bradford, Ohio, and resided upward of two years, and then came to Greenville 
and engaged in his business, which he is prosecuting with considerable energy, 
giving employment to several workmen. He was united in marriage with Sarah 
Ann Slaugenhaupt Feb. 17, 1861 ; they are the parents of six children, viz : Mary 
L., born Nov. 10, 1861 ; Gertrude E., Dec. 2, 1864 ; Inez E.. Nov. 3D. 1866 ; Laura 
B., Dec. 1, 1867 ; J. Willard, Sept 5, 1872 ; Maud, March 13, 1877. 

F. M. EIDSON, tanner and currier. Greenville ; born in Preble Co. Ohio, 
Dec. 14, 1835. where he passed his boyhood days, receiving a common- 
school education, and also learning his present trade ; he came to Darke Co. in 
1860, where he has since resided, with the exception of fiye months which he 
served in the late rebellion. In 1862, he was united in marriage with Miss 
Lucetta Kester, and by this union they have four children, viz., Clara D.. Bovce G., 
Virginia K. and George M. Mr. E. has, since a resident of Greenville, been a 
member of the Board of City Councilmen six years, and is at present President of 
the Union Public School Board, and is also Vice President of the Home Relief 
Association. A card of his business will be found in the business directory in 
another part of this work. 

WILLIAM EMRICK, farmer and stock-raiser; P.O. Greenville; born in 



GREENVILLE TOWNSHIP. 491 

Preble Co., Ohio, Nov. 6. 1836 ; he was a son of Jacob Emrick, who was born in 
Berks Co. Penn., in the year 1795 ; he came to Montgomery Co. at an early day, 
then to Preble Co. in 1830, where his decease occurred May 18, 1872 ; he was 
married three times, his second wife being the mother of the subject of our sketch ; 
her maiden name was Elizabeth Detmore, who was born in Virginia in 1810, and 
died in October, 1838. William Emrick, after obtaining a good common-school 
education, remained with his father and assisted him in agricultural pursuits until 
Dec. 29, 1857, when he was united in marriage with Mary J. Collins, who died 
May is] 1868, leaving four children, viz., Franklin, Valorous. Elmer E. and Cora ; 
Oct. 15, 1868, he was married to Susanah Emrick ; they have two sons by 
this union— Orpheus and Elihu. In the spring of 1858, he commenced farming 
in Preble Co., and continued the same until January, 1866, at which date he came 
to Darke Co., and purchased a farm of 40 acres in Twin Township, which he after- 
ward disposed of, then purchased 80 acres, which he also sold, and, Jan. 26, 1876. 
purchased the place where he has since lived ; he now owns upward of 100 acres, 
with good farm buildings, under good improvement, located three miles from 
Greenville. During his residence in Preble Co., he held the office of Township 
Clerk of Twin Township in the latter county for four years. 

JAMES ESTY, retired farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 31 ; P. O. Greenville ; 
another of the old settlers of Darke Co. ; born in the province of New Brunswick Sept. 
17, 1814 ; his father, David Esty, was born in the above province July 31, 1792 ; he 
came to Ohio in 1822. and located in August of the same year, having been two 
months on the way ; he engaged in farming and milling until his death, which 
occurred Nov. 20, 1874 ; he was married, in New Brunswick, to Ann Knoop, 
Sept. 30, 1813 ; she was born March 19, 1792. in New Brunswick ; they were the 
parents of eleven children, all of whom lived to grow up ; ten are now living, of 
whom James Esty is the oldest ; Mrs. Esty died Aug. 21, 1873. The Bible from 
which the above record was copied was purchased by David Esty in 1829, and is 
now valued very highly as an heirloom by our subject, who came to Miami Co. 
with his parents in- 1822, being then 8 years of age ; he was raised to farming 
and running a saw-mill until Jan. 1, 1842, when he was united in marriage with 
Jane McDowell ; she was born in Franklin Co. Feb. 20, 1817 ; they have one son 
by this union— John C, born Dec. 4, 1842. Upon the marriage of Mr. Esty, he 
commenced farming for himself in Miami Co., and continued there until March 4, 
1856, when he located upon Sec. 31 in Greenville Township, where he has since 
lived ; he now has 165 acres of land, with good farm buildings, located two miles 
from Greenville. John C. Esty. the only son of James and Jane (McDowell) 
Esty, has always lived upon the home farm, and for the past two years has been a 
partner with his father in the products of his farm. He married Ellen Greena- 
walt on Dec. 18, 1873 ; she was born in Greenville Jan. 5, 1847 ; they have one 
child— Eva May, born March 8, 1875. 

B. F. FERTICK, dealer in and manufacturer of lumber, Greenville ; was born 
in Wayne Co., Ind., June 28, 1849, where he remained until 1859, when he with 
his mother moved to Delaware Co., Ind., after which, in 1863, he engaged in school 
teaching for five successive years, and in 1868 opened a drug store in Parker, Ind., 
which he continued until 1871, then commenced the retail dry-goods trade which 
he followed until 1873, when he commenced in his present business, and in 1879 
came to this county and located in Greenville, where he has one of the first-class 
mills located on the side track of the D. & U. R. R.. thereby making conveniences 
of transportation better than any mill in the county; it is valued at about $5,500. 
Our subject was united in marriage with Miss Hannah C. Morris, of Randolph Co., 
Ind., and by this union has two sons— Theodore B., born Nov. 29, 1875, and Hen- 
phon. March 14, 1878. Mr. F. is a live, energetic citizen of Greenville. 

CHARLES FLETCHER, retired stonecutter, Greenville ; one of the old 
settlers of Darke Co. The subject of this memoir was born in Townsend, Wind- 
ham Co.. Vt.. July 20, 1811. His grandfather, Samuel Fletcher, was one of the 



492 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

generals" in the American army during the Revolutionary struggle, and served 
under the command of (Jen. Washington ; after the close of the war, he located in 
the above county, and laid out the village of West Townsend, where he died. The 
lather of Charles Fletcher— Squire Fletcher — was born in West Townsend. and 
was engaged in merchandise trade where he passed his days, his death occurring 
about the year 1814. The subject of our sketch was left fatherless when 4 years 
of age, and made his home with his mother until 9 years old ; he then started in 
life for himself, and lived in various places, and when old enough he learned the 
stonecutter's trade, and at 19 years of age, he removed to New York, living there 
one year, then seven years in Erie Co., Penn., and came to Ohio in 1841 and 
located in Greenville Township, Darke Co. where he engaged in the nursery busi- 
ness and cutting stone, and was the first stonecutter of the place ; he continued 
the above business in Greenville some fifteen years, when he removed to Piqua and 
resided in Miami Co., Ohio and Clay Co., Ind., being engaged in stonecutting, farming 
and nursery business, and in 1874 purchased his present place where he has since 
lived ; he has 94 acres under a good state of cultivation which he has made by his 
hard labor. He was married to Amanda Burns in 1841 ; she was born in Green- 
ville Township, Darke Co., and was a daughter of Barney Burns, one of the early 
pioneers who is mentioned in the historical part of this work ; the children of 
Charles and Amanda Fletcher were ten in number, of whom two are deceased, the 
living are Chester B., Elizabeth, Mary, Charles, John W., Edward F., Emma B., 
and William ; the deceased are Nancy and Newton. Mr. Fletcher also owns 240 
acres of land in Adair Co., Ohio, and 290 acres in Nebraska and some town 
property. 

JAMES A. FLEMING, farmer and stock-raiser ; P. 0. Jaysville. Another 
of the old settlers of Darke Co.; born in Greenville, Jan. 17,1832. He is the 
oldest son of Aaron Fleming, who was born in Butler Co., Ohio, in 1803. and 
came to Darke Co., with his parents in the year 1816, and was consequently one of 

the earliest pioneers of Darke Co. He married Rachel Arnold. 31, 1831 ; 

she was born in Warren Co., Ohio, 1810, and came to Darke Co., with her parents 

in 1819. They were the parents of three children, who lived to grow up James 

A., Henry D. and William. Upon the date of the above marriage, Mr. and .Mrs. 
Fleming located upon Sec. 7, Greenville Township, where he had previously pur- 
chased 80 acres of land, which was then a howling wilderness, there beino; no 
clearing. He then commenced clearing and by his own hard labor succeeded in 
placing it under a good state of cultivation ; there was a log cabin on the land, 
and they lived in it some twenty years ; and at the time of his death he had 
secured 160 acres in Greenville and Van Buren Townships. He was a Democrat 
in politics, but never aspired for office. He died Feb. 2, 1877. Mrs. Fleming now 
lives upon the old homestead, where she has continued to live for a period of nearly 
one-half a century, and is one of the oldest continued residents in this part of 
Darke Co., having lived here for a period of sixty years. She has a vivid recol- 
lection of the Indians, the wolf, the deer, and the wild game, which at that time 
was to be had in abundance. Our subject obtained his education in an old lo«- 
schoolhouse, which, at that time had the improvements of a stove. The seats 
were split logs with no backs ; the writing seats extending around the room, made 
with planks placed upon wooden pegs inserted in the logs. He now has a residence 
of forty-eight years upon the place where he lives, having assisted his father in the 
management of the farm, until the decease of the latter" since which time he has 
farmed for himself. He now owns 120 acres, 80 acres of which is a part of the 
original farm purchased by his father about the year 1829, for which he gave two 
horses valued at $50 each, and which is now valued at $60 to $70 per acre. Mr. 
Fleming, with his wife, is accorded a place in the front ranks of the early pioneers 
of Darke Co. 

.JESSK FOLKERTH (deceased). The gentleman whose name heads this 
sketch was one of the early pioneers of Darke Co. He was born in Montgomery 



GREENVILLE TOWNSHIP. 493 

Co., Ohio, April 6, 1808, and was a son of William Folkerth, who was born 
in Maryland, and came to Montgomery Co. about the beginning of the present 
century. In 1815, he came to Darke Co., where his death occurred Aug. 15, 1-848. 
His wife, Maria Bryant, was born in Maryland and died in Darke Co. in 1845. 
Jesse Folkerth came to Darke Co. with his parents. He assisted his father in 
agricultural pursuits until Nov. 23, 1837, at which date he was united in mar- 
riage with Anna Curtis. She was born in 1818, and died Feb. 21, 1846 -.five chil- 
dren were the fruits of this union, of whom William. Lorenzo D. and Maria A. now 
survive. His marriage with Elizabeth Smith was celebrated May 22, 1847. She 
was born in Montgomery Co., Ohio, Feb. 8, 1828. They were the parents of six 
children by this union— Henry C, born April 8, 1849 ; Jennie C, June 17, 18o0 ; 
Jesse A., March 19, 1854, died April 5, 1879 ; John E., Feb. 10, 1857 ; Eben Lee, 
Jan. 19, 1860, and one who died in infancy. Of the deceased, Jesse A. had been 
telegraph operator and station agent of the Pan Handle Railroad at Greenville, for 
about three years, and, although in the last stages of consumption, he remained at 
his post of duty until one month previous to his death. He was a young man of 
great promise, and died in the belief of the promises of his Savior, esteemed 
and beloved by all who knew him. In the spring of 1838, Jesse Folkerth com- 
menced farming for himself upon the place where he spent the remainder of his 
days and where his widow with the two unmarried children now reside. He was a 
man of sterling worth ; was, politically, a Whig, until the organization of the 
Republican party, after which he was a hard worker for the success of the latter. 
He was a strong champion of the cause of temperance, and did not make use of 
tobacco in any form. He was a member of the Methodist Church for a period of 
forty years previous to his death, and lived and died a consistent Christian ; his 
death occurred Sept. 20, 1871 . Mrs. Folkerth has been a member of the Methodist 
Church for upward of thirty-five years. She was a daughter of Timothy T. 
Smith, a native of New Jersey. He married AnnaB. Baum, a native of Kentucky. 
They came to Darke Co. in 1836. Mr. Smith died in Darke Co. in 1865. Mrs. 
Smith died Dec. 3, 1873, aged 81 years and 5 months. 

ISAAC FUNK, farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 3 ; P. 0. Greenville ; one of the 
early pioneers of Darke Co.; born in Adams Co., Penn., Dec. 28, 1810, he was the 
oldest son of Jacob Funk, who was also born in the same county, in January, 
1779, during the Revolutionary struggle ; his father was Daniel Funk, born in 
Lancaster or York Co., about the middle of the seventeenth century ; they were 
the descendants of Martin Funk, one of three brothers, who emigrated from Hol- 
land or Germany, in the beginning of the seventeenth century. Our subject was 
raised upon the farm of his father until about 21 years of age, when he com- 
menced life for himself, and for two years was employed as farm laborer in Adams 
Co.; he then emigrated to Ohio and located in Warren Co., where he farmed and 
cleared land, and in 1835, came to Darke Co. and settled on the place where he 
now lives, and where he has lived, with the exception of four years, for nearly half 
a century ; he still owns the land which he entered in 1835 ; he has 110 acres in 
his home farm, which he has secured by his own hard labor and correct business 
habits. He is a Republican, and while he has not aspired to office, has filled the 
office of Supervisor and Director of the Dayton & Union Railroad for two years ; 
he has taken a deep interest in the cause of religion and education, having been a 
member of M. E. Church some forty years, and held the office of Steward and Class 
Leader, one or both, for thirty-six years. His marriage with Eliza Ann Deardorff 
was celebrated May 15, 1834 ; she was born in Warren Co., Ohio. Sept. 29. 1818 ; 
she died Feb. 1, 1879, leaving eight children now living, having lost three in 
infancy, the living are Elizabeth, born Sept. 20, 1836 ; Daniel D., born Nov. 9. 
1840 ; Allen Wesley, born Oct. 20, 1843 ; William P., born March 4, 1841 ; Ancil 
L., born Dec, 25, 1849 ; Mary C, born Aug. 1, 1852 ; Charles E., born March 13, 
1855 ; Laura D., born April 21, 1858. The above children are all members of the 
M. E. Church ; the two youngest make their home with their father. Daniel is 



494 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

now in business in Greenville; Allen, tanning and teaching; William P.. black- 
smith, at North Star : Aucil, Professor of the College at Red Cloud, Neb. 

CALVIN P. FUNSTON, farmer; P. 0. Greenville; born in Clark Co., Ohio, 
dan. 11, 182G ; he obtained a common-school education, and assisted his father 
in farming until 20 years of age, at which date his father died, after which. Calvin 
P.. being the oldest son. remained at home and managed the old place for the sup- 
port of the family until 1863, when he came to Darke Co. and purchased his 
present place, where he has since lived ; he has about fifty acres in his home farm, 
under a good state of cultivation, with good farm buildings located one mile from 
Greenville, and valued at upward of $5,000. Upon April 10, 1861, he was united 
in marriage with Rachel T. Little ; she was born in Clark Co. April 28. 1837 ; they 
have no children of their own, but have raised from a youth of 5 years, a prom- 
ising young man by the name of Charles Bell, who was born Jan. 1, 1861. Mr. 
and Mrs. Funston have treated him as their own child, and have extended to him 
the benefits and privileges of a liberal education. Mr. and Mrs. Funston are mem- 
bers of the Presbyterian Church, and take a deep interest in the cause of religion. 

DR. ISAAC NEWTON G ARD, physician and surgeon, Greenville ; is the oldest 
continuous resident physician and surgeon of Darke Co. ; he was a native of Butler 
Co., Ohio ; born March 20, 1811, and was a son of Stephen and Rachel (Pearce) 
Gard, both natives of New Jersey, who emigrated to Ohio about the beginning of 
the present centuiy ; Stephen Gard was a Baptist minister, and organized nearly 
all of the earh 7 churches in the Miami Valle} T , among which was the First Baptist 
Church at Dayton, and the First Baptist Church of Trenton, Butler Co., over 
which he presided for a period of upward of half a century ; he was twice married ; 
his first wife was the mother of the subject of our sketch, she died in Butler Co., 
April 1, 1816, aged 36 years ; the Rev. Stephen Gard died Aug. 14, 1839 ; Isaac 
N. Gard obtained his general education in the common schools, and received his 
preparatory education at the Miami Universit} 7 , Oxford, Ohio, and graduated from 
the Ohio Medical College, in Cincinnati, 1831 ; he then commenced the practice of 
medicine in Butler Co., and in 1834, located in Greenville, where he has since 
successfully followed his profession for nearly fifty years ; in the early days of 
the Doctor's locating here the practice of medicine was a work of labor and hard- 
ship, the country being sparsely settled, and his practice extending over half a 
degree of latitude and longitude, the roads being nearhy impassable, save by 
horseback ; and in this manner the Doctor made his visits, dispensing his medi- 
cine from his saddle-bags ; he organized the first medical society of Darke Co.. 
and for many years was President of the same ; he also organized the first agri- 
cultural society of Darke Co., and was also President of this for several years ; he 
has had many offices of honor and trust thrust upon him, among which we mention 
the presidency of the Greenville & Miami, now Dayton & Union Railroad, during 
its construction ; in 1841, was elected and represented the counties of Miami. 
Darke. Mercer and Shelby in the State Legislature ; in 1858-59, he represented 
the counties of Miami, Darke and Shelby in the State Senate ; in 1861 or 1862, he 
was appointed by the Governor of Ohio as one of the Trustees of the State 
Lunatic Asylum at Dayton, which office he filled some sixteen years ; he has 
almost continually held some office or position of trust, and has in every instance 
performed his duty with credit to himself and satisfaction to the public. Upon 
the 6th of January. 1835. he was united in marriage with Lucy Tod, who was 
born in Kentuckv March 20, 1816. Thev were the parents of five children, viz.: 
Henrietta T.. born April 6, 1837, died Aug. 16, 1839 ; Charles T.. born Sept. 30. 
1840. died dan. 4. 1864 : Catherine E.. Feb. 16. 1843 ; Mary, March 11, 1850, and 
Stephen, Jan. 11, 1854.' 

D. GL ANDER, retired brewer ; Greenville. The gentleman whose name heads 
this sketch was born in Germany May 3. 1818, and in 1836 came to America, and 
to Preble Co.. Ohio, where he followed distilling, and in 1877 came to Greenville, 



GREENVILLE TOWNSHIP. 495 

where he engaged in his former business until June, 1879. Mr. Gr. was united in 
marriage to Lena Hagar. and by this union they have nine children living. 

JOHN V. GORDON, manufacturer, Greenville ; was born in Hunterdon Co., 
N. J.. Jan. 21, 1844; was the son of William and Henrietta Gordon, who were 
born and raised in New Jersey ; William was the son of Elias and Frances Gor- 
don ; Henrietta was the daughter of John and Rebecca Yolk ; John, the grand- 
father, was born in New York, and Rebecca was born in New Jersey. Mr. Gor- 
don, the subject of this sketch, served with his father in the chair and furniture 
manufacturing business till 21 years of age, and then he entered upon the spoke 
and hub manufacturing business, and has followed that occupation to the present 
time. He came to Greenville in September, 1877, and entered upon spoke and hub 
manufacturing, under the firm name of Finney, Closson & Co., which business has 
been conducted with great success up to this time. 

GREGG BROS., druggists, Matchett's Block, Greenville. There is no depart- 
ment of business, in the mercantile line, wherein the public safety requires so 
thorough and practical a knowledge in carrying on the same, as in the selection 
and dispensing of drugs and medicines. We take pleasure in recommending the 
above firm as thoroughly familiar with the theoretical and practical requirements 
of safe dispensation of drugs and filling of prescriptions. Their stock is all new, 
having been bought during the present year, and selected with the greatest care 
and skill that long practice and knowledge alone can exercise. A card of their 
business will be found in the business directory of Greenville in another part of 
this work. 

DAYID GRIFFIN, farmer, Sec. 34 ; P. 0. Greenville ; another of the old 
settlers of Darke Co., born in Butler Co., Ohio, Dec. 14, 1808 ; his grandfather was 
killed by the Indians, in Kentucky, at an eaily day ; his father, Francis Griffin, 
was born in Pennsylvania, 1788, and came to Butler Co. about the beginning of the 
present century, and served in the war of 1812. He married Sarah Holmes ; she 
was in Kentuck}' in 1790 ; Mr. Griffin died, in Butler Co., about the year 1844 ; 
Mrs. Griffin died, in Indiana, in 1877. Our subject was raised to agricultural pur- 
suits, in Butler Co., until Nov. 4, 1835, when he was married to Mary Ann Con- 
over ; she was born in New Jerse}* Oct. 2, 1811 ; they were the parents of six 
children, of whom two are now living, viz.: Amanda, born Feb. 14. 1836, now the 
wife of Rev. Lewis E. Jones ; Ella J., living at home, March 17, 1852. The 
deceased were Francis, born Nov. 3, 1837, died Nov. 7, 1837 ; Emeline, born Dec. 
13, 1838, died Jan. 11, 1879 ; Francis E., born Nov. 21, 1844, died Feb. 9, 1845 ; 
Charles E., born May 31, 1849. died Sept. 21, 1850. After the marriage of Mr. 
Griffin, he followed farming in Butler and Montgomery Cos., until 1857, when he 
came to Darke Co. and purchased his present place, where he has since lived ; he 
has 160 acres upon his home farm with good farm buildings, located one-half mile 
from the city of Greenville. Mr. and Mrs. Griffin, with both of their daughters, 
are members of the Presbyterian Church. Mr. G., though in the 72d year of his 
age. attends to the light duties and labors of his farm. 

DANIEL GRUBS, grain-dealer, Greenville, fix-in of Zimmerman & Grubs, 
grain merchants. The subject of this memoir is a native of Montgomery Co., 
Ohio ; he was born Feb. 25, 1833 ; his early occupation was that of a farmer's 
son ; his father died when our subject was but 16 years of age ; he then lived with 
his mother until 27 years of age, when, in I860, he was united in marriage with 
Katie Denise, a native of the same count}* ; the}' have one child, Edgar A., now in 
his 21st year, and a graduate of the Cincinnati Commercial College, and is a 
bookkeeper for the above firm, his ability to fill the above position being beyond 
the average. Upon the marriage of Mr. Grubs, he continued to live in Montgom- 
ery Co. for three years, when he removed to Preble Co. and continued farming 
until 1874, when he located in Greenville, and, in 1876, associated with the above 
gentleman, since which time they have done business under the above firm name. 



496 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

Thev are largely engaged in buying and shipping grain to the Eastern markets. A 
rani of their business appears in the business directory of Greenville. 

JOHN GrUNTRTJM, farmer and brick manufacturer ; P. O. Greenville, lhe 
subject of this memoir is a native of this county, born in 1839, within half a mile 
of where he now resides ; he is youngest son and. child of John Guntrum, fer 
wh<» was a native of Pennsylvania and emigrated to this county in 1837, and 
located on the farm where our subject was born and where he remained till his 
death Air Guntrum, Sr., celebrated his marriage in his native State with Martha 
Ginridge ■ they were the parents of ten children, two sons and eight daughters, 
three of whom* are deceased. He departed this lite in 1868 ; his wife survived him 
until Feb 13 1873. when she, too, passed away. Thus we record the death of two 
more esteemed citizens of Darke Co.; their life work done, they passed peacefully 
away leaving a large circle of acquaintances and a loving family of children to 
mourn their departure and revere their memory. The subject of our sketch was 
raised a tiller of soil, assisting in the duties of the farm till he was 22 years of 
age at which time he began life for himself cultivating his father's farm on the 
shares ■ the duty of taking care of his parents fell to his lot ; this filial duty he 
discharged faithfully till their death. He was united in marriage to Rebecca 
Jeamison Feb. 19, 1863 ; she is also a native of this township and comes ol an 
early pioneer family. Our subject moved to the place where he now resides about 
seven years ago ; he is now, in addition to his farming, engaged in the manufact- 
uring of brick ; in this business his motto is excellence in quality, integrity in 
transactions and low prices. Mr. and Airs. Guntrum are the parents of six chil- 
dren, all living— Willie, born in 1863 ; Barbara, 1865 ; Alary E.. 1868 ; Flora and 
Laura (twins), 1872, and Hester in 1878. 

AUGUST GUTHEIL, restaurant, and dealer in wines, liquors, cigars, etc., 
Greenville ; born in Bavaria, Germany, on the 22d of April, 1834 ; he received a 
good education in German, and, from 14 to 18 years of age, assisted his father in 
the tanning business, as well as hotel-keeping and farming ; at the latter age, he 
emigrated to America, landing in New York March 30, 1852, coming directly to 
Cincinnati, thence to Dayton, Ohio, where he followed the butchering business one 
year ; thence to Miamisburg, and engaged in the tanning business until 1856. at 
which date he came to Greenville, and, after working one year as tanner, he 
engaged in the saloon and restaurant business, which he has since successfully 
followed, and is the oldest continuous gentleman in his business in the city of 
Greenville. In 1865, he made a tour over his native country, visiting the scenes 
of his childhood, this trip consuming some six months, during which time his 
business was conducted by his brother-in-law, John King. Air. Gutheil is a gen- 
tleman of genial disposition and of very pleasing address. In 1876, he was 
elected as one of the Trustees of Greenville Township, which office he held for 
three years ; during the years 1878 and 1879, he was one of the Democratic Cen- 
tral Committee of Darke County. Upon arriving in New York, he came across 
the Alleghany Mountains by mule teams, thence down the canal to Pittsburgh, 
and thence down the river to Cincinnati. His marriage with Fredencka Limkulh 
was celebrated Feb. 28, 1856 ; she was born in Bavaria, Germany, and came to 
America in 1830 ; her maiden name was Rolhhaas; they have two sons and one 
daughter— Ona J., Otto and Julius D. Mrs. Gutheil has one child by her former 
husband, viz.. Amelia Limkulh. 

AAIOS HAHN, Treasurer of Darke County, Greenville. The gentleman 
whose name heads this sketch is the present efficient Treasurer of Darke Co.; he 
was born in Columbiana Co., Ohio, Feb. 1, 1818 ; his parents, Samuel and Hannah 
Hahn, are natives of Frederick Co., Aid.; his father was born Alarch 9, 1791, his 
mother in 1795, and departed this life in 1861 ; Mr. Hahn, Sr. is still living, and 
resides with his son Amos ; they were the parents of ten children, of whom six 
are now living. Our subject was reared on the farm, but followed carpentering 
for a number of years, when he turned his attention to mercantile pursuits, and for 



GREENVILLE TOWNSHIP. 497 

sixteen years did business in Gettysburg ; his long and active business career has 
eminently fitted him for the responsible position of honor and trust he holds, as a 
gift from the people of the county. His marriage with Catherine Finfrock was 
consummated Oct. 3. 1843 ; she was the daughter of Peter and Mary Finfrock. who 
were natives of Pennsylvania, now deceased ; Mr. and Mrs. Hahn are the parents 
of three children, viz.. Clement C, born Nov. 16, 1845 ; Albert J., April 23, 1847 . 
Luella M., in September, 1857 ; Clement was united in marriage with Nannie 
Conipton Oct. 7, 1868 ; Albert J. consummated his marriage with Virginia John- 
son Dec. 22. 1874 ; Luella celebrated her marriage with W. D. Johns March 28, 
1877. 

JACOB H ALDERMAN, farmer ; P. 0. Greenville. The subject of this 
memoir raay be classed among the self-made men of Darke Co ; he was born in 
Montgomeiy Co., Ohio, Oct. 25, 1837 ; he was a son of John Halderman, who was 
born in Lancaster Co., Penn.. and came to Montgomery Co., Ohio, in* 1836, where 
his death occurred in 1840. He married Hannah Cook, a native of Pennsylvania; 
she died in Illinois, in December. 1875. Jacob Halderman was thrown upon his 
resources when 6 years of age, and made his home among friends and strangers. 
until old enough to work and receive wages ; at 18 }'ears of age, he learned the 
trade of carpenter, which he followed seven years; in 1860, he located upon his 
present place, where he has since lived ; he has 220 acres, with good farm build- 
ings, which he has secured by his own hard labor and correct business habits, and 
has by the above means placed himself among the large landholders and success- 
ful farmers of Darke Co.; the perseverance and energy displayed by Mr. H. to 
accomplish what he has attained are well worthy of example by the young men of 
the present da}'. He has been twice married ; his first wife was Mary Baker, to 
whom he was married Dec. 22, 1859 ; she was born in Darke Co. in 1841, and 
died December. 1875, leaving six children, having lost one by death ; the living 
are Leoti, born Aug. 22, 1861 ; Alice, Feb. 10, 1863 ; Herschel V., Feb. 2, 1865: 
Tdabird, Jan. 6, 1868 ; Elnora, July 2, 1870 ; Pearl, Dec. 30. 1872. Upon the 11th 
of October. 1877. he was united in marriage with Francis Helm, who was born in 
Darke Co., Sept. 13, 1845 ; they have one child— Roily, born Sept. 4. 1878. Mrs. 
Halderman was a daughter of Eli Helm, one of our early pioneers of 1834 or 
1835 ; he was born in Pennsylvania, and died in Darke Co.. in October. 1874. He 
married Catherine Zimmerman, who is now living in Greenville. Mr. Halderman 
is Democratic in politics, and labors for the success of his part}" ; has been Town- 
ship Trustee two years, which office he filled with credit to himself and satisfac- 
tion to the poeple. 

JOHN W. HALL, firm of Hime & Hall, livery, feed and sale stable, north- 
east of public square, also, of firm of Hall & Co., importers and breeders of French. 
Norman and Clydesdale horses. The above gentlemen is another of the old settlers, 
being born in Greenville Township May 4, 1 834, and is a son of James Hall, who 
at a very early day came from South Carolina to Miami Co.; thence to Darke Co.. 
among the early settlers ; he was engaged in contracting and building to a certain 
extent ; he built the first letter boxes for the post office of Greenville, selecting at. 
that time box Number 96, which box has always been retained in the family, and 
is now the box of John W. Our subject continued farming in Darke Co. until 
1855, when he went to Logan Co., 111., and followed farming and stock-raising until 
1861, at which date he returned to Darke Co. and continued the same business 
until 1875, when he was elected Sheriff of Darke Co., re-elected in 1877, serving 
until January, 1880, when, upon the expiration of his office, he associated with 
Mr. Hime in the above business ; in 1874, he associated with Harrod Mills and 
James Esty in the stock business, under the firm name of Hall & Co.. which 
firm still exists. His marriage with Frances D. Carnahan was celebrated Aug. 29. 
1854 ; she is a native of Darke Co.; they have eight children — James M.. [saai 
W., Sarah C. Elias M.. Idela May. Charles C, Julia E.. Rollie S. 

WILLIAM SANFORD HARPER, the subject of this sketch, was born in 



4«)cS BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

Trumbull Co., Ohio, July 11, 1810 ; moved with his mother to Butler Co., Ohio, in 
the spring of 1815, and from there to Darke Co., Ohio, in 1823, with his step-father, 
B Roll, and settled on a small farm on the Greenville & West Milton road, four 
miles southeast of Greenville, there being no house southeast on said road for nine 
miles ; wolves, deer and smaller animals were numerous in the unoccupied forests, 
at that time ; schools were few and far between. The subject of this sketch 
acquired, in addition to a common school education, practical surveying. He was 
married, in 1832. to Delila, daughter of William Arnold, and in 1833. moved into 
the green forest to open up a farm ; for about twenty years, taught school in the 
winter and cleared ground and farmed in the warm season. In 1852, he was 
elected County Survevor. and filled that office as principal and deputy for about ten 
years, and unofficially for about the same length of time, and yet. at his advanced 
age, works at civil engineering, when called on. From a youth, he was of a sober, 
pious turn of mind, and made a profession of Christianity in 1833, and became a 
member of the Christian Church ; his zeal for the cause of Christ has steadily 
increased as he has become better acquainted with the sacred Scriptures ; he 
sometimes amuses himself by writing articles for our secular journals, signing them 
W. P. H.; he is also an ardent advocate of temperance, of the prohibition class. 
His sons' William Marion and John Harper, are prominent business men in Green- 
ville ; in the year 1860, they erected a business house on Broadway, where they 
are still engaged in business ; the former in the jewelry trade, and the latter in the 
photographic art. Their uniform courteous, honorable, obliging habits have made 
for them many friends. 

MANNING F. HART, retired, contractor and merchant, Greenville. Among 
the early pioneers of Darke Co.. the gentleman whose name heads this sketch is 
accorded a place in the front ranks ; he was born in Hampshire Co., W. Va., April 
7. 1821. and is a son of Dr. William Hart, a native of Berks Co., Penn. He was 
married, in Pennsylvania, to Elizabeth Pettit, also a native of the same State ; they 
were also among the early settlers of Darke Co., locating in Adams Township in 
1839. with three sons and three daughters ; about the year 1846, he, with his fam- 
ily, located in Greenville ; he was a physician, and followed his profession until his 
decease, which occurred after a short residence in Greenville. Our subject came 
to this county with the family in 1839, and the following ten years his residence 
was divided* between Darke and Montgomery Cos.; in 1849, he located per- 
manently here, and followed the occupation of contractor and builder for several 
years : he then engaged in the grocery and provision trade until 1879, since which 
time he has been retired from active business. He has been twice married ; his 
first wife was Mary Hoover ; their marriage was celebrated in 1844 ; one son and 
two daughters were the fruits of this union, all deceased ; she died in 1849 ; his 
marriage nuptials with Rebecca A. Knoop were celebrated in 1850 ; she was born 
in Miami Co.; they were the parents of five children, of whom two are deceased ; 
the living are Ralph B.. Abraham Lincoln and Carrie E., all residing in Green- 

ville. 

JONAS HARTZELL, retired farmer ; P. 0. Greenville : another of the old 
settlers of Darke Co., born in Adams Co., Penn., May 10, 1803 ; he was one of six 
brothers, who came to Darke Co. between the periods of 1833 and 1836 ; Jonas 
located upon Sec. 8, Greenville Township, where he has since lived— a period of 
nearly half a century ; he purchased 1 20 acres, and afterward added until he had 
accumulated 400 acres ; he devoted his attention to farming until about the year 
1865, when he retired from active labor ; during the past three years, he has been 
confined to the house by sickness, and has been kindly cared for by his sons 
Charles and Jonas, who are managing the home farm. Jonas Hartzell, Sr., and 
Elizabeth Weltv were united in marriage, in Pennsylvania, Feb. 12. 1829 ; she 
was l»om in Pennsylvania Aug. 9, 1807 ; they had twelve children, of whom ten 
are now living, viz'.: Louisa J., horn March 11, 1830; William, born March 3, 
1832. died in infancy ; Elizabeth and Catherine (twins), born Feb. 9. 1834 ; Sarah 



GREENVILLE TOWNSHIP. 499 

Ann, born Nov. 20, 1836 ; Charles Wesley and Edward Spencer (twins), born 
Sept. 1, 1831 ; Jonas W., born May 2, 1841 ; Hannah M., born March 18, 1843; 
Lauretta D., born Feb. 23, 1845 ; James, born April 28, 1847, and one who died 
in infancy. Mr. and Mrs Hartzell have been members of the Methodist Church 
for a period of thirty years. Of the above children, Charles Wesley may be con- 
sidered one of the old settlers, having always lived upon the home farm, upon 
which he was born in 1839 ; he was married, March 7, 1867, to Sarah E. Shep- 
hard ; she was born in Twin Township, Darke Co., March 20, 1846 ; they had 
four children by this union — Jonas Elmer, Lillian R.. John H. and Olive M ; the 
latter is deceased. 

GEORGE HARTZELL, farmer ; P. 0. Greenville ; the subject of this sketch 
is another of our old settlers ; he was born in Adams Co., Penn., Oct. 3, 1835. and 
was the oldest son of Philip Hartzell, who was born in the year 1811, in the above 
county and State ; in 1836, he came to Darke Co. and in 1838, purchased several lots 
in Beamsville, and erected the second house of the place ; here he followed car- 
pentering, wagon-making, cabinet-making and school-teaching for ten years ; he 
was the first Postmaster of the town, which office he held for ten years, as well as 
Justice of the Peace two terms ; he was a great champion of the cause of tem- 
perance — is probably entitled to the honor of putting up the first building ever 
erected in Darke Co. without the use of intoxicating liquor ; he died upon his farm 
two miles north of Greenville, in April, 1873. He married Julia Harman. who 
was born in 1810 or 1811, who is now residing in Greenville. George Hartzell 
assisted his father, until May 12, 1859, when he was united in marriage with Lucy 
A. Fettery ; she was born in Darke Co. June 8, 1838 ; they were the parents of ten 
children— Hollis, Clarinda M., Luella M., P. Harman, Viola E., George F., Julia 
and John C, twins (John C. died Oct. 12, 1872), Henrietta and Mamie. Mrs. 
Hartzell was a daughter of John Fettery, who came from Lebanon Co., Penn., to 
Darke Co. in 1836 ; he died February, 1874. He married Catherine Bowman, also 
a native of Pennsylvania ; she died in Darke Co., in July, 1862. Since the mar- 
riage of Mr. Hartzell, he has been engaged in carpentering, milling and farming, and 
has a small farm, one mile from Greenville. His father was one of six brothers, 
who came to Darke Co. — Henry, George and Jeremiah came in 1833 ; Philip and 
Jonas in 1836, and Daniel probably in 1837 or 1838 ; of the above, Jonas and 
Daniel now survive. 

PHILIP S. HARTZELL. Sec. 12 ; P. 0. Pikeville ; one of the old settlers 
of this county ; born in Greenville Township June 6, 1847 ; he was a son of George 
Hartzell, who was born in Adams Co., Penn., July 4, 1813 ; he was one of the 
early settlers of Darke Co., locating upon Sec. 12, Greenville Township in 1833 ; 
he entered eighty acres of Government land, and purchased the same amount, and 
afterward added by purchase, until he owned 240 acres in his home farm, and 
here he lived until'his death, which occurred Oct. 22, 1857. He married Rachel 
Schriver in 1840; she was born in Pennsylvania, Jan. 31, 1813; they were the 
parents of six children, of whom five lived to grow up ; Mrs. Hartzell is now liv- 
ing with Philip S., and at 67 years of age, is in possession of all her faculties, with 
the exception of failing eyesight. After the death of Mr. Hartzell, Philip S. 
lived with his mother on the old homestead, until 26 years of age, when he associ- 
ated with his brother, William Hartzell, in 1870, and followed farming together 
until 1875, upon the old farm, and in 1877 Philip S. purchased the shares of his 
brother upon the homestead, where he has continued farming, having 105 acres. 
He has given his attention to the raising of corn and wheat ; he is one of the 
industrious, persevering and hard-working citizens, and during the past two years 
has paid off indebtedness on his place to the amount of $2,400 ; had previously 
paid upward of $5,500. His marriage with Susan R. Baumbaugh was celebrated 
June, 1870 ; she was born April 29. 1847, in Maryland, and emigrated to Ohio 
with her parents, in 1862. They were the parents of four children, all of whom 
died in infancy. 



500 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

P. U. HARTZELL, teacher, Greenville ; is a son of Philip Hartzell, Sr., a 
oative of Pennsylvania, who came to this county in the early pioneer < lays, and 
lived in the county until his decease, which occurred in April, 1878 ; the subject 

of this sketch was horn in this county Nov. (!. 1846, and lived with his parents 
until several years after his majority ; he then taught school during the winter 
seasons and worked at carpentering during the summer for ten years. He mar- 
ried .Miss Alice M. Butt, a daughter of John K. Butt, whose biography appears in 
this work; she was born in Montgomery Co., Ohio, in February. 1852 ; they were 
married Dec. 22, 1872. and have four children, two boys and two girls, viz.. John 
Ollie, Forest Herbert, Cordie May and Alice Lanessa. 
C. W. HARTZELL, farmer ; P. 0. Greenville. 

SAMUEL HEFFNER, farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. :V1 ; P.O. Greenville; 
another of the old settlers of Darke Co. ; born in Berks Co., Penn.. ( >ct. 30, 1818 ; he 
was a son of Jacob Heffner, who was born in the above county, and came to Darke 
Co. in 1857, and located in Neave Township ; he died in Greenville Township, Darke 
Co., about the year 18(37 ; our subject was brought up to agricultural pursuits in 
Pennsylvania until 18 years of age, when he learned and worked at the carpenter 
trade in Pennsylvania until 1848 ; he then emigrated to Ohio and located in But- 
ler Co.. and. in 1849. came to Darke Co., and. after a residence of two years in 
German Township, removed upon his present place, where he has lived for a 
period of thirty years ; upon locating here, there were but 40 acres cleared ; he 
lias since cleared 80 acres and brought it to a good state, of cultivation by his 
own hard labor, and now owns 122 acres of good land, with good farm buildings ; 
he has also three acres in Hill Grove, the whole being valued at upward of 
$10,000. Mr. Heffner commenced here with no capital save a strong arm and 
willing hand, and has accumulated all the above property by his energy and 
industry, and has, by the above means, placed himself among the large land-hold- 
ers and successful farmers of Darke Co. In October, 1850, he was united in mar- 
riage with Dorotha Dininger ; she was born in Montgomery Co.. Ohio, Jan. 25, 
1838 : they were the parents of six children, viz.: Sarah E., born Nov. 6, 1851 ; 
Lewis C, Jan. 11. 1854, died Jan. 22, 1854; Mary S., born July 10. 1855; 
Amanda L., Dec. 28. 1859; Samuel, Oct. 15, 1862', and Jacob, born Dec. 20, 
1 si Hi : Mrs. Heffner is a daughter of Jacob Dininger, one of the early pioneers of 
Darke Co.. who located here in the spring of 1834. Mr. and Mrs. H., with four of 
their children, are members of the Lutheran Church. 

WILLIAM HEFFNER, farmer; P. 0. Greenville; the subject of this 
memoir was born in Berks Co., Penn., in the year 1824, and is a son of 
.Jacob and Eliza Heffner, who came to Darke Co. in 1853, and settled in Green- 
ville Township ; William Heffner' s early life was that of a farmer's son, being 
raised to agricultural pursuits, his education being mostly confined to the common 
schools. In the year 1840. his marriage with Eliza M. Hinkle was celebrated in 
Cumberland Co.. Penn.; they have three children by this union, viz.. -Jacob, Will- 
iam and Nason. Mr. Heffner resides upon Sec. !>. this township, where he is 
engaged in agricultural pursuits ; he came to this county in 185.'). and has been a 
resident tdr upward of a quarter of a centurv. 

CLARK HENKLE, farmer, Sec. HI; P.O.Greenville; born in Springfield. 
Clarke Co., Ohio. Nov. (i. 1837; his father. Silas Henkle, was born in Virginia and 
came to Clarke Co. at an early day; he died in August. 1840. He married Mar- 
garet Milholland, who was born in Ohio, and died in Clarke Co. -June 13, I860; 
•after the death Of his father, he lived with his mother until 10 years of age. and 
the following seven years lived with an uncle, after which he removed upon the 
home farm with his mother, and remained there some two years after her death. 
Aug. 11. 1862, he enlisted as private in the 94th 0. V. L; lie was in many severe 
battles, among which we mention Perryville, Stone River, Hoover's Gap, Chicka- 
mauga, Lookout Mountain. Missionary Midge. Buzzard's Roost. Resaca. Pumpkin 
Vine Creek. Keiiesaw Mountain. Peach Tree Creek, siege and capture of Atlanta; 



GREENVILLE TOWNSHIP. 



501 



the following winter was on detailed duty at Chattanooga, buying up supply 
trains, and, in the spring of 1865, joined the main army of Sherman in North 
Carolina, and was with the above army at the surrender of Johnson ; he then 
marched through Richmond to Washington, and after the grand review of the 
army he was mustered out of service and received his discharge at Camp Chase 
June 11 1865 having served in the Union army nearly three years ; he took part 
in every battle in which the regiment was engaged excepting two when he was 
on detailed duty ; after receiving his discharge, he returned to Clarke Co., and, in 
the spring of 1869, came to Darke Co., and located upon his present place where 
he has since lived; he has a nice farm of 100 acres, with good farm buildings. 
His marriage with Mary S. Forgy was celebrated March 31, 1869 , she was bom 
in Clarke Co., Ohio, July 1, 1837 ; they were the parents of three children— Cora 
M.. Willie Otho and Mary Elsie ; all died in infancy. 

D \NIEL HENNE dealer in grain and seeds, Greenville, lhe subject ot tins 
sketch was born in Mindersback Oberamt Nagold Kinigreich,Wurtemberg Germany, 
in 1839 where he attended school until 11 years of age, obtaining a good education 
in German ; he then learned the milling trade, which he followed four years when 
he emigrated to America, landing in New York in 1857 ; coming directly West he 
located in Hamilton, Ohio, and remained until 1863, at which date he made a two- 
years visit to his native country ; returning in 1865, he again located in Hamilton, 
and was employed as farm laborer by the month, for one year ; and in the latter 
part of 1866, came to Greenville, and associated in the milling and grain business 
under the firm name of Poak & Henne, and has since successfully followed the 
above business, the past ten years doing business alone ; he makes * specialty ot 
buying and shipping grain to the Eastern market ; his shipments reaching 200,000 
bushels in a singe season. His marriage with Anna M. Weithbrecht was cele- 
brated in Greenville Feb. 17, 1867 ; she was born in Germany and emigrated with 
her parents to America, when but 1 year of age ; they have three children by this 
union— Rosenia Gertrude, Jacob Frederick and Daniel. In 18 < 8, he was elected 
Township Treasurer, which office he now holds, being re-elected in 1879 ; lie is 
also Secretary of the Board of Education, of Greenville. A business card will be 
found in the 'business directory of Greenville in this work. 

D S HIME firm of Hime & Snyder, livery, feed and sale stable ; another 
old settler of Darke Co., Ohio ; born in Montgomery Co., Ohio, in 1835 ; he is a 
son of Daniel Hime, who was a native of Pennsylvania, and came to Montgomery 
Co Ohio in 1838, and located in the northwest part of Greenville Township ; he 
died in Washington Township in 1875. The subject of this sketch was raised to 
agricultural pursuits until 11 years of age, when he was apprenticed to learn the 
shoemaker's trade for seven years, after which, he remained upon the home farm, 
and in 1858, was united in marriage with Amelia D. Martin, of Greenville ; she 
was born in Miami Co.; they have two children— Adelia Bell and Sarah Catherine. 
He purchased his home farm in 1861, and disposed of the same about the year 
1870 : he then came to Greenville, where he has since lived. 

ABSALOM HOFFERT, farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 36 ; P. O. Greenville. 
The subiect of this memoir was born in Rush Creek Township, Fairfield Co., Ohio, 
Jan 25 1827 : he was a son of Solomon Hoffert, who was probably born in Penn- 
sylvania in 1795, and came to Ohio when quite young and located in Fan-field Co., 
where his death occurred April 1, 1876, at the advanced age of 91 ^ years. He 
married Margaret Hendricks, who was born in 1790, and died in 1861, aged 71 
years ; they were the parents of ten children, of whom eight are now living. Our 
subiect obtained a common-school education in his youth, and was raised to agri- 
cultural pursuits until June 5, 1851, when he was united in marriage with Nancy 
Fantz ; she was born in Fairfield Co., Ohio, Nov. 20, 1832 ; they were the parents 
of five children, viz.: Elizabeth, now Mrs. James Westfall, of Brown Township, 
born June 4, 1852 ; Matilda, born May 8, 1855, died April 23. 1858 ; Mien born 
\pril 25 1857 now Mrs. Wesley Slade, Neave Township ; Margaret, born March 



502 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

20, 1859, now Mrs. Charles Fletcher, of Miami Co.; Emma F., born Feb. 8, 1862, 
now Mrs. George Hathway, living upon the home farm. Mrs. Boffert was a 
daughter of Michael Fantz, who was born in Baden. Germany, in 17!>2, and came 
to America in 1819 : he died in Hocking Co.. Ohio. May 23. 1863, aged 71 years S 
months and l!t days. He married Elizabeth Stacer ; she was also born in Baden. 
Germany, in 1791. and died in Fairfield Co.. Ohio. Sept. Hi. I860, aged »!!» years 4 
months and 28 days. Upon the marriage of Mr. Hoffert, he commenced farming 
for himself, which business he followed in Hocking- and Fairfield Cos. until April, 
1864, when he disposed of his property in Fairfield Co., and purchased 40 aeres in 
Darke Co., and located upon his present place where he has since lived ; he now 
owns 47 acres upon his home place, located less than a mile and a half from 
Greenville. He with his wife and two children are members of the Reformed 
Church, and one daughter a member of the Church of the United Brethren, Mr. 
and Mrs. Hoffert having been members for the past ten years. 

MOSES HUHN, clothier and merchant tailor, was born in Grand Duchy 
Saxony, Germany, May 13, 1835, and is a son of L. and Hannah Hulm, natives of 
the same place ; his father was born in 1784, and departed this life in 1853. aged 
67 years ; his mother was born in 1800, and is still living in Germany, aged 80 
years. Our subject emigrated to America in 1851, and landed in New York, his 
voyage occupying sixty-three days ; he repaired to St. Joseph, Mo., immediately, 
and remained there for seven years, engaged as salesman, and then came to Green- 
ville, where he was employed as salesman for Warring Bros., which position he 
held for four years ; he then embarked in business for himself, and is one of 
Greenville's successful business men ; he carries a full and complete stock in his 
line, consisting of men's, boys' and children's clothing, and does a general mer- 
chant tailoring business. He is an honorable member of the Masonic and Odd 
Fellows' organizations, and his motto is "onward and upward." 

WILLIAM HUNTER, farmer and stock-raiser ; P. 0. Ansonia ; another of 
the old residents of Darke Co. ; born in Greenville Township April 26, 1831 ; he 
was the oldest son of William F. Hunter, who was born in Warren Co., Ohio, Jan. 
2. 1801 ; he was one of the early settlers of Darke Co., locating here about the 
year 1825 ; he was married in Darke Co. to Elizabeth Earheart ; she was born in 
Virginia April 14, 1804, and came to Darke Co. with her parents when quite 
young, making the journey on horseback. They were the parents of three 
sons and four daughters, of whom all are living but one son. Mr. Hunter 
died Sept. 26, 1840. Mrs. Hunter died May 11, 1853. upon the old 
homestead ; William Hunter has lived upon the homestead and upon 
the place where he was born for nearly half a century, his mother mak- 
ing her home with him until her decease ; the log house in which all the family 
was born is now standing upon the place where it has stood for a period of 
fifty years. The nuptials of William Hunter and Mary Shultz were celebrated 
June 15, 1854: she was born in Dauphin Co., Penn., July 1, 1834; she was a 
daughter of George Shultz, who emigrated from Pennsylvania to Warren Co., and 
then to Darke Co., about the year 1846 ; the children of William and Mary (Shultz) 
Hunter were nine in number, of whom eight are now living, viz., Thomas H., 
William S.. Charles E.. Edmond A., Mary E.. John I., Prudence 0., David D. ; the 
deceased, Ada, died April 22, 1877. 

DANIEL JAMISON, manufacturer of and dealer in brick; P.O. Green- 
ville ; the subject of this memoir was born in Darke Co., Sept. 8, 1849, where 
he has since resided, and where he obtained a common-school education, and 
at the age of 21 commenced life for himself, and has since, by his own exertion, 
accumulated a liberal amount of means for a person of his age. 

LEWIS E. JONES, Presbyterian minister, Sec. 4. The subject of this 
sketch was born in Cardiganshire. Great Britain, March 23. 1834; he was engaged 
in the manufacture of iron at Merthyr Tydvyl until 20 years of age, when he emi- 
grated to America, landing in New York May 17, 1855; he received a good 



GREENVILLE TOWNSHIP. 503 

common-school education in Great Britain; his preparatory education being received 
at the Herron Seminary, at Cincinnati, he entered the Ohio Wesleyan University, 
at Delaware, Ohio, in 1859, pursuing his studies here until the spring of 1861, and, 
in the fall of the same year, he entered the Lane Theological Seminary at Cincin- 
nati, from which he graduated in 1864 ; he then presided as Pastor over the Pres- 
byterian Church of Greenville, for one year, during which time he united the Old 
and New School Presbyterian Churches b}~ his efforts. During the fall of 1864 
and the early part of the winter of 1865, he was upon the battle-fields of Tennessee, 
administering to the wants of our Union patriots, having been appointed b} r the 
Christian Commission. In the spring of 1865, he was selected, in response to the 
call of President Johnson, to preach a sermon to a union of churches at Green- 
ville, in commemoration of the death of the lamented Lincoln. From 1865 to 
1867, he presided over the Presbyterian Church at Tippecanoe City ; then three 
years at Rising Sun, Ind. ; thence to Reynoldsburg until 1861 ; thence to Edgar 
Co., 111., where he remained until 1876, when he returned to his present place, and. 
on account of ill health, retired from the ministry until the spring of 1878, when 
he accepted a call as Pastor of State supply of the Presbyterian Church at Gettys- 
burg, which position he now holds. Upon locating here in 1865, he possessed very 
little property, save his valuable library. His residence is located one and one- 
fourth miles from Greenville. On the 20th of September, 1865, he was united in 
marriage with Amanda Griffin ; she was born in Butler Co., Ohio, Feb. 14, 1836 : 
she is the oldest daughter of David Griffin, who located in Darke Co. in 1856. 

SWAN JUDY, attorney at law, Greenville. The subject of this biography 
was born in a rude log cabin on the farm of his grandfather Isaac Wilson, about 
seven miles west of Springfield, Clark Co., Ohio, on Dec. 7, 1851 ; he is the second 
son of Samuel H. and Lydia Judy, who were the parents of eleven children, seven 
of whom are living ; while on the farm, our subject was sent to school as much as 
his tender years and delicate health would permit ; his parents, though in limited 
circum stances, decided that the education for the children was of more importance 
than getting money, and in 1860 moved to the village of Enon, two miles distant, 
where the schools were convenient and better ; here young Judy availed himself of 
school privileges as much as possible considering his rather feeble constitution, 
devoting a goodly portion of his time during vacation to his books ; in 1864, his 
father felt obliged to return to the farm where young Judy's services were required 
in the duties incidental to boyhood's farm life ; he had, however, acquired a thirst 
for knowledge, and not believing himself designed for husbandry, he, in compnny 
with his elder brother, Benj. F. Judy, returned to Enon and arranged with the 
Board of Education to again attend school, which he did during the school session, 
also studying nights and mornings, besides doing chores ; during the summer sea- 
son, he would raise truck, the proceeds from the sale of which he bought books 
and paid tuition ; as he grew older, his health improved, and his desire for knowl- 
edge increased, so much so that he would take his book to the field and study 
during the moments of resting from his labors ; in the spring of 1868, his parents 
moved to Greenville, near which place they now reside, bringing young Judy with 
them ; here he entered the public schools, and in 1869, was granted a teacher's 
certificate ; at this time, the desire of his life to become a lawyer impelled him to 
begin the study of law, which he did under Judge Wm. Allen, of Greenville, though 
only at such times as he could spare from his other labors, which latter were 
required in obtaining a livelihood ; during the winter of 1869 and spring of 1870, 
he taught a school about two miles north of Greenville, continuing the study of 
law during his otherwise leisure hours ; at the close of his school, he went on the 
farm, raised corn and fattened hogs ; in 1 870, he engaged with Alexander Wilson, a 
cousin, of Madison Co. to feed cattle ; in 1871, he was taken into partnership with 
Mr. Wilson in stock-dealing, which was continued until 1872, thereby making suffi- 
cient money to pay for a course in law at the university at Ann Arbor, Mich., 
which institution he entered and graduated on the 24th of March. 1875 ; he was 



504 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES- 

soon after admitted to the bar to practice in Ohio, and shortly thereafter entered 
into partnership with Michael Spayd, deceased, and continued in practiee with him 
until the fall of 1875, when the partnership was dissolved, and he went South, 
visiting several of the southern cities, but concluding the South was not the part 
of the United States in which he desired to locate for the purpose of practicing 
law. returned to Greenville in the spring of 1876 ; after returning, he managed an 
important lawsuit for his parents, in which he was successful ; his parents then 
moving to Bradford Junction, he went with them. and. while there, made no effort 
to procure business in his profession, but as it became known that he was a disci- 
ple of Blackstone, a demand was soon made for his services, and he did quite an 
extensive business during the year or more he remained, though he opened no 
office : in 1877, he with his parents returned to the farm near Greenville, and soon 
after he opened an office in the latter city, where he has since been practicing. On 
Feb. 27. 1879, he was married at Ansonia by Rev. Colgan, a M. E. minister, 
to Lilly May Bertch. youngest child and daughter of Dr. Daniel and Almira Bertch, 
formerly of Auglaize Co. In the month of February. 1880. he and his wife united 
themselves with the Christian Church of Greenville. 

J. C. KATZENBERGER, retired; P.O.Greenville; was born in Baden. 
Germany, July 23. 1828 ; he received a good education in his native country, and 
graduated from the College of Baden ; he, with his father and brothers, was in 
the revolution of 1848, after which he came to America, landing in New York in 
1850 ; in August of the same year, he located in this township, and for two years 
was engaged in farming ; in 1852, he purchased an interest in the Greenville 
Brewery ; two yeai's later, he purchased his partner's interest, and successfully 
followed the above business until 1868, at which date he disposed of his interest 
and purchased his present place ; he has 113 acres, located one mile from Green- 
ville, under a good state of cultivation ; his brick bank barn was erected by him 
in 1 873, at a cost of upward of $4,000, and is probably the best barn in Darke 
Co. He is a strong Republican, and is the first German ever nominated for office 
on the county ticket. On the 3d of September, 1854. he was united in marriage 
with Kate Ashman ; she was born in this township June 15. 1837 ; they have ten 
children now living, viz.. Augustus EL, born Aug. 18. 1856 ; Ella J.. Dec. 21, 
1859; Anna C, Jan. 6. 1862 f Leopold H.. Feb. 15. 1866; Albert R.. Feb. 16. 
1868; Louisa >I., March 10, 1870; Joseph C. Aug. 10, 1872; Ona M.. Jan. 18, 
L875 : Oscar S.. March 8. 1877, and an infant born March 6, 1879. Mrs. Katzen- 
berger is a daughter of Peter Ashman, who was one of the earlv pioneers of 
Darke Co. 

GUSTAVUS A. KATZENBERGER, of the firm of Katzenberger Brothers, 
grocers, fishing and hunting tackle a specialty, Greenville. The gentleman whose 
name heads this sketch was born in Germany June 13. 1830. and is a son of 
Joseph and Margaret Katzenberger, natives of the same place ; his father was 
born Aug. 27, 1788, and died Dec. 12. 1852 ; his mother was born in 1798, and 
departed this life in 1872. Our subject emigrated to America in 1850. landing in 
New York, after a tedious voyage of forty-seven days ; he arrived in Greenville 
Aug. 24. 1850, and settled on a farm in Greenville Township, when' he remained 
for three years, when, tiring of rural pursuits, he engaged with John Hufthagle as 
salesman, which position he held for three months, when he embarked in business 
for himself July 27. 1853 : in 1858, he visited his native place, and. after spend- 
ing a short time among relatives and friends, and looking over the scenes of his 
youth, he departed for his adopted home. Charles L., member of the above firm, was 
born in Germany .March 14, 1834 ; he emigrated to America in 1854, and, after a long 
and wearisome voyage of sixty-three days, reached the docks of New York; upon 
landing, he came directly to Greenville, where he was employed by his brother as 
salesman till lSiil ; he then became a partner of his brother Joseph, and together 
diil business for seven years, when he became a partner with Andy Weinbreicht, 
in the grocery business, which partnership existed three years : selling out, he 



GREENVILLE TOWNSHIP. 505 

entered into a partnership with his brother Gustavus, which constitutes the pres- 
ent firm. His marriage with Elizabeth Ashman was celebrated in 1862, and to 
their union two children were given — George and Mary ; the latter is deceased ; 
Mrs. K. departed this life in 1868. Mr. K. has made three trips to his native 
land— the first in 1857. the second in 1868. and the third in 1877 ; thus he has 
crossed the ocean seven times. 

J. F. KAUFFMAN, farmer. Sec. 11 ; P. 0. Greenville : born in Cleveland, 
Ohio. Oct. 12, 1830. He was a son of John P. Kauffman, who was born in Ger- 
many May 14. 1790, and emigrated to America in 1830, and located in Cleveland ; 
then to Columbus, and from there to Warren and Greene Cos., and in 1863 or 
1864, came to Darke Co.. and during the last three years of his life lived with his 
son. He died March 15, 1878. He was married in Germany to Catherine M. 
Klineburgh. She was born Feb. 10, 1793; she died March 12, 1859. The sub- 
ject of this sketch lived with his father until 21 years of age. when he commenced 
for himself, and, in 1862, came to Darke Co. and purchased his present place of 80 
acres, where he has since lived. His marriage with Rachel H. Stewart was cele- 
brated Nov. 17, 1853. She died March 8, 1865. They had two children, Isaiah, 
born Oct, 24. 1857. and died in infancy : Ida Bell, born Feb. 21, 1862, now living 
at home. 

CHARLES F. KEMPER. Catholic priest, Greenville ; was born in Prussia on 
the Rhine, July 6, 1851, and is a son of John and Catherine Kemper, natives of the 
same place. His father died in Germany, in 1856. His mother at present resides 
in Dayton. Our subject attended school two years, in Bardstown, Ky.; thence to 
the St. Mary's Seminary in Cincinnati, for some time ; thence to Einsbrook for 
three years ; thence to Rome for one year, where he finished his collegiate course, 
and returned to Cincinnati, and was employed as teacher in the St. Mary's Seminary 
for two years. He came to Greenville in August. 1877, and has charge of the 
church here — also those in the country, and is a gentleman of ability and refine- 
ment. 

WILLIAM K. KERLIN. retired. Greenville ; born in Wayne Co., Ind., March 
2, 1832. and is a son of Elijah and Malinda (Sands) Kerlin. both natives of Wash- 
ington Co.. East Tenn.; they emigrated to Indiana and located in Wayne Co. in 
1831 ; Mrs. Kerlin died September, 1879. Mr. Kerlin now resides in the same 
township where he located in 1831. They raised a family of eleven children, eight 
now living. Our subject, the second son. assisted his father in farming until he 
attained his majoritv. Upon the 1st of December, 1853, was united in marriage with 
Hannah B. Jefferis": she was born in Wayne Co., Ind., Nov. 28, 1830. They were 
the parents of eleven childi-en, of whom ten now survive, viz., Anna E., Emma, 
Oscar, Mary B., John D., William L., Edwin, Carrie, James and Elijah. Mr. Ker- 
lin continued farming in Wayne Co., Ind., until March, 1865, when he came to Har- 
rison Township. Darke Co.. continuing the same occupation until 1870, when he 
removed to Greenville, where he has since lived ; during his residence in Harrison 
Township, he held the office of Justice of the Peace two terms, and one term in 
Greenville ; was Deputy County Treasurer from 1871 to 1875 ; was elected County 
Treasurer in 1874 ; re-elected in 1876, by a majority of upward of nine hundred, 
largely leading his ticket ; during his term of office he handled upward of $2,000,- 
000 of the public funds, and so satisfactory was his administration that the press 
of both parties were unanimous in their approval of the same. Mr. Kerlin is a 
strong leader of his party, and has probably done as much or more in controlling 
the political affairs of the past ten years, than any man in Darke Co. 

SOLOMON KESTER. merchant. Greenville. Among the most enterprising 
merchants of Greenville, we take pleasure in according the above gentleman a 
place in the front ranks. He was born in German Township, Darke Co.. Nov. 10, 
1839, and is a son of George Kester, whose sketch also appears in another part of 
this work. Our subject assisted his father upon the farm until 1 6 years of age, 
when he began farming for himself, and successfully followed the same until 1871, 



506 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

at which date he embarked in the mercantile business in Palestine, continuing the 

same successfully until February, 1880, when he located in the city of Greenville, 
with one of the largest and best-selected stocks of goods ever brought to this town. 
With the well-known enterprise of Mr. Kester, his large stock, pleasing, attentive 
and obliging clerks, we predict for the above firm the largest annual sides of any 
firm in the dry goods trade in Darke Co.; he is now located in the store formerly 
occupied by Wilson & Hart ; a card of his business appears in the business direc- 
tory of Greenville, in another part of this work. His marriage with .Mary A. 
Lease was celebrated in 1863 ; they have two children — George Y. and Roxy. 

WILLIAM KIPP, druggist and pharmacist, Greenville. We could hardly do 
justice to the business intei'ests of Greenville, without devoting a brief space of 
this work to the gentleman whose name heads this sketch. He was born in the 
kingdom of Wurtemberg. Germany, April 13, 1882. where he received a liberal 
education, attending school continuously from ti to 14 years of age. When 20 
years of age. he emigrated to America, landing in New York September. 1 851, making 
the trip from Antwerp in twenty-three days, in a sailing vessel : he then came to 
Cincinnati, and was employed on the railroad some four months, and in the spring 
of 1858 came to Dayton; in September of the same year, came to Greenville, 
where he has since lived: upon arriving here, his capital consisted of 60 cents; 
after following the business of tonsorial artist two years, he associated with Con- 
rad Shively in the drug business, under the firm name of Shively & Kipp. contin- 
uing the same until 1872, when the death of Mr. S. occurred, since which time Mr. 
Kipp has continued the business alone ; he keeps a full and complete line of such 
goods as are to be found only in first-class drug stores ; a card of his business is 
to be found in the business directory of ( i reenville, in another part of this work. His 
marriage with Barbara C. Rich was celebrated in the spring of 1857 ; she was born in 
VVurternberg, Germany, in 1884 ; they were the parents of eight children, of whom 
two :.re deceased ; the living are Emma, Bertha. Conrad. August. William and 
Edward. 

ALBERT KLEE, butcher. Third street, west of Broadway. Creenville ; born 
in Prussia July 7. 1848. where he received a good education in German, until 14 
years of age. after which he assisted his father in agricultural pursuits three years ; 
at 17 years of age, he commenced the trade of butcher, serving two and a half 
years. In 1872. he came to America and followed his trade in Indianapolis. Chi- 
cago and St. Louis, until 1877, at which date he came to Greenville, and engaged 
in the butchers business, and in the fall of bS7!» he located on Third street, where 
he has since continued. In the spring of 1879, he associated with his present 
partner, under the firm name of Albert Klee & Co.. his present partner being 
George Buchy. 

A. J. KLINGER, miller and dealer in grain and seeds. Greenville. Among 
the old settlers of Darke Co.. we are pleased to give this gentleman more than a 
passing notice. He was born in Preble Co. in 1830, and. with his mother, came to 
Darke Co. and located in Monroe Township in 1888 ; at 18 years of age. he. with 
an older brother, engaged in the merchandise trade, continuing the same some two 
years ; then, for a short time, at Ithaca, and. upon the completion of the I). & C. 
R. R.. located at Gordon, and was the first grain merchant as well as among the 
first merchants of the town : after 1 icing engaged in Gordon some live years, he 
disposed of his grain and merchandise interest, removed to Ithaca and followed 
farming two years ; he then purchased the Ithaca Mill, running the same five years ; 
then one year at Winchester. End. : in the fall of 1867, he removed to Arcanum. 
where he followed milling until 1871. at which date he came to Greenville, and. in 
lS7ti. purchased his present business property, remodeled and enlarged the same, 
placing in the most improved machinery and now has a mill of a capacity of fifty 
barrels per day : he is also largely engaged in buying and shipping grain to the 
Eastern markets. His marriage with Caroline Werts was celebrated in 1857 ; she 
is :i daughter of Peter Werts. one of the early pioneers of Darke Co.; they are 



GREENVILLE TOWNSHIP. 507 

the parents of three sons and Ave daughters, viz., Sarah E.. Delia F., Laura, 
Almy S., Cora, D. 0., Watson J. and Peter W. 

JAMES K. KNICK, farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 19 ; P. O. Greenville ; 
the subject of this memoir located in Darke Co. in an early day ; he was born in 
Miami Co., Ohio, Feb. 9, 1824 ; he was a son of William Knick, who was born in 
Virginia, and came to Miami Co. at an early day and followed farming until his 
decease, which occurred in 1850 ; he was married, in Virginia, to Rachel Arm- 
strong ; she was also born in Virginia, and died in Miami Co. in 1868 ; the gentle- 
man whose name heads this sketch assisted his father in farming until 28 years of 
age, when, in 1852, he, with ox teams, taking with him 116 head of cattle, crossed 
the Rocky Mountains at North Pass ; arrived in Stockton Valley after a long and 
tedious journey of five months and six days ; in California, he spent six years at 
mining, and met with fair success ; he then returned to Ohio, and, in 1859, came 
to Darke Co. and purchased 80 acres of his present place, to which he has added 
by purchase until he now owns upward of 220 acres, under a good state of culti- 
vation, with two good sets of farm buildings, nearly all of which he has secured 
by his own exertions. His marriage with Magdalena Ashman was celebrated in 
Miami Co. Feb. 16, 1860 ; she was born in Darke Co., Sec. 19, Greenville Town- 
ship. April 24, 1841 ; she died March 27, 1873, leaving seven children, viz: 
Thomas, born Feb. 16, 1861 : John. May 6, 1862 ; James, August 28, 1863 ; 
Charles, Sept. 9, 1865 ; Magdalena M., July 5, 1867 ; Eliza J., May 8, 1869, died 
April 16, 1873 ; Laura Bell, born May 6, 1871. He gives his whole attention to 
raising stock, corn and wheat, and is now engaged in farming all his land. 

CHRISTIAN KNODERER, butcher, Greenville; born in Baden, Germany, 
Aug. 5, 1820 ; he received a good education in German, French and Latin, and, at 
18 years of age. was apprenticed to learn the butcher's trade, and, after two years, 
he served four years in different countries at his trade ; he then started the same 
business for himself in Emendingers. Germany, following the same until 1848, 
and he served in the revolution of 1848-49 ; he was taken prisoner, and, after two 
months' imprisonment, emigrated to America, landing at New York July 4, 1850 ; 
he then followed farming two years in Pennsylvania, thence coming to Illinois, 
where he worked some nine months ; he came to Ohio and settled in Darke Co. in 
1856, and farmed in Wayne Township six years, and, in 1862, came to Greenville 
and engaged in the butchering business, which he has since successfully followed. 
He was Township Treasurer of Greenville Township for the year 1876. His mar- 
riage with Catherine Kern was celebrated in 1854 ; she was also a native of 
Baden ; born in 1826 ; they have no children. 

JAMES M. LANSDOWNE : P. O. Greenville ; cashier of the Exchange 
Bank of Greenville ; the subject of this memoir is a native of Ohio, and was born 
in Clermont Co., upon the 14th of December, 1846, and is a son of Dr. ZachariahM. 
Lansdowne. who was born in Kentucky, but when quite young removed to Cler- 
mont Co., Ohio, where he married Mary Gray Hoover, a native of the above 
county ; by this union there were eight' children, our subject being the second 
child and only son ; about the year 1850, the family removed to Cincinnati, and 
in 1855 came to Greenville, where the Doctor followed his profession until 1876. 
at which date he removed to Kansas, where he has since lived ; Mrs. Lansdowne 
died in 1871 ; of the children, four are also deceased ; James M. was educated at 
the public schools, and one year at Antioch College ; in 1864. he enlisted in 
the 152d O. N. G., and participated fully in the short but active engagements of 
the above regiment ; returning from the war, he followed clerical pursuits in the 
express and°ticket office until 1869, when he accepted his present position as 
Cashier of the Greenville Exchange Bank, which he now holds ; upon the 26th of 
September, 1876, he was united in marriage with Elizabeth Knox ; she was born in 
Greenville Dec. 21, 1851 ; they have one child by this union. John Knox Lans- 
downe ; Mrs. L. is the only daughter of John Riley Knox, a prominent lawyer of 
Greenville. 



■ r, °* BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

MARTIN W. LAURIMORE, City Marshal. Greenville ; born in the city of 
Greenville, Darke Co., Aug. 16, 1842, and is a son of William and Malinda (Mar- 
tin) Launmore ; William was born in Allegheny Co.. Pcnn.. Nov. 30 1805 • 
Malinda Martin was born April 3, 1811. Mr. L. came to Greenville in 1822 and 
engaged in the hotel business, keeping the first tavern in the place, located on 
Main street, just west of the city square, and known as the old Loo- Cabin House ; 
he was engaged in this business several years ; he was then engaged in the dry- 
goods trade several years ; subsequently he was elected Justice of the Peace 
which position he held sixteen years, and until he declined to serve longer on 
account of failing health ; he died in November. 1863. Mrs. L. having deceased 
March 31, 1855 ; they were the parents of nine sons and live daughtersTof whom 
seven sons and two daughters now survive ; our subject was educated in the schools of 
Greenville, and at 15 years of age commenced the trade of printer, serving two and a 
half years. He responded to the first call of President Lincoln for troops^at the com- 
mencement of the late rebellion, and upon the 16th of April, 1861, enlisted in the 11th 
0. V. I., for three months ; he then re-enlisted in the 34th 0. V. I., Col. Piatt's 
Zouaves, for three years, and served through West Virginia and Maryland, partici- 
pating in the campaigns of the Shenandoah Valley, being in twenty-four different 
engagements ; was mustered out of service Sept 16, 1864, having served in the Union 
army three years and four months ; he then returned to Greenville and engaoed in 
various pursuits until April 1, 1878, when he was elected City Marshal which 
office he now holds. Upon the 7th of May, 1866, he was united in marriage with 
Mary E. Vance; she was born in West Alexandria, Preble Co.. Ohio. Aug 22 
1839 ; they have three children— Estella B., Frank and Nellie. 

JACOB E. LEAS, merchant, Greenville ; another of the old settlers of 
Darke Co., born in Preble Co., Ohio, Nov. 5, 1840 ; he is a son of Jesse Leas who 
came to Darke Co., in 1843, and located in Sampson ; he died in Palestine in 
March, 1861 ; he was married, in Preble Co., to Sarah A. Cresler. who is now living 
in German Township. The subject of our sketch followed clerking in the mer- 
chandise store of his father until the death of the latter. On the 16th of October 
1861, he enlisted as private in the 69th O. V. I., and soon after was at the front' 
fighting for the preservation of the Union and the honor of our glorious tlao- he 
was in the battles of Stone River, Chickamauga, Buzzards' Roost. Resaca Kenesaw 
Mountain, Peach Tree Creek, siege and capture of Atlanta, with Sherman on his 
march through Georgia to the sea, thence north through the Carolinas and with 
Sherman when Johnston surrendered, thence through "Richmond to Washington 
when, after the grand review of the army, he went to Louisville and received his 
discharge, in August, 1865, having served in the Union army nearly four years. 
After serving his first term of enlistment, he returned with his regiment, Feb 27 
1864, and remained in service until the close of the war, passing through various 
grades of promotion, and was mustered out of service as Captain of Co. A He 
then returned to Darke Co. and followed merchandising at Greenville, Jaysville 
and Palestine (with the exception of a short residence in Indiana) until April, 
1871. when he came to Ansonia and followed the merchandise trade for a short 
time. In 1874, he received the appointment of Postmaster. Upon the locating 
of the well-known house of Sol. Kester at Greenville, Feb. 1. 1880, Mr. Leas 
resigned his official position as Postmaster at Ansonia, and associated with the 
above firm, where he may always be found, ready and willing to attend to the 
wants of his many warm friends. His marriage with Rebecca Duke was celebrated 
Sept. 19, 1867 ; they have three children now living, viz.. Russell D Bertha J 
and Blair. 

n ^JVI FRANKLIN LIMBERT, lawyer. Greenville ; was born in Montgomery 
Co., Ohio, Sept. 4, 1854 ; his father, Lewis Limbert, was born in Mifflin Co. Penn 
in 1814, but was reared in Montgomery Co., Ohio, where he married Sarah E. 
Ilinsey in 1835. Our subject, after the usual common-school course, in the sprino- 
of 1870 entered the Miami Commercial College at Dayton ; in 1871. he secured a 



GREENVILLE TOWNSHIP. 509 

position as book-keeper; afterward, he became a teacher, and, in 1873, he entered 
the normal school at Lebanon ; he entered upon the study of law with C. M. 
Anderson, in 1876, and, in 1877. was admitted to practice, and at once commenced 
practice in Greenville. 

JOHN LONGENECKER, farmer and carpenter, Sec. 1 ; P. 0. Pikeville ; 
another old settler of Darke County; born in Montgomery Co., Ohio, Feb. 12, 
1 830 ; he is of German descent, his grandfather being one of four brothers who 
came from Germany and located in Pennsylvania ; the father of John was Samuel 
Longenecker, who was born in Dauphin Co., Penn., April 5, 1789, and emigrated to 
Warren Co., about the year 1821, and, six years later, located in Montgomery Co., 
and, in 1840, came to Darke Co. and settled in Richland Township, and followed 
cabinet-making and undertaking until his death, which occurred Sept. 14. 1842 ; 
he was married in Dauphin Co., Penn.. to Anna Shank, who was born in the same 
county Nov. 19, 1790 ; they were the parents of ten children, of whom five are 
now living ; Mrs. S. died in Richland Township Dec. 5, 1847. The subject of this 
memoir came to Darke Co. with his parents, and while his father followed his 
trade, his sons did the labor on the farm, John remaining with him during his life- 
time ; after the death of his father, he removed to Beamsville and followed the 
trade of cabinet-making three years, and, in 1865, he commenced the carpenter 
business, and, until 1877, gave this his exclusive attention ; his buildings extended 
over all of the northern townships, and among his contracts were some additions 
to the county infirmary ; without serving any apprenticeship at the trade, he has 
been one of the most successful contractors, and probably no man in the county 
has erected more farm buildings than Mr. Longenecker ; in 1864, he located on his 
present place, where he has since lived ; he has 65 acres in his home farm, all 
under a good state of improvement. He has been twice married ; his first wife 
was Letina Hblloway, who died without issue. His marriage with Elizabeth Beem 
was celebrated Sept. 30, 1855 ; she was born Oct. 4, 1834 ; they have three chil- 
dren — Franklin, born Nov. 28, 1857 ; Harry, March 6, 1863 ; Theodore, June 5. 
1867. 

LOUIS B. LOTT, farmer, Sec. 19 ; P, O. Greenville. 

SAMUEL LUDY, farmer and brick manufacturer, Sec. 24 ; P. O. Greenville ; 
one of the oldest settlers of Darke Co., born in Frederick Co., Md., May 30, 1833. 
He was a son of David Ludy, who was born in the above county and State in 1803. 
He was married in Marjdand to Mary Burns. She was born in Ireland in 1834. 
and emigrated to America with her parents in infancy. David Ludy and family 
came to Ohio in 1838, landing in Dayton June 1. and in Miami Co., the same year, 
where the decease of Mrs. Ludy occurred in November, 1852. Mr. Ludy came to 
Darke Co. in 1875, where his decease occurred in October, 1 876. The subject of this 
sketch resided in Miami Co. and engaged in agricultural pursuits until Oct. 8, 
1856, when he was united in marriage with Christina Guntrum. She was born in 
Pennsylvania in 1833, and was a daughter of John Guntrum, who came to Darke 
Co. in 1837. The children of Samuel and Christina Guntrum Ludy were four in 
number — William, David, Rebecca and Samuel. Upon the marriage of Mr. Lud}\ 
he came to Darke Co. and located upon his present place, where he has lived for a 
period of twenty-three years. He has 37 acres of land, with good farm buildings, 
his brick residence being the second-best farm residence in the township. He is 
largely engaged in manufacturing brick of superior quality, his yard turning out 
in a single season upward of ten hundred and fifty thousand. A card of his busi- 
ness will be found in the business directory of Greenville, in another part of this 
work. Mr. Ludy is now serving his second year as Township Trustee of the town- 
ship in which he lives. 

DR. ELIJAH LYNCH, physician and surgeon, Greenville. Among the old 
settlers of Darke Co.. we take pleasure in giving the gentlemen whose name heads 
this sketch a place in the front ranks of his profession ; he was born in Warren 
Co., Ohio. Sept. 25. 1809, and was a son of Isaiah and Charity (Hasket) Lynch. 



510 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

both natives of South Carolina ; they came to Ohio in 1805. and settled in War- 
ren Co.; Mr. Lynch was of Welsh descent, and was born in South Carolina in 
1709. and died in Warren Co., Ohio, in 1814 ; Mrs. Lynch was of English descent, 
born in South Carolina in 1799, and died March 11. 1848. in Butler Co., Ohio. 
The subject of our sketch obtained his general education in the Quaker schools, 
and, in 1834, commenced the study of medicine with Dr. Charters, of Waynesville, 
Ohio, with whom he remained two years, after which he studied two years with 
Dr. Thomas, of Sydney, and graduated from the Ohio Medical College in 1848 ; 
in 1845, he first located in Darke Co., and commenced the practice of medicine in 
Palestine, and, in 1849, located in Greenville, where he has since successfully fol- 
lowed his profession for a period of upward of thirty years, and is, consequently, 
one of the oldest continuous practitioners of the county. His marriage with 
Mary O'Brien was celebrated in 1832 ; she was born in Vermont Maj- 15, 1811 ; 
they were the parents of eight children, of whom three are deceased ; the living 
are Rebecca, now Mrs. Dr. Woods, of Van Wert; William, now practicing medi- 
cine in Shanesville. Ohio ; Isaac, in the jewelry trade at Greenville, and Mary and 
Ida. living at home ; of the deceased, Thomas died at 11 years of age ; Sarah died 
at U> years of age ; Charles grew to manhood, and at his death left a widow and 
thi'ee children now living at Lima. Ohio ; he was a resident of Indianapolis until 
his decease, and occupied the position of general ticket agent of the Indianapolis, 
Peru & Chicago Railroad. 

M. McDANIEL, Greenville, firm of McDaniel & Son, manufacturers and 
dealers in furniture. Greenville, like most cities of its size, has its representative 
men in nearly eveiy branch of trade, and to the above firm must be accorded the 
honor of being the leading firm in this line in Darke Co. M. McDaniel was born 
in Medina Co., Ohio, Aug. 15, 1836 ; the early part of his life was passed in Put- 
nam Co.. where he received a fair education in the common schools. In 1854, he 
located in Troy, Miami Co., where he completed the trade of cabinet-making, with 
Joel T. Thompson, who was one of the early pioneers of Darke Co.; he continued 
in Mr. Thompson's employ three }^ears, when he associated with James W. Hicki- 
son, and purchased his employer's interest and continued the furniture business, 
under the firm name of Hickison & McDaniel. until the fall of 1860, when he sold 
out to his partner, and after a short residence in Lima, Ohio, enlisted, Aug. 12, 1862, in 
the 94th 0. V. I., and went forward to battle for the Union ; he was in many severe 
engagements, among which were Perryville, Stone River, Chickamauga, Hoover's 
Gap, Tullahoma, Lookout Mountain, Missionary' Ridge, Ringgold, Buzzard Roost, Re- 
saca,Dallas, Peach Tree Creek and all through the siege and capture of Atlanta.during 
which time he was actively engaged for eighty-four days in succession, and was with 
Sherman on his march through Georgia to the sea, through the Carolinas, and was 
with Sherman at the surrender of Johnston ; thence north through Richmond to 
Washington, where, after the grand review of the army, he was forwarded to Col- 
umbus, mustered out of service, and received his discharge on June 14, 1865, 
having served in the Union army nearly three years. Upon receiving his discharge, 
he returned to Troy and followed his trade five years, and in 1871 came to Greenville, 
and for four years was foreman of Turpen & Co.'s furniture factoiy. and in 1874 
purchased the furniture store of Turpen & Auld, since which time he has contin- 
ued the business under the above firm name. His marriage was celebrated with 
Nancy E. Mickfall Dec. 1, 1859 ; she died Dec. 14, 1879 ; they were the parents 
of three children, of whom two died in infancy ; the living, William A. J., is now 
junior member of the above firm. Mr. McDaniel has been a member of tne Bap- 
tist Church since 1865, and became a member of Center Lodge. No. 272. of Troy, 
in 1860. and in 1874 affiliated with the Greenville Lodge, No. 195, and is also a 
member of Greenville Encampment, No. 90. 

ALEXANDER HUGH McEOWEN, retired farmer. Greenville : among the 
old settlers of Darke Co.. Ohio ; the gentleman whose name heads this sketch is 
awarded a place in the front ranks ; he was born in Somerset Co., N. J., Oct. 2, 



GREENVILLE TOWNSHIP. 511 

1810 ; he was a son of Alexander McEowen, who was born in the above State 
Nov. 29, 1778 ; he married his second wife, Alada Hageman, in November. 1808 ; 
she was born in New Jersey ; they were the parents of seven children by this 
union, of whom the subject of this sketch'and Henry H. now survive ; Henry was 
born Jul} 7 21, 1823, and is now living in Allen Township, Darke Co. ; their father 
was one of the patriots of the war of 1812, and was also one of the minute-men 
of the Northwest Territory, and served under Gen. Wayne in this State ; he was 
married three times, and was the father of eleven children, of whom only three 
now survive ; Mr. McEowen died Dec. 12, 1863, aged 85 years ; Mrs. McEowen 
died Aug. 22, 1830. The subject of this memoir came to Ohio with his parents in 
1822, and located in Warren Co., where he followed farming until 1844, when he 
came to Darke Co., and, after a residence of ten years iu Twin Township, during 
which time he cleared a farm of 90 acres, he came to Greenville Township and 
purchased his present place in 1854, where he has since lived ; he now has in his 
home farm 225 acres under a good state of cultivation, with good farm buildings, 
located two and one-half miles east from Greenville, nearly all of which he has 
secured by his own hard labor and correct business habits, in which he has been 
nobly assisted by his amiable wife, to whom he was married March 14, 1839 ; she 
was born in Warren Co., Ohio, Dec. 17, 1810 ; they have no children of their own, 
but have taken and partially raised several until sufficiently old to be self-support- 
ing. Mr. McEowen continued farming until 1878, when he rented his farm and 
retired from active labor. He was formerlj* an Old Line Whig, but joined the 
Republican party upon its organization, and since that time he has ardently 
labored for the support of the same. Mr. and Mrs. McEowen have been members 
of the Presbyterian Church many years. They have traveled the path of life 
together for a period of forty years, and now, in their declining years, find that 
comfort and consolation in the Bible which onlv falls to the lot of true Christians. 

WASHINGTON McGINNIS, contractor and builder, Greenville ; among the 
early pioneers of Darke Co., the gentleman whose name heads this sketch is 
entitled to a place in the front ranks; he was born in Washington Co., East Ten- 
nessee, in 1812 ; at 14 years of age, he came to Darke Co. with his parents, and 
has been a continuous resident of this county since 1826, a period of fifty-four 
years, and is, consequently, among the oldest settlers of the county, as well as the 
oldest representative of his business in Greenville ; upon locating here, he assisted 
his father in agricultural pursuits until he attained his majority, and, in 1833, 
came to Greenville and apprenticed himself for two years to learn the carpenter's 
trade ; after completing the same, he worked at his trade two years, and, in 1840, 
he started in business for himself at Greenville, and has for a period of forty 
years been engaged at the above business. He is a Democrat in politics, but 
has never been an aspirant for office, but without solicitation was nominated and 
elected as one of the members of the City Council, which office he has held two 
years. Upon the 20th of January, 1841, he was united in marriage with Sarah S. 
Emley ; she was born in Warren Co. in 1819 ; they have three children living by 
this union, having lost two by death ; the living are Lizzie, Wash and Emma. 
Mrs. McGinnis was a daughter of David Emley, a native of New Jersey ; he died 
in Warren Co., Ohio, in 1862, upward of 80 years of age. He married Sarah 
Chamberlin, also a native of New Jersey ; she is now living in Warren Co.. at the 
advanced age of 85 years. 

PATRICK H. MAHER, County Recorder, Greenville ; the subject of this 
sketch was born in County Tipperary. Ireland, Jan. 29, 1845 ; he is a son of 
James and Catherine (Fanning) Maher, who with their family emigrated to Amer- 
ica and landed in New Orleans in 1850 ; they then came up the river to Cincin- 
nati, and on the way up Patrick H. suffered the loss by death of three of his 
brothers, grandfather and grandmother by cholera; he resided in Clarke and 
Champaign Cos. until 1864, at which date he came to Darke Co. and engaged in 
school teaching near Coletown until 1874. when he was elected Countv Recorder, 



512 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

which office he now holds. Upon the 25th of December. 1873, he was united in 
marriage with Ellen Manix ; they have three children by this union — John F.. 
James E. and Catherine. Mrs. Maher is a sister of George Manix, who is also 
mentioned among the biographies of Greenville Township, in this work. 

G. W. MANIX, farmer and stock-raiser. Sec. 13; P. 0. Greenville ; born in 
the County Clare, Ireland. .March 28, 1843 ; he came to America with his par- 
ents when a small boy, and came to Montgomery Co., Ohio, where the}' lived until 
1858, at which date they came to Darke Co. and settled in Mississinawa Township. 
The subject of this memoir resided with his parents until 21 years of age, when he 
commenced life for himself, and engaged in contracting and building, and building 
bridges and pikes : after erecting some dwellings, he built the fine schoolhouse at 
Bradford, which cost $25,000 ; he also built the schoolhouse at Brennan, Ohio, at 
a cost of $24,000, and many dwellings in Greenville ; he has been largely engaged 
in building pikes in Montgomery. Darke, Shelby and Miami Cos.. Ohio, and Ran- 
dolph Co., Ind.; he has, probably, built more miles of pike than any man of his 
age in Darke Co., and has emploj'ed as high as 150 teams at a time, and has 
received as high as $4,000 per mile. In March, 1875. he located upon his present- 
place, which contains 103 acres, and is one of the oldest improved farms of Green- 
ville ; he has the oldest cedar- tree in Darke Co.; he also has in his yard three 
mineral springs, of an entirely different nature. He is now devoting his attention 
to farming and stock-raising. He was united in marriage with Emma J. Reagan 
on the 11th of December. 1867 ; she was born in Darke Co., Ohio, April 19, 1846, 
and died Nov. 6, 1877, leaving five children living (having lost one by death), viz.: 
James, born Feb. 26, 1869 ; Annie, Sept. 28, 1870 ; George W., March 20, 1872 ; 
Dennis E., in December, 1873 ; John, Nov. 12, 1875 ; Walter, the deceased, died 
in infancy. His marriage with Margaret Lynch was celebrated May 20, 1879 ; 
she was born in Greenville, Darke Co., in 1858. 

JOHN MARK (deceased). The subject of this memoir was born in Adams 
Co., Penn., May 14, 1809 ; he was a son of Peter Mark, a native of Pennsylvania, 
who lived and died in the place of his nativity. Our subject was raised on a farm, 
and assisted his father until his marriage which took place in Pennsylvania with 
Mary Wirtz in 1830 ; he followed farming in the above place until 1834, when he 
removed to Darke Co. and settled on the place where his widowed wife and chil- 
dren now reside ; his land was in the wild woods, but Mr. Mark had the material 
to overcome the difficulties of a pioneer life, and cleared his farm and made a good 
home which offered him much enjoyment and comfort in his declining years ; his 
wife Mary departed this life July 1, 1842 ; she was born March 2, 1807 : they 
were the parents of five children, of whom all are dead ; Mary departed this life 
the same night and almost at the same hour as her father, which is a remarkable 
coincidence, and, in fact, it has never fallen the duty of the writer to chronicle 
such an occurrence before. He was again united in marriage with Catherine B. 
Zumbum ; she was born July 28, 1816 ; her father was a native of Maryland, and 
died when Mrs. Mark was quite small, aged 44 years ; her mother died at the 
age of 69 years, and is buried in the Martin Cemetery ; by this marriage, Mr. 
Mark had fourteen children, of whom six are now living ; the death messenger has 
made terrible and frequent visits to this family ; thirteen children and a father 
have been taken from earth to heaven. Mr. Mark departed this life Aug. 16. 
1879; he was the parent of nineteen children, fifteen grandchildren, and seven 
great-grandchildren ; he died in the triumph of his faith, having been a true mem- 
ber of the church for the greater part of his life ; in earl}- life he was a Presby- 
terian, and an elder in the church, then he connected with the Campbellites and 
lived an exemplary life and died trusting in the promise of his Savior. Mrs. 
Mark has always been a good, consistent woman. 

JAMES JONES MARKWITH, retired farmer, Sec. 35 ; P. 0. Greenville , 
among the early settlers of Darke Co., the gentleman whose name heads this 
sketch takes a place in the front rank ; he was born in Hamilton Co.. Ohio. Oct. 3. 



GREENVILLE TOWNSHIP. 513 

1818 : he is a son of John C. Markwith, who was born in Essex Co., N. J. in 
November, 1774. He was married in New Jersey to Elizabeth Muckridge ; she 
was born in the same State about the year 1786 ; they came to Ohio in 1810, and 
located in Hamilton Co., and came to Darke Co. in 1820, and located in what is 
now Van Buren Township, where he entered land, and where he lived until his 
decease, which occurred Nov. 30, 1836. Mrs. Markwith died in 1861. The subject 
of our sketch came to Darke Co. with his parents in 1820, and is consequently, one 
of the early pioneers ; his education was obtained in an old log schoolhouse with 
stick and mud chimney, the fireplace extending across the end of the building, 
and at the same time, his eldest son attended the same school ; he remained with 
his father until the decease of the latter, after which he remained with his mother 
until April 1. 1838, when he was united in marriage with Sarah Ashley ; she was 
born in Ohio March 1, 1821, and died in Darke Co. Nov. 23, 1846 ; they were the 
parents of three children, viz.: Morrison M., born Aug. 29. 1839 ; Elizabeth, born 
Nov. 7, 1841, died April 7, 1843 ; Mary Jane, born t)ct. 11. 1844, died April 22, 
1847. His marriage with Barbara Brown was celebrated Oct. 24, 1847 ; she was 
born in Wayne Co., Ind., Dec, 26, 1821 ; seven sons and three daughters were the 
fruit of this union, all of whom are now living, viz.: Estha. born Aug. 19, 1848 : 
John A., born Dec. 28, 1849 ; Ira, born Nov. 14. 1851 : James W.. born Feb. 21, 
1853 ; Samuel M., born April 19, 1854 ; Andrew L., born April 26, 1856 ; Aaron 
F., born Sept. 23, 1858 ; Martha J., born April 17, 1861 ; Hannah B., born Nov. 
27, 1862 ; George Abraham Lincoln, born March 6, 1866. Upon the marriage of 
Mr. Markwith, he commenced for himself upon the old homestead, and after farming 
one year, then purchased 80 acres of timber in Neave Township, for which he was 
to pay $651 ; at this time his capital consisted of $25, and one horse ; upon this 
place he lived some nineteen years, during which time he had cleared some 60 
acres, and, in 1857, he disposed of the above farm, purchased 176 acres in Van 
Buren Township, upon which he moved and lived until 1878. when he settled upon 
his present place of 26 acres ; located within 40 rods of the corporation limits of 
the city of Greenville. Mr. Markwith commenced life without capital, and has 
suffered the privations and hardships of frontier life, and has by his own hard labor 
and correct business habits, secured a good fortune ; he has now 276 acres in Van 
Buren Township and his home residence ; he is another of the self-made men of 
Darke Co. He is a Republican in politics, but has never had any aspiration for 
office ; he has taken a deep interest in the cause of religion, having been a member 
of the Christian Church for a period of upward of forty years ; his wife also being 
a member of same church, and seven of the children also being members of different 
churches. Morrison M., being a preacher of the Gospel in the Methodist belief, 
is located at Zanesville, Logan Co., Ohio. 

ROBERT MARTIN, farmer ; P. O. Greenville. Among the early pioneers 
of Darke Co., we take pleasure in giving notice of the gentleman whose name 
heads this sketch. He was born in Youngstown. Ohio, July 23, 1804 : was a son 
of William Martin, who was born in Pennsylvania, where he was married to Sarah 
Larimore ; the}* came to Darke Co. in March, 1816, and entered 60 acres upon 
Sec. 5, and located upon the same section in Greenville Township ; Mrs. Martin 
died in July, 1816, and Mr. Martin died about the year 1864. The subject of this 
sketch located upon his present place in 1816, where he has continued to reside 
for a period of sixty-four years, and is probably the oldest continual resident upon 
any one section in Darke Co. ; he received a limited education in an old log school- 
house with stick and mud chimney, the whole end of which was used as a fire- 
place ; the benches were made of split logs, with plank laid upon pins inserted in 
holes bored in the logs of the house for writing desks ; he was raised to agricult- 
ural pursuits upon the farm of his father until the 24th of April, 1828, when he 
was married to Dorcas Boyd ; she was born in Warren Co., Ohio, July 21, 1807. 
and came to Darke Co. with her parents when 6 months old, who were among the 
very earliest pioneers of this count}- ; the children of Robert and Dorcas Martin 



514 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

were twelve in number Ira. horn .March 11, L829, died June 9, L879 ; Martha A., 
bora Sept. 2.",. 1830; Sarah, horn .June 27,1832, died July 30, L834 ; Minerva, 
horn May i>. L834 : Emily, born Jan. 14. 1836 ; Nancy J.. Jan. 25, 1*38; William 
and Sarah (twins). Feb. 22, 1841 ; Hettie, born A.ug. 17. 1842, died Sept. 24, 1869; 
Eliza, bora May 4. 1845, died .March 20. 1870 ; Robert K., horn Dec. 1. 1848. and 
Mary L., born Sept. 1!). 1851. Mrs. Martin died Nov. 4, 1S77. Upon the mar- 
riage of Mr. Martin, lie commenced life for himself, and after following tanning 
upon the old place for ten years, he then engaged in farming, which business he 
followed until the last twenty years, during which latter time the home farm has 
been carried on by his son Robert K., who has always lived at home ; he was 
united in marriage with Florence A. Judy Oct, 2. 1S73. who was born in Greene 
Co., Ohio, Dec. 7, 1853 ; they have two children — Huldy Jane, born Jan. 3. 1875 ; 
Clarence E., June 21. 1878. 

JOHN HOLMES MARTIN, retired farmer and stock-raiser ; P. O. Green- 
ville ; another of the early pioneers of Darke Co.. born in Trumbull Co., Ohio, 
June 19, 1810 ; when 9 years of age, he removed to Darke Co. and located in 
Washington Township ; he was a son of William Martin, who was born in Ireland, 
and came to America when an infant, with his parents, who settled in Maryland, 
and removed to Pennsylvania when ' he was 1 5 years of age, and came to Ohio 
about 1801 ; in 1813, he located in Butler Co.. and in 1819 came to Darke Co., 
where he was engaged in farming in Washington Township until his decease, 
which occurred in the fall of 1821. Our subject lived upon the old homestead, 
and was engaged in agricultural pursuits until 1856, when he purchased his pres- 
ent place, where he has since lived ; he now owns 107 acres upon his home farm, 
within half a mile of Greenville, with good farm buildings, and valued at upward 
of $100 per acre ; he also owns 126 acres in Washington Township, which is a 
part of the old homestead upon which he located sixty years ago ; he also has 
120 acres in Mississinawa Township ; he has his farms rented, and devotes his 
entire attention to bu3 r ing and shipping stock to Cincinnati and other markets. 
Mr. Martin is entitled to a place in the front ranks of the early pioneers, being one 
of the few old landmarks left who relate their experience with the Indians, the 
bear, the wolf, the panther, the deer and other wild game which was to be found 
in abundance. He has taken a deep interest in the cause of religion, having been 
a member of the Presbyterian Church for forty years, and was influenced to pur- 
chase his present home, in 1856, that he might have better advantages for churches 
and education for his family. His marriage with Casandra Chenoweth was cele- 
brated March 21, 1833 ; she was bora in Franklin Co., Ohio, in October, 1813, and 
died Feb. 16, 1879 ; seven children were bora to them, of whom six are now liv- 
ing — Margaret, Elizabeth. Mary J.. William H.. Rachel, John F. and James P.; 
the deceased was William H., who lost his life at Nashville while fighting for the 
preservation of the Union during the late war of the rebellion. 

WILLIAM MARTIN, retired. Greenville ; another of the early pioneers is 
the above gentleman ; he was born in Trumbull Co., Ohio, Dec. 25. 1812, and is a 
son of William and Sarah (Larimore) Martin, early pioneers of Darke Co.. 
of whom further mention is made in the sketch of Robert Martin ; the subject of 
our sketch came to Darke Co. with his parents in 1817, and settled in the east 
part of this township ; his early life was that of a farmer's son, his education 
being limited, and was obtained in an old log schoolhouse ; in 1S32, he came to 
Greenville and obtained employment as clerk in the merchandising business, and, 
in 1835. removed to Ft. Recovery ; erected the first house of the place and opened 
the first merchandise store of the town, and continued in trade here until 1843, at 
which date he came to Greenville and located on his present place, where he has 
since lived. His residence, which is large and commodious, was for many years 
used as a hotel, and conducted as such by Mr. Martin and others. He has been 
twice married ; his first wife. Barbara Adney. was a native of Gallia Co., Ohio; 
she died in 1846. Leaving five children, of whom only two now survive, viz., James 



GREENVILLE TOWNSHIP. 515 

W. and Sarah S.; his marriage with Mary M. Slaughter was celebrated in 1848 or 
1849 ; they were the parents of eight children by this union, of whom only Dot- 
tie, Charles S. and Lodema H. now survive. 

L. R. MARTIN, farmer and stock-raiser. Sec. 5 ; P. 0. Woodington ; one of 
the old settlers of Darke Co., Ohio ; born in Miami Co., Ohio. Sept. 14, 1836 ; 
at 9 years of age. he removed to Indiana, near Ft. Wayne, where he resided some 
eight years, and, in 1853, came to Darke Co., where he has since lived : he 
remained with his father and followed carpentering and agricultural pursuits until 
he attained his majority, after which he pursued his trade two years on his own 
account ; he then engaged in clerking in the merchandise store of W. B. Menden- 
hall at Woodington, and. after clerking three years, was admitted as partner, and 
continued the merchandise trade at this place under different firm names until 
1877, when he disposed of his interest in the merchandising business, and has 
since given his whole attention to farming ; he has 170 acres of land under a good 
state of cultivation, with good farm buildings ; his brick residence, located at 
Woodington, was erected by him in 1874. at a cost of $2,800. His marriage with 
Nancy A. Mendenhall was celebrated in 1861 ; she was a daughter of W. B. Men- 
denhall, whose sketch appears among the biographies of Brown Township in 
another part of this work ; she died in 1867, leaving one child — Ida M., horn 
July 31, 1862 ; his second wife was Eliza A. Hine ; they were married in June, 
1870 ; she was born in Darke Co. in 1841 ; two children were born to them — 
Maud A.. July 5, 1872, and Harry C. born Dec. 24, 1874. 

SAMUEL MARTIN, Sec. 1 ; farmer and stock-raiser ; P. 0. Pikeville ; one 
of the old settlers of Richland Township, born in Darke Co. Jan. 11, 1844; he 
was a son of Sebastian Martin, who emigrated from Pennsylvania to Darke Co. 
at an early day, and located in Richland Township ; Samuel Martin was raised upon 
the home farm until he attained his majority, when he was united in marriage 
with Julia Ann Beanblossom May 29, 1864 ; she was born in Darke Co. They 
have three children now living, having lost one in infancy : the living are Franklin 
M., born May 3, 1865 ; Mary C, Oct, 7, 1867 ; Viola G., Nov. 8, 1873. Upon the 
marriage of Mr. Martin he commenced farming, and the same year went to 
Nebraska, where he followed butchering one year, and returned in the fall of 1865 
to Darke Co., and engaged in farming in Jackson Township, where he remained 
until 1872, when he located upon his present place, where he has since lived ; he has 
50 acres in his home farm with good farm buildings and under a good state of cul- 
tivation ; he also followed thrashing for six 3 r ears, and operated the first steam 
thrasher ever run in Darke Co. Mrs. Martin is a daughter of David Bean- 
blossom, one of the pioneers of Darke Co., whose biography appears among the 
sketches of this township. 

JOHN HERSHEY MARTIN, County Clerk, Greenville; born in Adams 
Township, Darke Co., Nov. 29, 1844 ; he was a son of Jacob W. and Maria (Her- 
shey) Martin, who located here in 1832 ; Adams Township and Gettysburg 
received their names through the father of Mrs. Martin, who was formerly from 
Adams Co., Penn.; Jacob Martin was in the merchandise trade at Gettysburg, 
Adams Township, until his decease, which occurred in April. 1876 ; his widow 
survives him, and lives in Gettysburg. John H. Martin entered the merchandise 
store of his father when 13 3 T ears of age. where he was employed seven years : he 
then attended the Iron City Commercial College at Pittsburgh, and graduated from 
the same in 1865 ; he was then employed three years as book-keeper at Dayton, 
after which he was associated with his father in trade several years, and in 1874, 
came to Greenville, where he was employed in the Auditor's and Treasurers offices 
until October, 1879, at which date he was elected to his present office. In 
September, 1871. he was united in marriage with Miss Nancy O. Robinson, in 
Kenton, Hardin Co.: they have two children — Lola R. and Maud E. 

JAMES W. MARTIN, harness-maker. Greenville. The subject of this 
memoir was born in Greenville Township. Sept. 24. 1815. and is a son of William 



516 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

.Martin, another of our early pioneers, and whose sketch appears among the biog- 
raphies in this work. James W. obtained his education in the public school of 
Greenville, and at 18 years of age was apprenticed to learn the harness -maker's 
trade, serving three years ; he then went to Richmond, where he worked two years, 
from there to Illinois ; he then returned to G-reenville in 1869, and engaged in 
the above business for himself and continued the same till 1880, when he sold out 
on account of ill health. His marriage with Fannie Jones was celebrated in 
Greenville. May, 1*75 ; she was born in Darke Co., in 1848 ; they have one child, 

• I CSS 1 6 >\ 

JOHN FOSTER MARTIN; P. 0. Greenville. John Foster Martin was 
born in Washington Township, Darke Co., in the year 1852 ; his parents, John 
Holmes and Casandr.i Chenoweth Martin, were among the oldest pioneers of this 
township, having settled here in 1810. The subject of this sketch, during the 
earlier years of his life, followed the vocation of a farmer, but having a natural 
predilection for literary attainments, he entered the Miami University at Oxford, 
Ohio, where, after pursuing the regular course of studies, he graduated in 1873. 
Having determined upon the law as his profession, he pursued the study of the 
same one year, then attended the Cincinnati [jaw School, where, in 1875, he gradu- 
ated, and in April of the same year was admitted to practice. In the following- 
summer, he located in Logansport, Ind., in the practice of his profession ; but after 
an experience of six months, the confinement of a law office not agreeing with his 
inclinations, he abandoned the practice, and engaged in running a tiouring-mill. 
Following this for two years, he next turned his attention to saw-milling ; and 
after continuing in this for about a year and a half, he resumed the honorable 
and independent occupation of a farmer, at which he is at present engaged. 

JOHN G. MARTINI, merchant, Greenville : of the firm of Biltemeier & 
Martini, manufacturers and dealers in boots, shoes and rubber goods, etc., etc.; he 
was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, in 1827, where he was apprenticed to and 
worked at the shoemaker's trade until 24 years of age; he then emigrated to 
America, landing in New York in the spring of 1852, and, upon the 26th of Sep- 
tember following, came to Greenville, where he followed his trade until April 11, 
1864, at which date he associated with his present partner in the above business. 
His marriage with Maria M. Werner was celebrated Feb. 16, 1854 ; she was born 
in Wurtemberg, Germany, in 1831 : they have three childreu now living, viz., 
Jacob F., Katrina B. and Henry P. 

JACOB TEUCHNAN MARTZ, lawyer and educator, Greenville; born in 
Darke Co. Sept. 14, 1833 ; he is the son of John Martz, who was born in Somerset 
Co.. Penn., in 1798, and settled in Darke Co. in 1829, and now, at the age of 81, 
is living with his son in Greenville ; his wife, Barbara Hardinger, a native of Bed- 
ford Co., Penn., died in 1841. Our subject was early trained to self-reliance, and, 
when but a lad, started out to make his own living as best he could ; he obtained 
the rudiments of an English education in the common schools of his neighbor- 
hood, chopping and hauling wood to pay for his tuition; at the age of 18, he 
began teaching in the country schools, and, by this means and by manual labor. 
he had accumulated $250 at the time he became of age ; he then entered the Ohio 
W'esleyan University, at Delaware, for the .scientific course, and graduated in the 
summer of 1856. and of his educational fund had left $3.50 ; during the five suc- 
ceeding years, he was engaged in teaching in his native count}', within which time 
he studied law. under the preceptorship of Judge D. L. Meeker, of Greenville, and 
was admitted to the bar in 1801. In the spring of 1S02, he was elected Super- 
intendent of the public schools of Greenville ; in August, 1865. he was appointed 
Receiver of the Cincinnati & Mackinaw Railroad, which occupied his time for 
nearly five years : in 1871, he was elected to his present position of Superintendent 
of the Greenville public schools. In September, I860, he married Miss Esther 
M.. daughter of .James M. Jamison, of Delaware. Ohio ; four sons are the issue of 
this union. Prof. Mart/, has been for some years the President of the Darke Co. 



GREENVILLE TOWNSHIP. 517 

Teachers' Association, in the organization of which he was prominently active. 
For twenty years, he has been on the Board of County Examiners, and was for 
several years Secretary of the county agricultural society. Prof. Martz is one of 
those who learn the value of a dollar by earning it ; by untiring industry, he has 
acquired a good education and a comfortable competency, and during his career 
has won and kept the good will of his neighbors ; no one questions his integrity. 
or ability ; he is somewhat reserved in his manner, but is socially very agreeable 

WILLIAM HENDRICKSON MATCHETT, physician and surgeon, Green 
ville ; was born in Butler Co., Ohio, March 9, 1825. His parents were Eric Match- 
ett and Johanna Hendrickson, natives of Monmouth Co., N. J.; in 1820, the family 
came to Butler Co., Ohio, and in the spring of 1831, settled in Darke Co.; Mr. 
Matchett followed the occupation of farmer and miller ; energy, industry and 
honesty were the prominent traits in his character ; he died in Greenville, in June, 
1867. and his wife on July 20, 1839. For two years, young William, then 14 
years of age. carried the mails between Hamilton and Greenville on horseback ; 
by working, teaching and attending school, as circumstances would permit, he 
acquired a good education for his day ; at the age of 22, he commenced the study 
of medicine while engaged in teaching, and was, at different times, under the 
instruction of Dr. Jaqua, of Darke, and Drs. Cox and Lineweaver, of Preble Co. ; 
he attended lectures at the Cleveland Medical College, and graduated from the 
Ohio Medical College in Cincinnati, in 1851 ; in September, 1851, he commenced 
practice in Ithaca, Darke Co.; on Feb. 8, 1863, he entered the arnry as Assistant 
Surgeon of the 40th 0. V. I., and served as such till December, 1864 ; on March 
1. 1865, he was promoted to Surgeon of the 186th 0. V. I., and was mustered out 
in the following September ; his first post of duty in the army was at Franklin 
Hospital, Tennessee, and he was subsequently placed on duty in the hospital of 
the First Division of the Fourth Corps of the Army of the Cumberland ; in Sep- 
tember, 1862, he located in Greenville ; for many years, he has been a member of 
both the County and State Medical Societies ; he has made his profession a 
specialty, and occupies an eminent rank among the physicians and surgeons of the 
State ; he is also the author of a number of valuable contributions to the medical 
literature of Ohio. Dr. Matchett was married Dec. 2, 1852, to Miss Eleanora. 
daughter of William Lindsay, of Richmond, Ind., a lady of rare culture and refine- 
ment ; there have been six children born to them, only three of whom are living ; 
his eldest son died Aug. 5, 1877 ; he was a young man of great ability, and was 
foremost in his class at Cornell University, where he was soon to graduate, when 
death claimed him. Dr. Matchett is a Mason of long standing, being a member 
of Ithaca Lodge. R, A. Chapter of Greenville, and of Coleman Commandery, K. T., 
of Troy. 

DAVID L. MEEKER, lawyer and Judge, was born in Darke Co. in 1827 ; 
he experienced a farmer's boj'hood and received a meager common-school educa- 
tion, supplemented by a brief course of academic instruction ; he taught school 
several winters ; he read law with the late Judge Ebenezer Parsons, of Miami Co., 
and was admitted to the bar in 1851 ; in May, 1853, he opened a law office in 
Greenville ; in 1856, he was elected Prosecuting Attorney for Darke County, and 
re-elected in 1858. In 1861, he was elected Common Pleas Judge of the first sub- 
division of the Second Judicial District, but resigned in 1866 ; in 1872, he was 
appointed by Gov. No3'es to fill a vacanc} r on the same bench, occasioned by 
the resignation of Judge J. C. McKenny, and, in 1873, he was elected to the same 
position without opposition ; again, in 1878, upon the recommendation of all par- 
ties, he was unanimously elected. Judge Meeker has been twice married. In 
1857, he married Miss Mary A. Deardorf, from which union were born eight chil- 
dren : she died in 1876. In 1878, he married Miss Jennie D. Crisler, of Eaton, 
Ohio. Politically, Judge Meeker is a Democrat ; personally, he is a gentleman of 
correct views and strict integrity. 

A. T. MILLER, architect. Greenville ; was born in German Township Dec. 



518 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

14, 1841 ; his father. Isaac, was born in Pennsylvania in 1818. and settled in 
Darke Co. in 1832 ; his mother, Mary (Ross) Miller, was born in German Township 
in 1820. Our subject was reared on the farm. and. when a lad. learned the mason g 
trade. At the age of L8, he entered the army, a volunteer in Co. C, 11th 0. V. I., 
LOO-days men ; they were stationed at Camp Dennison, and their time of service 
was tilled in doing camp duty ; after his discharge Sept. 10. 1861, he enlisted in 
Co. K, of the 34th 0. V. I., First Zouaves, and was immediately transferred to the 
front, and his regiment was a portion of Rosecrans' corps ; his regiment partici- 
pated in the battles of Chapmansville, Red House Shoals, Princeton, Newbern, 

Fayetteville and Wythesville, where his Colonel, Toland, was killed ; after this. 

they were transferred to Hunter's army and took an active part in the many bat- 
tles that followed in the Shenandoah Valley ; at Fayetteville, our subject received 
a wound in the left wrist ; Gen. Crook was then in command, and the 34th and 
36th Ohio Regiments, having been thinned by repeated battles, were consolidated ; 
he was again wounded at Opequan in the head, and afterward lay in the hospital 
at Philadelphia for three months ; in February, 1865, he was commissioned Second 
Lieutenant for meritorious conduct, and was honorably discharged from the serv- 
ice in August, 1865. He came home and resumed his trade till the great tire in 
( Jhicago in 1871, when he went there and was employed as assistant superintendent 
in the construction of the Chamber of Commerce. Matteson House. Clifton House, 
Tremont Hotel and the Palmer House, on which he was employed for two 
years ; while in Chicago, he took lessons in architecture for two years, and returned 
to Darke Co. in October, 1874, and opened an office in Greenville in June, 1879 ; he 
has superintended the construction of some of the best buildings in Greenville, 
and we can heartily recommend him to the people of Darke and adjoining coun- 
ties as a gentleman and one that stands high in his profession. He was united in 
marriage with Mary Stines Aug. 15, 1861. 

HARROD MILLS, tanner, stock-raiser and dealer in agricultural implements ; 
P. 0. Greenville : another of the old settlers of Darke Co.; born in Rutler Co., 
Ohio, Aug. 8. 1821, where he was raised to agricultural pursuits ; in 1833, he 
came to Darke Co. with his parents, and located in Twin Township, residing 
here until 1846, thence removed to German Township, where he followed 
farming and milling until 1868, at which date he came to Greenville Town- 
ship, and located upon his present place, where he has since lived ; he owns 153 
acres in his home farm, located one and a half miles from Greenville, all under a 
good state of improvement with the best of farm buildings ; also upward of 100 
acres in other parts of the county ; aside from his farming and stock-raising, he 
has for the past five years been engaged in the agricultural trade and, also, sale of 
farm machinery in Greenville : a card of his business appears in the business direc- 
tory of Greenville, in another part of this work. Upon the 20th of May, 1842, 
he was united in marriage with Louisa Stingley ; she was born in Darke Co. Dec. 
25. 1821 ; they were the parents of eleven children— Mary E., born July 10, 1843 ; 
William H, Sept. 30. 1844; George V., March 18, 1840 ; Joseph W., April 1, 
1848 ; Sarah J., Oct. 8, 1850 ; Martha A.. Feb. 18, 1852 ; Emma L., Dec. 26, 1859 ; 
Idell, Nov. 17. 1861, and three deceased. Mrs. Mills is a daughter of George 
Stingley, one of our early pioneers, who located in Darke Co. in German Township 
in 1817. 

GEORGE WASHINGTON MOORE, merchant, Greenville, was born in 
Warren Co.. Ohio, Jan. 20. 1825 ; his father. Pindley Moore, was a well-known 
teacher, whose field of service was principally in the counties of Warren, Mont- 
gomery. Butler and Preble; from him. many prominent men in those counties 
received their rudimentary drill ; his wife was Elizabeth Dunlap, born in Mifflin 
Co., Penn. Our subject's youth was spent at the cabinet-maker's trade; he had 
no school privileges after he was 11 years of age: the first three years of his 
majority were employed as a huckster ; in the fall of 1849. he went to California, 
and for eight years was engaged in mining and in transporting merchandise to 



GREENVILLE TOWNSHIP. 519 

the mines ; in the summer of 1857, he crossed the Plains from Los Angeles to St. 
Joseph with a drove of wild horses and traded them off' for cattle, which he fed 
through the winter of 1857-58, and, in the spring of 1858, he sold these to the 
Government for the Utah expedition against the Mormons ; on his way from Los 
Angeles to Salt Lake City, he encamped for several days on the site of the Mount- 
ain Meadow massacre, and, east of the Rocky Mountains, met and conversed with 
the ill-fated party respecting their hazardous journey ; in September, 1858, he 
located in Greenville, and, in company with his brother-in-law, Michael Miller, 
embarked in the dry-goods trade ; this arrangement lasted five years ; in August, 
1863, he entered into his present copartnership with the Hon. John L. Winner. 
and for some years the dry-goods house of Moore & Winner has been the leading 
one in Greenville. In December, 1861, he married Miss Mary Porter, daughter of 
John W. Porter, Esq., of Greenville. Mr. Moore has given his exclusive attention 
to business, and, with the exception of local positions on the Board of Education 
and Town Council, has never filled any public office. Though often solicited to 
become a candidate for the General Assembly, he has always declined, and, in the 
fall of 1878, he was earnestly pressed by prominent men of all parties to allow 
himself to be made an independent candidate for Congress, under circumstances 
that gave the most flattering prospect of success, but he declined. In 1879. the 
Democratic Senatorial Convention for the counties of Darke, Miami and Butler, 
unanimously nominated him for the State Senate, and he was triumphantly 
elected. He is a refined and courteous gentleman of the old school, with sound 
sense, a clear head and unimpeachable integrity ; he is an easy, agreeable and 
fluent speaker, and is, in everything he is connected with, a resolute worker. 

WM. H. MORNINGSTAR ; P. 0. Greenville. We could hardly do justice to 
the business interests nor to the history of Darke Co. without devoting a brief 
space of this work to the above gentleman ; he was born in Greene Co., Ohio, 
Sept. 15. 1819, and is a son of George Morningstar, one of the early pioneers who 
located in the southwest part of Greenville Township in 1832, where his decease 
occurred in 1850. Our subject followed agricultural pursuits until 1844, when he 
came to Greenville and followed clerking some three years ; in 1847, he embarked in 
the merchandise trade, and followed different mercantile pursuits, with the exception 
of four years, until 1878, since which time he has devoted his attention to milling. 
He has taken a deep interest in the political questions of the day ; was in early 
days a Whig, but has been a strong Republican since the organization of the same. 
During the late rebellion, he was one of the leading outspoken Union men. and 
was the chief target for the enemies of the Government ; his sympathies for the 
Union was not only outspoken but active, as his service in the 152d 0. N. G.. 
will show ; his oldest son also serving in the Union army four and a half years, 
when he received an honorable discharge. Mr. Morningstar has been twice 
married : his first wife was Elizabeth Wagoner, their nuptials being celebrated in 
1848 or 1849 ; she died in 1869 ; in 1874, he was married to Frances Zell, a native 
of Clinton Co., Ohio. Mr. M. has resided upon his present place for upward of 
thirty years ; his family consists of his wife and three children, of whom Benjamin 
F. has occupied the position of Government mail agent for ten years, and resides 
near the old homestead ; John H, one of the founders and proprietors of the 
Greenville Commercial College, residing in Greenville, and Alice, living at home. 
The beautiful spot upon which is located the large and commodious house of Mr. 
M. is truly historical ; it lies just across the Greenville Creek, on what is known 
as Tecumseh's Point, and which, in early days, was the home of both Tecumseh 
the chief, and his brother, the Prophet, and for this reason was held sacred by the 
red men ; to such an extent did this feeling extend among the Indians, that when 
orders were issued in 1832 to remove them from their settlement at Wapauketna 
to their reservations beyond the Mississippi River, the officer in charge designed 
taking them through Miami Co. to Cincinnati, but they insisted upon being brought 
through Greenville, that they might once more visit the old home of their chief 



520 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

and Prophet, and their request being granted, they remained several days ; further 
mention is made of the interest of this point in the historical part of this work. 

DAVID NOGGLE, retired farmer ; residence, Section 34 ; P. 0. Greenville 
Among the old settlers of Darke Co., the gentleman whose name heads this 
sketch is prominently and favorably known, and is held in the highest esteem 
by his fellow-townsmen ; he was born in Neave Township. Darke Co., Aug. 8, 
1824. His father, Geo. Noggle. was born in Huntingdon Co., Penn., March 15, 
1774 ; he married Catherine Henlein, who was born in the same State on May 26, 
1777 ; the}' were among the early pioneers of Darke Co., locating here in 1812 ; 
Mr. Noggle died in Harrison Township June 28, 1852 ; Mrs. Noggle died March 
17, 1865 ; they were the parents of ten children, all of whom lived to grow up. 
David Noggle obtained his education in a log schoolhouse, and assisted his father 
in farming until 20 years of age, when, upon Nov. 7, 1844, he was united in mar- 
riage with Elizabeth Gibbs, a native of Darke Co.. born Sept. 20, 1827; they 
were the parents of four children, viz. : Martha A., born Jan. 18, 1846 ; Rufus G., 
born July 1, 1847 ; Mary C, Dec. 18, 1854, and Julia A.. July 8, 1856. Upon the 
marriage of Mr. Noggle, he located upon 80 acres of land in Neave Township, and 
lived in a log cabin some twelve years ; he then resided in Harrison Township 
some twelve years, when he sold out and returned to Neave Township, where he 
purchased 320 acres, disposing of the same in 1874, at which date he located upon 
his present place, where he has since lived ; he now owns 80 acres, located one 
mile from Greenville, with the best of farm buildings. Mrs. Noggle was a daughter 
of David and Mary (Beal) Gibbs ; her father was born in North Carolina, and 
came to Darke Co. about the year 1817; his death occurred in August, 1869 ; 
Mrs. Gibbs was born in Greene Co., Ohio ; she died in July, 1872. 

RUFUS G. NOGGLE, farmer and stock-raiser; *P. O. Greenville. The 
subject of this memoir was born m Harrison Township, July 1, 1847. and is 
a son of David Noggle, whose sketch appears among the biographies of this work ; 
our subject was raised on a farm and assisted his father till he was 21 
years of age, when he commenced farming for himself ; he now owns 
150 acres of land, all under a good state of cultivation, with good farm 
improvements; he obtained a common school education in his youth. He was 
married to Angie Kerst Dec. 26, 1867 ; she was born Aug. 31, 1848. and is a 
daughter of Samuel Kerst, a native of Pennsylvania. He died in Darke County 
upward of 60 years of age ; her mother is now living, and resides in this county. 
Mr. and Mrs. Noggle are the parents of one child — Charley C. born Feb. 26, 1875. 

CURTIS OTWELL, physician and surgeon : Greenville : was born in 
Guilford Co.. N. C. March 19, 1806; his father, James Otwell. was 
a native of Sussex Co., Del., and his mother, Eleanor Reynolds, of Guil- 
ford Count}- ; she was of Scotch-Irish parentage, and the descendant of a Quaker, 
who came to this countiy with William Penn. James Otwell was a slaveholder, 
but emancipated his slaves near the beginning of the present century ; he died in 
1830. aged 52, and his wife soon followed him. The family comprised five 
children, of whom our subject was the only son ; at an early age, he evinced a 
great thirst for learning, and made a practice of carrying a book in his pocket to 
study in intervals of leisure ; when a youth of 18. he was appointed Constable 
of his native county, and while executing the duties of his office, he read 
thousands of pages of history while going over the county on horseback ; by thus 
improving his spare moments, he put in years of study, and supplemented a com- 
mon-school course with higher attainments, including some knowledge of the Latin 
language ; he says that " he was quite proud of his position as Constable, from the 
fact that Gen. Jackson was once Constable of the same county." In 1824, he mar- 
ried Eunice S. Wilson, of his native county: her father, Michael Wilson, was born 
on the ocean, of Irish parents, and reared in North Carolina; after his marriage, 
he read medicine, and, in the spring of 1832. moved to Wayne County, Ind., where 
he practiced his profession eight years ; in the fall of 1840. he settled in Darke 



GREENVILLE TOWNSHIP. 521 

County, and purchased a flouring-mill in Neave Township, and superintended the 
same for thirty years, continuing his professional practice ; in the year 1844, in 
connection with a prominent farmer of the neighborhood, he erected a schoolhouse 
near his mill, and engaged teachers competent to teach higher mathematics and 
languages. It was known for years as " Otwell's Seminary," and numbers of the 
prominent men of the county came here for their higher education ; among the in- 
structors in this school were Calvin Parker and Samuel McClure, who were well 
known as teachers a quarter of a century ago. In 1846, Dr. Otwell graduated 
from the Ohio Medical College in Cincinnati, and in 1848 located in Greenville, 
where he has since followed his profession ; he is the father of four sons and four 
daughters ; two of the latter deceased. Three of the sons are practicing medicine 
in Darke County ; the eldest son is editor and proprietor of the Greenville Jour mil. 
Dr. Otwell has had a very extensive and successful practice, and has been the 
preceptor of perhaps one-half of the physicians in Greenville and the surrounding 
country. 

JOHN O'CONNOR, carriage manufacturer. Greenville ; was born in Wind- 
sor. Canada, Oct. 12, 1843. His father and mother came from Ireland ; when 
our subject was about 9 months old, the}- came to Springfield, Ohio ; they lived 
in Clark, Greene and Champaign Cos. until the winter of 1852. when they 
moved to Jackson Township, Darke Co. In 1853, they moved to Randolph Co., 
Ind.. where they lived until 1856, when they moved to Franklin Township, Darke 
Co., on the farm now owned by Henry Koon ; afterward on the farm now owned 
by John Wright, where they lived until 1857, when they moved on land now 
owned by Christian Grauf. in Franklin Township, where they cleared a farm of 
78 acres. In September, 1862, John enlisted in Co. G, 110th O. V. I., under 
Capt. J. C. Ullery ; served with the regiment through West Virginia, in Gen. 
Milroy's command ; was taken prisoner at the battle of Winchester, and taken 
successively to Staunton. Libby and Belle Isle ; after much hardship, he was ex- 
changed and rejoined his regiment at Culpeper, Oct. 7, 1863 ; was with his regiment 
in all its retreats and advances in the old Third Corps, Third Division; after the 
re-organization of the army, was put in the Sixth Corps under Gen. Ricketts, where 
he participated in Grant's campaign before Petersburg ; went to Maryland, under 
Lew Wallace, at Monocacy; afterward with Sheridan in his campaign, and on 
Dec. 3, 1864, returned to south of Petersburg, and participated in the final assault 
on the 2d of April, 1865 ; was at the battle of Sailor's Creek April 6, 1865 ; was 
present at the suiTender of Lee's army at Appomattox, and was mustered out of 
service July 1, 1865. He worked on the farm one year, and in the fall of 1866 he 
engaged in the carriage and wagon business with J. R. Hyer, at Painter's Creek. 
He was married to Delilah Marker April 4, 1869 ; in March, 1873, moved to 
Bradford, where he engaged more extensively in the above business, until June, 
1876, when he removed to Greenville, where he now carries on an extensive busi- 
ness in the manufacturing of carriages. There have been born to him five chil- 
dren, viz.: John T., Edward A., Mary, Charles J. and Jacob Ira ; the last named 
lived but two months. Mr. O'Connor is a man of strict integrity, and his fine 
social qualities have made him hosts of friends. 

LOUIS OLLMETZER. Greenville. 

OLIVER CLINTON PERRY, ex- Auditor ; Greenville. The subject of 
this memoir was born in Miami Co.. Ohio. Feb. 28, 1830, and is a son of Na- 
than W. and Isabella (Buchanan) Perry, who moved their family to Darke Co., 
and located in Washington Township, in September. 1838. where they settled in 
the midst of comparatively early settlers, who were struggling with povert}' and 
heavy timber. Oliver, with other children of that portion of the count}', had poor 
advantages of an early education, but, by close application to his studies when an 
opportunity offered, acquired a good common-school education that enabled him 
to engage in school teaching when quite young, and for several years he was em- 
ployed as salesman in the dry -goods business ; he served as Deputy Clerk of the 



522 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

Court in 1807, and was elected Auditor and served in said office lor uearly five 
years. During his term of office the system of building free turnpikes was inaugu- 
rated, and over thirty miles built in the county. The county jail was also built, 
and the contracting, and the greater part of the present court house was con- 
structed, in all of which improvements he took a deep interest and active part, 
being friendly to and indorsing the great improvements of the county. In poli 
he is a strong Democrat, from both education and honest conviction ; during the 
rebellion he denounced secession and advocated a vigorous prosecution of the war 
for the restoration of the Union. 

WALLACE PLESSINGER, farmer and butcher :-P. 0. Greenville. Among 
the old settlers of Darke Co., this gentleman is entitled to more than a passing 
notice : he was born in Richland Township, this county, Aug. 6, 1847 ; his grand- 
father, Philip Plessinger, was among the very early pioneers of Darke Co.; emi- 
grating from Pennsylvania, and locating in Richland Township, about the year 
L815, and his was the second or third white family that settled in the township; 
here he lived until his death, which occurred July 4, 1860, at about 90 years of 
age. and upon the place where he located nearly half a century previous ; Solomon 
Plessinger (our subject's father) was the youngest of the above family ; he was 
born either in Lancaster Co.. Penn.. or in Richland Township. Soon after the 
arrival of the family here, he married Rebecca Jackson, a native of Maryland, near 
Baltimore ; she is now living in Richland Township ; they were the parents of 
six children, three of whom now survive; Mr. Plessinger died Dec. 27. 1861 ; 
our subject then being only 14 years of age, and being the only surviving son. the 
responsibility, management and improvement of the farm fell upon him. and nobly 
did he perform this duty until 18G9 when, upon the 27th of October, he was united 
iii marriage with Carrie Jackson ; she was born in Shelby Co in 1840 ; they are 
the parents of four sons and four daughters, all of whom are now living, the family 
circle having never been broken by death. Their children are Estella. Ida May, 
Frank X.. Flora. Fred, Melvin. Edith and Charles W. Upon the marriage of Pies- 
sing* r, he continued farming in Richland Township until the spring of 1874, when 
he purchased 80 acresof land in Adams Township, where he located : in December, 
1879, he purchased his present place of business in Greenville, and engaged in the 
butcher trade, designing to move his family to town in February, 1880, that he might 
have better facilities for churches and the education of his children. A card of 
his business is to be found in the business directory in another part of this work. 
It may lie truly said of the above gentleman, that he is one of the self-made men 
of Darke Co ; left fatherless at 14 years of age. he has battled against the hard- 
ships of the cold world, and by his own hard labor secured a good property. 

WILLIAM REED, farmer and proprietor of Reed's saw-mill: P. 0. Green- 
ville ; another of our self-made men. born in the county of Antrim. Ireland, Dec. 
14. 1831. where he obtained his education in the subscription schools, and fol- 
lowed farming and weaving until 18 years of age, when he emigrated to America, 
landing in New York in 1849 : coming directly West, he followed various per- 
sists for a time in Michigan, and after a few years' residence in Missouri and Indi- 
ana, came to Ohio, and until 1861, was employed in farming and working in saw 
mills in Hamilton Co.: in 1861, he came to Darke Co. and located in Neave Town- 
ship; in 1*71'. he located upon his present place, and purchased 100 acres to 
which he has since added until he now owns 230 acres, and has brought a large 
part of the same, which was at the time a howling wilderness, to a good state of 
cultivation, by his own hard labor ; he erected his steam saw-mill in 1872, and has 
since successfully run the saw-mill in connection with farming ; Mr. Reed arrived 
in New York with wry little money, and was robbed of all save one penny : lie 
then borrowed the means to take him to Michigan, and paid the same Itack from 
his wages at $15 per month ; the writer of this article has been informed by friends 
of the above gentleman of the misfortunes of Mr. Reed in losing a large part of 
his hard earnings by the •• sharp "' (?) practice of a certain professional gentleman ; 



GREENVILLE TOWNSHIP. 523 

in 1876 he visited the laud of his birth ; during the voyage, in the steamer Scot- 
land they ran into and sank another vessel near Sandy Hook ; returning m the 
citv of \ntwerp, he also experienced another accident of the same nature. Wm. 
Reid and Sarah Lowery, were married March 18 1867 ; she died June 5 1874 , 
four sons were the fruit of this union, viz. : John R, bom March 11 18b8 , Will- 
am H Nov. 1, 1869 ; David L, Jan. 7, 1872 ; Clifford, May 25, 1874 ; his mar- 
riage with Christiana Howard was celebrated Sep. 22, 1876; she was bom m 
Preble Co Ohio, Aug. 1, 1846 ; they had two children by this union— Walter H., 
born March 19, i878%nd an infant born Oct. 22, 1879. Mr. Reed was raised a 
Presbyterian, his first wife being of the same belief, his present wife being a mem- 
ber of the Christian Church ; the mother of Mrs. Reed was a daughter of John 
Porter who was born in Pennsylvania and removed to Kentucky in 18o0, thence to 
Darke Co. at a very early day, living here several years, and died in Kentucky in 

F REHLING, dealer in stoves, tinware, house-furnishing goods etc., etc., 
Greenville ; is another of the self-made men of Darke Co.; born in Hesse, Ger- 
many May 27 1837, where he received a good German education ; at lb years 
of age, he emigrated to America, landing in New York June 5, 1853 ; coming 
directly West he arrived in Greenville without means, he then obtained employ- 
ment in the Fairview Hotel, at $6 per month, and for three years was employed in 
the hotel business ; he then served three years' apprenticeship to learn the trade 
of tinner and after completing his trade, he worked eleven years as journeyman ; in 
1868 he'engaoed in the above business, and in 1870 was unfortunate in business 
losine all his capital ; he then worked at the bench three years when he started 
his present business, which he has since successfully followed; he feels perfectly 
safe in sayino- that he carries the largest stock of goods and does a more exten- 
sive trade hi his line than any one in Greenville, and is one of our most enterprising 
and respected citizens. His marriage with Josephine Craig was celebrated in 18W ; 
they have six children now living, viz: Wesley, William, Henry T., James *., 

Archie and Sophia E. OQ 

WILLIAM REQUARTH, farmer and stock-raiser; residence bee. ^9, 
Township 10, Range 3 east ; P. 0. Greenville ; born in Hesse, Germany, Sept. U, 
1833 where he attended the schools continually from 6 to 14 years of age ; he is 
the son of John H. Requarth, who was a native of the same place born Jan. 9, 
1796, and emigrated to America, landing in New York, Jan. 8, 1848, and is now 
living (at this date, 1879) at the advanced age of 84 years ; Win. Requarth came 
to America and to Ohio with his parents in 1848 ; he assisted his lather until lo 
years of age, after which he was employed at farming and blacksmithiiig a few 
years, and upon the 5th of May, 1859. He was married to Wilhemia Ostermeier ; 
she was born Feb. 22. 1834, in Hesse, Germany ; they are the parents of six sons 
and four daughters, viz., William, Henry, John, Frank, Charlie, Louisa, Mena, Caro- 
line Mollie and August ; the latter died in infancy. Mr. Requarth is one_of the 
self-made men of Darke Co. ; he has been a resident of the county since 18b0, owns 
123 acres of <*ood land with good, farm-buildings valued at about $10,000, all ol 
which he has made by his own hard labor ; he has held the office of Supervisor 
two terms, School Director two terms, and is now one of the Trustees of Green- 
ville Township. ¥ ^ ... „. . ,. 

FRED C REQUARTH, brick- manufacturer ; P. O. Greenville, lhis gentle- 
man is a native of Germany ; born in Hesse July 1. 1841. He is a son of Henry 
Requarth. who emigrated to America with his family when our subject was only 
6 years old. He lauded in New York City, and from there came directly to 
Montgomery Co. and located in Clay Township ; he is the father of sixteen 
children. Our subject remained at home, assisting his father on the farm in sum- 
mer and devoting the winter to acquisition of knowledge in common schools till 
he was 14 years of age ; at this time he was apprenticed to learn the shoemakers 
trade, and served a term of three years; he pursued his profession continually 



524 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES : 

for the succeeding fourteen years. He then began the manufacturing of brick 
in the summer, and continued his trade through the winter months. He served 
his apprenticeship in Dayton, Ohio, and remained there the most of the time, 
till he came here in 1872 and settled on the place where he now resides ; he has 
an extensive brick-factory. He celebrated his marriage with Miss Louisa Stein- 
brigge July 12. 1862 ; she is also a native of G-ermany ; seven children have been 
born to the family, all living, viz. : Rosa, born May 1<>. 1863; Emma, Sept. 11, 
1865; Henry, Feb. 19, 1868; Augusta. - -18. 1870; Mary, Nov. 12, L873 ; [da, 
Sept. 1, 1876, and Freddie, born Nov. 2. 18, s. 

ABRAHAM RHOADES, farmer and stock-raiser ; P. O. Greenville ; one Of 
the settlers of 1854 ; he was born in Montgomery Co.. Ohio. Feb. 8, 1832. lie 
was a son of Jacob Rhoades, who was born in Bedford Co, Penn., and came to 
Montgomery Co., Ohio, when 5 years of age. and is now living, at about 
76 years of age. He married Barbara Soudurs ; she died about the year 
1849. The subject of this sketch was raised to agricultural pursuits, and in 1854 
came to Darke Co. and purchased 80 acres of the present place, to which 
he has since added by purchase, until he now owns, his home farm, with the 
best of farm buildings : he also owns 106 acres of land in Mercer Co.. besides one 
lot and one-half interest in two business houses in Greenville, and an interest in 
the National Bank of Greenville, all of which, save $200. he has secured by his 
own exertions and correct business habits. It can be truly said of him that he 
is one of the self-made men of Darke Co. Upon the 27th of April. 1856. he 
was united in marriage with Mary Pitsenberger ; she was born in Montgomery 
Co., Ohio, Jan. 23, 1832 ; they were the parents of seven children, viz. : Susan- 
nah, born Feb. 24. 1857, died Dec. 17, 1866; Jacob. March 9, 1859: Matilda 
A., May 12, 1861 ; Elizabeth. April 29. 1863 ; Stephen. Nov. 29, 1865 ; Min- 
nie. Dec. 6, 1869, and Curtis, born March 17, 1873. Mrs. Rhoades was a 
daughter of Jacob Pitsenberger; he was born in Pennsylvania Aug. 18. 18u2 ; 
came to Ohio in 1811, and to Darke Co. about the year 1848 ; the last years 
of his life he lived in Greenville retired from business; he died Sept. 24. 1878. 
The mother of Mrs. Rhoades was Susanna Miller, born April 24. 1804. and died 
upon the anniversary. April 24, 1859. 

CHARLES ROLAND, journalist; Greenville: was born in Washington 
Co., Ohio. Aug. 6. 1831 ; he was left an orphan when an infant, and was 
reared in the family of a friend in Fairfield Co., Ohio ; his boyhood was passed 
on a farm, l'eceiving only a meager common-school education, which terminated at 
the age of 14. when he entered the office of the Ohio Eagle, at Lancaster, where 
he learned the printing business and remained several years ; in 1856, he became a 
partner in the ownership of the paper with John M. Connell. subsequently Colonel 
of the 17th O. V. I.; in the latter part of 1861. Mr. Roland became sole proprietor 
and conducted that journal till the spring of 1866, when he disposed of the Eagle 
and purchased the Greenville Democrat, of which he has since been editor and pro- 
prietor ; when he took charge of the Democrat it was a small, poorly printed 
sheet, with a patronage too limited for support ; it is now the largest folio in the 
State, is conducted with ability, circulates widely, and has yielded its owner a 
handsome income. Mr. Roland has always been a stanch Democrat, and during 
his management of the Eagle it was a bold, outspoken sheet ; upon the opening of 
the late war. its editor, for taking exceptions to the manner in which the war was 
being conducted, in the fall of 1862, was summoned by Gov. Tod to an interview 
in his office at Columbus ; he at once presented himself before the Governor, hav- 
ing with him three prominent citizens of Lancaster, as witnesses of what might 
transpire. The Governor complained that the tone of his paper was disloyal and 
tended to discourage enlistments, and stated that his first impulse had been to 
suppress the paper and send its editor to Fort Warren. Mr. Roland replied, that 
he had taken for his guide the Constitution and laws of the country, and that of 
two meetings in the same week, at Lancaster, by Republicans and Democrats. 



GREENVILLE TOWNSHIP. 



525 



respectively, at the former five men enlisted, and at the latter thirteen. The inter- 
view closed by a threat somewhat excitedly expressed by the Governor, in these 
words • " Constitution and laws or not, unless the tone of your paper is changed it 
will be suppressed, and you will be sent to Fort Warren ; I have the backbone to 
do it." Mr. Roland returned to Lancaster and published an attested account of 
the interview in the next issue of his paper, and continued to publish his views of 
the eventful struggle, and was not molested. In 1851, he married Amelia, daugh- 
ter of Lewis Clark, of Lancaster, and four sons and five daughters are the issue of 
the union ; the eldest son, Arthur A. Roland, is editor and publisher of the Leb- 
anon Patriot. 

JERY RUNKEL, Sheriff; Greenville. Among the self-made men of 
Darke County we are pleased to make mention of the above gentleman ; he was 
born in Fairfield Co., Ohio, Aug. 15, 1835 ; came to Darke County with his 
parents when quite young ; he was left an orphan when 9 years of age ; thrown 
upon his own resouces and commenced the struggle of life alone ; he lived in 
Butler Township from 1844 to 1855, at which time he purchased a farm of forty 
acres in Harrison Township, upon which he then located and resided until Jan. 1. 
1880, when he removed to Greenville ; in the spring of 1879 he received the nom- 
ination for Sheriff upon the Democratic ticket, elected October following by a 
majority of 675 votes. His marriage with Isabella Hindsley was celebrated in 
Harrison Township. Darke County, in 1857 ; they have four children now living, 
having lost two by death ; the living are William IL, Joseph E.. Frances G. and 

EdithR. , . 

ISAAC RUSH, retired farmer ; P. 0. Greenville. Among the early pioneers 
of Darke County the gentleman whose name heads this sketch is entitled to a 
place in the front ranks ; he was born in Trenton, Butler Co., Ohio, Dec. 8, 1815 ; 
he was a son of Jacob Rush, who was born in Pennsylvania, and was among the 
early pioneers of Darke County ; locating here in 1829 upon the place where Isaac 
Rush now lives ; in 1830 he entered this land, where he passed the remainder of his 
days ; his death occurring in 1842. He married Jemima House in Butler County ; 
she was born in Warren County, and died in Darke County in 1854 ; they were the 
parents of seven children, of whom three are deceased. Isaac Rush came to Darke 
County in 1829, Greenville, at that time, containing very few buildings, a large 
part of the land upon which the city now stands being covered by a dense thicket ; 
he assisted his father until 1836, when he devoted four years to carpentering, and 
in 1840 took charge of the home farm, upon which he has lived, with the exception 
of the above four years, for a period of half a century ; he now has 85 
acres reaching to the corporation limits, a part of which he has refused $300 per 
acre for. during his residence here he has witnessed the marvelous growth of a town 
of some two hundred inhabitants, spread out to be a city of some four thousand, 
and which has already extended to, and obtained a foothold upon his farm. He 
married Nancy Swisher in August, 1843 ; she was born in Montgomery County, 
and in 1830 came to Darke County ; they are the parents of five children, viz.. 
Mary, Abram, John, Ie and Alaska. 

ANDREW T. RUSH, manufacturer, Greenville ; firm of Rush & Eby, 
proprietors of the Greenville Agricultural Works ; Mr. R. is one of the oldest 
citizens of Darke Countv, being born in this township April 11, 1831, and is a 
son of W. H. Rush, a native of Pennsylvania, who located here in 1812 ; he died 
about the year 1873 ; the subject of our sketch was raised to farming, which oc- 
cupation he has always followed in connection with milling, during which time he 
was also agent for the D. & U. R. R. at Rush Station, which was named in honor 
of his father. Upon the 18th of March, 1866, he was married to Anna Byrom, 
born in Washington Township April 18, 1839 ; she was a daughter of Silas Byrom, 
also an old settler ; they have three children by this union, viz., Sarah 0.,Wm. A. and 
an infant. In the year 1879, the firm of Rush *& Eby was organized for the purpose of 
supplying a long-felt want of Darke County. Their business will be chiefly confined 



526 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES : 

to the manufacture of plows and all kinds of agricultural implements; they also 
give special attention to repairing of the same. Mr. Wm. Eby, the junior member 
of the above firm is a gentleman thoroughly edueated in every detail of his busi- 
ness, and we find his reputation and skill as a superior workman is already estab- 
lished in Greenville. A card of their business will be found in another part of 
work and is the hrst agricultural works of Greenville. 

BENRY ST. CLAIR, merchant ; Greenville; dealer in groceries, provisions, 
produce, glass and queensware. etc., etc. Greenville, like most cities of its size, 
has its representative business men in nearly all branches of trade, and while it 
has several good stores in the above line, it is conceded by all, that the leading 
grocery house of Greenville is that of Henry St. Clair, who is one of the most 
enterprising, energetic and active business men of the place, and has by the above 
traits of character, combined with honorable and fair dealing, during the past eight 
years, built up the largest grocery trade done by any one house in Darke County : 
he carries a large stock, selected with care, which would do credit to any large city. 
He has had a steady yearly increase of trade ; his sales for the year 1878 being up- 
ward of $200,000. " Mr. St. Clair was born in Seneca Co., N. Y., upon the 7th of 
May, 1852 ; when 3 years of age, he emigrated to Darke County with his parents, 
and, after a residence of seven years, removed to Cincinnati, and was educated in 
the public schools, and completed his education by a course of instruction in the 
Commercial College ; at 16 years of age, he accepted a position as book-keeper in 
a large wholesale house in Cincinnati with which he remained four years ; in 1872. 
he came to Greenville and engaged in his present business. A card of his busi- 
ness will be found in the business directoiy of Greenville, in another part of this 
work. His marriage with Ella S. Van Dyke was celebrated Feb. 4. 1875 ; she 
was born in Glendale, Hamilton Co., Ohio, in 1853. 

WILLIAM SCHAFER, farmer and stock-raiser; P.O.Greenville ; was born in 
Prussia, Germany. Sept. 2, 1833, where he followed farming until 20 years of age, 
when he emigrated to America, landing in New Orleans in 1853 ; he then came to 
Montgomery County and to Dayton and followed various pursuits in the above 
county until March, 1865, when he came to Darke County and purchased his pres- 
ent place ; he now has 84 acres with the best of farm buildings ; he landed 
in Dayton with a capital of $3.00, and has by his own hard labor and correct 
business habits, secured all of the above property ; in 1877, he was elected 
one of the Directors of the county infirmary, which office he now holds ; has been 
a member of the Lutheran Church thirty-two years ; has suffered great affliction 
in his family, having lost five of his eight children by death. Upon the 1st of 
December, 1859, he was united in marriage with Mary Schermer ; she was born in 
Auglaize Co., Ohio, in 1835 ; they were the parents of eight children, viz., 
Marv, born Feb. 3, 1861 ; William, born June 17.1863, died Aug. 16, 1864 ; Katie, 
born Aug. 3, 1865, died xMay 8, 1876 ; Menie, born Aug. 29, 1867, died March 14, 
1870 ; Louisa, born Dec. 10, 1869, died in 1871 ; John, born Feb. 17, 1872 ; Susie, 
born July 7, 1874 ; Harvey, born Oct. 4. 1876. died Feb. 1, 1879. 

JACOB O. SCJJELL. biographical historian, Greenville, is a son of 
Joshua Schell, and a grandson of Jacob and Elizabeth (Caylor) Schell ; he was 
born in Pennsylvania Oct. 14, 1779 ; and she. Dee. 19, 1784 ; they were the 
parents of twelve children ; six died in infancy, and six grew to maturity ; these 
were Elizabeth, born March 27. 1807 ; George, March 15, 1809 ; Joshua, July 29. 
1811; Sophia, Jan. 2, 1815; Nancy, July 30, 1819; and Jacob, Jan. 19,1827. 
They left Pennsylvania Oct. 14, 1830, and came to Ohio in a one-horse wagon, this 
was so crowded with their household goods that there was room for but one pas- 
senger ; the mother and the youngest son occupied, by turns, the va- 
cant space in the wagon ; Jacob was not 4 years old, yet he walked 
a good portion of the way, and no doubt made a grotesque appear- 
ance, in his red liusey dress andcap of rabbit skins. Elizabeth was married 
to Joseph Fourman and came to this State at the same time in a wagon 






GREENVILLE TOWNSHIP. 527 

of their own ; the}- traveled from twelve to twenty-two miles per day ; 
in twenty-eight days they reached Montgomery County and stopped for a 
few days with Jacob Ryder near Liberty, and then went six miles below Hamilton 
to John Redsecker, who furnished them with an old log house to live in. When 
they landed, their stock consisted of the one-horse load of household goods, horse 
and wagon, and some less than $1 in money. They bought some 30 acres 
acres of timber land, and the next fall built a house and settled on their new 
home. It was mainly by the energy and econonry of the two oldest boys that they 
were enabled to pay for this and improve it ; George stayed at home till 25 
years of age, and Joshua till 23 years old ; they and their father were carpenters, 
and worked for 75 cents a day. In 1850, they sold their little home for $1,500, 
and afterward bought 92 acres in Clay Township, Montgomery Co., near West 
Baltimore ; here he died Aug. 4, 1861. His widow then went to live with her son 
Joshua (who since the fall of 1851 had lived' in Darke Co.), where she died Aug. 
31, 1868. In 1839, Jan. 10, Joshua Schell was united in marriage with Mary 
White, born in Pennsylvania, Feb. 29, 1820 ; she is a daughter of Jacob White, who 
died a few years ago in Indiana, at the advanced age of 93 }-ears. Joshua and Mary 
Schell were the parents of ten children — Amanda, born in Butler Co.. Ohio. Aug. 
30, 1839 ; Ann Elizabeth. Aug. 5, 1841 ; Mary F., Aug. 5, 1844 ; Sophy. Sept. 2, 
1846 ; Jacob O., Sept 25, 1849 ; Adin H, born in Darke Co., Ohio, March 22, 
1852 ; Nancy E., July 15, 1854 ; Joseph W., Sept. 24, 1856 ; Aurelia C, Nov. 28, 
1860, and Milo M., Feb. 18, 1863. Five of these are married and have had in all 
nineteen children, of which seventeen are living. The subject of this sketch was 
brought up on the farm, and received a good common-school education ; in the 
fall of 1869, he commenced teaching, and continued to teach in the winter season 
for several years, and attended school during the summer, or worked at the car- 
penter's trade. On the 17th of June, 1875, just 100 years after the battle of 
Bunker Hill, he completed the English normal course at the Ohio Central Normal 
School at Worthington. On the 19th of June of the same }'ear, he married Eliza- 
beth R, Mundhenk, a daughter of Philip Mundhenk, whose biography appears in 
this volume ; she was born Feb. 16, 1853 ; for several years she also was en- 
gaged in teaching. In the fall of 1875, they moved to Gettysburg, Darke Co.. Ohio, 
and taught the schools of that place ; the following year, they moved to Arcanum 
and remained three }-ears ; here their daughter, Judith Opal, was born Aug. 9, 
1877. They are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, in which he was 
brought up. On Oct. 22, 1879, they moved to Greenville, and he is now one of 
the solicitors for this work. 

WILLIAM H. SCHULTZ. farmer and stock-raiser ; P. O. Greenville ; born 
in the State of Maryland Sept. 7, 1843 ;, here he was engaged in various pursuits 
until 1863, at which date he emigrated to Darke Co.. Ohio, and for two years was 
employed as a farm laborer. Upon the 8th of April, 1865, he was united in mar- 
riage with Martha A. Noggle ; she was born in Darke Co., Jan. 18, 1840 : they 
have three children — Mary E., born March 1, 1869 ; Margaret F., born Aug. 21, 
1872, and Julia P., born Jan. 13, 1875. Mr. Schultz purchased his present place 
of 120 acres in 1867 ; it is valued at about $10,000, nearly all of which he has 
accumulated by his own hard labor and correct business habits : he was a son of 
Frederick Schultz, who was born in Pennsylvania and died in Maryland in Feb- 
ruary, 1876 ; he married Mary P. Poblitz, also a native of Pennsylvania ; she 
died in 1877. The wife of the subject of this sketch is a daughter of David Noggle. 
one of the old settlers of Darke Co., and who is prominently mentioned in this 
work. 

JOHN H. SCHWABLE. proprietor of Turpen House billiard hall and sam- 
ple room, Greenville. Ohio; born in Seneca Co., Ohio, March in. 1850: he was 
left an orphan when quite young, and has since made his way through the world 
alone ; when 10 years of age, he went to Piqua. Miami Co.. and after attending the 
public schools two years, learned, and worked at the baker's trade live years 



528 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

and in 1872 came to Greenville, and for five years #as employed as clerk of the 
Wagner House; in November, 1877, he purchased his present place of business, 
which he has since successfully followed. Mr. Schwable is very genial, gentle- 
manly and courteous to his large and increasing trade, and gives his personal atten- 
tion to his business in all its details. Upon the 24th of April. 1 877. he was united 
in marriage with .Mary Haas: she was born in Germany ; they have two children. 
— Henry L. and Frank J. 

JOHN SEBRING, farmer. Sec. 1. P. 0. Greenville. This gentleman is another 
of the early pioneers of this county ; he was born near Cincinnati. Ohio. Aug. 20, 
1816, and is the son of Jacob Sebring, who was born in New Jersey December, 1776. 
In the latter part of the eighteenth century, he was united in marriage with Eliza- 
beth Smalley, who was also a native of New Jersey ; the} 7 were the parents of eight 
children, five of whom are still living ; he emigrated West in 1816, locating tem- 
porarily near Cincinnati, Ohio ; after remaining here a few years, he removed with 
his family in 1821 to this county, settling upon a piece of land located in the 
same section on which our subject now resides ; at this time, this county was cov- 
ered with a vast stretch of wilderness, with only here and there a spot cleared off 
large enough to erect a log cabin ; to assist his father to clear away the dense for- 
ests and cultivate the soil gave our subject ample employment till he was 21 years 
of age ; educational facilities were then ver}- meager, but he availed himself of all 
the advantages then offered in this direction, acquiring for himself a common-school 
education. He has been twice married, first to Matilda Clark, Nov. 23, 1837 ; they 
were the parents of five children, three of whom are still living ; the father and chil- 
dren were soon called upon to mourn the loss of an affectionate wife and loving 
mother. About five years later, Mr. Sebring celebrated his second marriage, 
with Malinda Gower, Nov. 15, 1858 ; they are the parents of three children, 
all of whom the swift messenger of death has visited and consigned to the silent 
tomb ; he now owns a beautiful farm, the result of his own industry and frugality, 
assisted by his kind companions, and is surrounded with everything that tends to 
lighten the burdens of declining life. 

IRA SEBRING, farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 1 ; P. 0. Greenville. To the 
subject of this memoir we are pleased to accord a place to one of Darke Co.'s 
permanent settlers ; he was born in this township Dec. 8, 1846, and is a son of 
John and Matilda Sebring, who were among the early pioneers of this county, and 
who gave civilization, improvement and refinement a foothold in the vast wilder- 
ness of Ohio ; they settled here in this township in 1823, and he has been a resi- 
dent here ever since, having lived here continuously for fifty-seven years, and is 
now in declining health, as strength and vigor are gradually fading away ; Mrs. Seb- 
ring departed this life twenty-five j^ears ago ; they were the parents of five children, 
of whom three are now living, viz., Angeline, Malinda and our subject, who was raised 
a farmer bo} 7 , and assisted his father in agricultural pursuits till his 18th year, 
when he began life for himself and engaged in farming ; through his own exertions. 
he stored his mind with useful information, and was prepared to enter the field of 
labor in imparting knowledge ; he has successfully labored in the schoolroom at 
irregular intervals for nine years, and is among the successful educators of the 
county ; he has 65 acres of fine land where he resides, all under a good state of 
cultivation, and his improvements are number one and comfortable in every way : 
he entered the race of life with a very small capital, and by energy, perseverance 
and good management, he has made a good home, and is surrounded by all the 
comforts of life. He was united in marriage with Joanna, daughter of Samuel and 
Ella Dunn, Aug. 1, 1867 ; they were natives of Maryland ; afterward residents of 
Clark and Greene Cos., Ohio, and settled in Darke Co. in 1866, where they now 
reside; Mr. and Mrs. Sebring were the parents of five children, viz.: Samuel 
J., born Nov. 7. 1868. died Feb. 12, 1871 ; Elldatta, born Sept. 27, 1870 ; Oraetta 
May. born May 26, 1873, died Jan. 2. 1880 ; Vinnie V., born Oct. 30, L875; Katie 
Y.. born Feb. in, 1878 ; they have been very unfortunate in raising their children, 



GREENVILLE TOWNSHIP. 529 

as that dreadful scourge, the scarlet fever, has carried two of their little ones from 
their embrace. Mr. S. has been a member of the Reformed Church for six years, 
and his amiable wife for a period of eight years ; they are exemplary Christian 
people, and through their faith they see the gateway of entrance whereby they can 
be re-united with the little ones that have gone before them. 

C. J. SHADE, farmer ; P. 0. Greenville ; although a young man, the above 
gentleman may be classed among the old settlers, this being his native county, and 
his birth occurred in 1844 ; he is a son of A. R. and Sarah Shade, who were among 
the early settlers, locating in this county in the year 1820, when there were but 
few improvements, no pikes, and but few roads were passable save on horseback ; 
the dense forest where they located has since been cleared, and in its place is found 
fine cultivated farms ; at that early day, there was also plenty of game ; deer, wild 
turkeys, wolves, etc., were to be seen in large numbers ; the early life of our sub- 
ject was that of a farmer's son, his education being confined mostly to the privi- 
leges offered by the common schools. His marriage with Mary Anderson was cel- 
ebrated in Randolph Co., Ind., in 1865 ; they have three children by this union- 
Sarah Catharine, Charles A. B., and Mary Eveline. 

HENRY SHOVER, farmer and stock-raiser ; P. 0. Greenville ; another of 
the old settlers of Darke Co. ; born in York Township April 4, 1836 ; he was 
the youngest son of Sebastian Shover, who was probably born in Pennsyl- 
vania, and came to Montgomery Co. when quite young, and to Darke Co. about 
the year 1832 ; he died in York Township in 1840 ; he married in Mont- 
gomery Co. to Margaret Weaver ; she was born in Pennsylvania and died in 
Darke Co. in 1869. The subject of this memoir was left fatherless when 4 years 
of age, after which he lived with his mother until 10 years of age ; he then 
made his home with his Grandfather Weaver, until 15 years of age, when he 
started out in the world for himself and served three years at the blacksmith's trade, 
after which he came to Greenville and was employed four years at his trade ; he 
then started in business for himself, and was engaged at his trade some thirteen 
years, when, in the spring of 1863, he gave up his business and purchased his 
present place, where he has since lived ; he has 40 acres of land, with good farm 
buildings, located two miles from Greenville, under a good state of cultivation ; 
his marriage with Angeline Sebring was celebrated Sept. 16, 1858 ; she was born 
in Greenville Township, Darke Co., Sept. 27, 1838 ; they have no children of 
their own, but have taken to raise a girl now 8 years old, whom they treat and 
educate as their own. Mrs. S. is a daughter of John Sebring, whose sketch appears 
among the biographies of Greenville Township in this work. 

GEO. W. SNYDER, farmer and stock-raiser, Section 19, Greenville Township ; 
P. O. Mt. Heron. Among the early settlers of Darke Co. we mention the gentle- 
man whose name heads this sketch ; he was born in Hamilton Co., Ohio, June 
5, 1830; he was a son of Geo. Snyder, who was born in Pennsylvania July 
4, 1804. He married Elizabeth Dively ; she was born Oct. 9, 1799, in Pennsyl- 
vania ; he located in Hamilton Co. when there was but three or four log houses 
where Cincinnati now stands ; in 1836, came to Darke Co., and in 1873 he 
started West, since which time all trace of him has been lost. Mrs. Snyder died 
Sept. 13, 1839. They were the parents of six children, viz. : George W., Elizabeth 
A. and Martha J. (triplets), born June 5, 1830 ; Mary A., born Jan. 30, 1834. 
deceased : Abraham, born Jan. 27, 1836, and Frederick, born Aug. 21, 1838. At 
9 years of age, Geo. W. was taken and raised by Emanuel Flory until 20 years of 
age, and by dint of hard study obtained a fair education ; at the latter age, he 
went to Greenville and devoted three years to carriage-making ; he then started 
in the above business for himself, in connection with undertaking, at Hill Grove, 
following the same three years, during which time he did all of the undertaking 
for Union City ; in 1857, he purchased the farm uow owned by Samuel Puterbaugh, 
and after clearing some 70 or 80 acres, sold out in 1865 and purchased his present 
place ; he now owns 150 acres four miles west from Greenville, with good farm 



580 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES : 

buildings ; he has secured all of the above property, valued at from $10,000 
to $12,000, by his own hard labor. He married Catherine Puterbaugh July 4. 
1852 ; four children by this union — Amy E., born April 22, 1854 ; Lauretta J., 
Oct. 22, 1855 ; Frederick B., Aug. 18, 1856, and Fernando, July 16, 1860. March 
23, 1865, he was united in marriage with Julia Ann Sink ; she was born in Darke 
Co. June 4, 1845 ; five children was the fruits of this union — Lewis E., born 
June 23, 1866, died May 15, 1867 ; Jacob E., born May 8, 1868 ; Mary L., Jan. 
10, 1871 ; Nora Rosa Ellen, Sept. 27, 1873, and Murtle L., June 1, 1876. 

ANDREW J. SMITH, barber and hair-dresser, Greenville ; was born in 
Fredericksburg, Va., Oct. 5, 1828, and is a son of Robert and Sarah Smith, who 
are still living and reside in Piqua, and are upward of 80 years of age. Our 
subject came to Greenville, May 6, 1859, and has followed his profession ever 
since ; he has been very successful in business, having accumulated a good pro- 
perty, all the fruit of his own hard labor. He is one of the leading tonsorial 
artists, and we can advise any who want a good, clean and easy shave to give 
Andy a trial. 

O. H. SMITH, Greenville, Ohio ; dealer in stoves and tinware. The sub- 
ject of this memoir was born in Winchester, Randolph Co., Ind., in 1855, and is a 
son of Jeremiah and Cynthia Smith, residents of Randolph Co. ; both are dead ; 
his father died in 1872 at the age of 68 years ; his mother died in 1873, aged 54 
years. Our subject resided at home till he was 17 years of age, when he began 
life for himself and followed various pursuits ; he removed to Greenville in 1877 
and opened a hardware store, which business he is still engaged in. He was 
united in marriage in 1878, Dec. 24, to Miss Voria Southern; her parents are 
residents of this place. 

JACOB STEINLE, Greenville, Ohio; manufacturer and dealer in cigars and 
tobacco. The subject of this memoir was born in Shelby Co., Ohio, Feb. 25, 
1854 ; in 1867, he commenced the cigar trade, and followed the same for two years 
in La Crosse, Wis. ; thence to Vandalia, 111., for a short time ; thence to Indian- 
apolis, Ind., where he followed his trade seven years, and in June, 1877, came to 
Greenville and engaged in his present business, which he has since successfully 
followed. He is a practical cigar-maker, and gives his personal attention to every 
detail of his business, and has in his employ the year round from two to six men. 
His marriage with Emma S. Reeder was celebrated in Indianapolis, Ind., in 1875 ; 
they have two children, John H. and Anna. 

JOHN STEPHENS, blacksmith, Sec. 5 ; P. 0. Greenville ; another of the 
old settlers ; born in Darke Co., German Township, Nov. 11, 1825 ; he was a son 
of David Stephens, one of the early pioneers of Darke Co. ; he was born in 
Washington Co., Penn., Nov. 1, 1791 ; he came to Jefferson Co., Ohio, with his 
parents in 1798, four years before Ohio was admitted into the Union as a State ; 
he came to Preble Co. in 1805 and to Darke Co., 1818 ; he was a soldier in the 
war of 1812, serving a part of the time as scout between Fort Nesbit and Fort 
Recovery, and was in the memorable forced march from Fort Greenville to Muncie, 
Ind., in the winter of 1814, to relieve Isaac Shell}' and Gen. Winchester, Kentuck- 
ians. who were out of rations, and was compelled to stand guard half the night in 
snow knee-deep, without anything to eat ; he was, so far as known, the last sur- 
viving one living in this county who served at Fort Greenville ; he suffered all the 
hardships and privations of frontier life, and by industry and economy secured a 
handsome competence ; he was a man of sterling will and integrity, and won the 
esteem of all who knew him ; in early life, he joined the Church of the United 
Brethren, and in 1861 or 1862 connected himself with the Reformed Church, and 
lived a consistent Christian life until his death, which occurred Jan. 8, 1879, aged 
87 years, 2 months and 8 days. He was married in Darke Co. to Lydia 
Wngner ; she was born in the year 1803; she is now living in German Town- 
ship, at the advanced age of 77 years ; they were the parents of ten children, of 
whom seven are now living. The subject of this sketch commenced to learn 



GREENVILLE TOWNSHIP. 531 

the blacksmithing trade at Palestine when 19 years of age, and worked at his 
trade in German Township, with the exception of six months' residence in 
Indiana, until about the year 1847, when he removed to Neave Township ; and 
about the year 1853 located upon his present place, where he has lived and fol- 
lowed his trade for a period of two and a half decades ; he also owns 140 
acres of land, which he rents, devoting his entire attention to his trade. He has 
been twice married, first, in 1851, to Maria D. Dininger, a daughter of Jacob Dinin- 
ger. one of the early pioneers of Darke Co. ; she was born in Montgomery Co., 
May 6, 1830; she died in Darke Co, Aug. 15, 1865, leaving five children, of 
whom four are now living — William, Margaret, Lewis, and Lydia. His marriage 
with Mrs. Matilda Risser was celebrated Oct. 4, 1868 ; her maiden name was 
Finfrock ; she was born in Miami Co., Ohio, Dec. 17, 1832 ; they have three chil- 
dren by this union, viz., Alva A., Clara E., and John C. 

HENRY TILLMAN, retired farmer ; P. 0. Greenville ; one of the old 
settlers of Darke Co. ; born in Preble Co., Ohio, Jan. 20, 1818 ; he was a son 
of John Tillman, Sr., who was born in Virginia April 17, 1780, and when 
10 years of age removed to Tennessee, and came to the Territory of Ohio about 
the'year 1800, two years previous to its admission into the Union as a State ; he 
he was married in Tennessee to Nancy Harlers ; she was also a native of Virginia, 
born Sept. 10. 1790 ; they were the parents of seventeen children, of whom thirteen 
lived to grow up ; Mr. Tillman died in Preble Co., Feb. 24, 1850 ; his wife died 
Sept. 1, 1863. The subject of this memoir was raised to farming in Preble Co. 
until 22 years of age, when, in 1840, he came to Darke Co. and located in Van 
Buren Township, upon 160 acres of timber land which had been entered by 
his father ; and upon this place he resided until 1871, a period of thirty years, 
during which time he cleared upward of 500 acres, and brought the same from a 
howling wilderness to a good state of improvement, and in 1862 he was in posses- 
sion of 1,000 acres of land ; he has since disposed of a part of the same, and now 
has about 600 acres divided into improved farms. Mr. Tillman has been one of 
the hard-working and industrious men of Darke Co., and by his energy, in- 
dustry and correct business habits, has placed himself among the large land- 
holders of this county ; in 1872, he purchased his present residence in Greenville, 
with 15 acres of land within the corporation of Greenville, upon which he then 
located, and where he has since lived, retired from active labor, having his farm 
rented. June 16, 1840, he was married to Rachel Townsend ; she was born April 
3, 1820, and died March 18, 1848 ; two children are now living by this union- 
Noah H. and Lydia. His marriage with Martha Thorn was celebrated Aug. 12, 
1849 ; she was born in Indiana in 1824, and with her parents came to Darke 
Co. in 1831 ; she was a daughter of Thomas A. Thorn, one of the early 
pioneers of Darke Co. ; he died in this county in 1852 ; they have three chil- 
dren by this union, viz. : Belle, now Mrs. Henry Hetzler ; John A., farming in 
Brown Township ; and Susie, now Mrs. Cliff Boyde. Mr. T. has taken a deep in- 
terest in the cause of religion, having been a member of the Christian Church for 
a period of thirty years ; his wife and four of the children also belong to the 
church. 

WALTER J. TODD, livery and feed stable ; the subject of this memoir was 
born in Campbell Co., Ky.. Feb. 3, 1840, and is a son of Charles W. and 
Catherine Todd, also natives of Kentucky. Our subject removed to Greenville in 
1861. and soon after embarked in the livery stable business, in which he is still 
engaged ; he carries a fine stock of turn-outs, the finest in the city, and is prepared 
at alftimes to give his customers, or any who may favor him with a call, a fine 
rig at moderate prices. He was united in marriage with Miss Mary Coblantz, a 
native of Ohio, Jan. 14, 1871 ; they were the parents of two children, viz., George 
B.. bom in 1872, Chasseldown, born in 1875. 

J. W. TROXELL, saw-miller and lumber dealer ; P. 0. Greenville ; born in 
Virginia, Sept. 5, 1838, where he remained with his parents till 1S45. when they 



532 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

moved to Knightstown, Ind., where he remained until 1859 or 1860 ; at this date, 
he purchased a saw-mill, and moved it to Illinois, where he remained some two 
years; he then disposed of his mill and went to Indianapolis, where he worked at 
the carpenter's trade, and in 1873 came to this county, where he has since con- 
tinued to reside. On the 22d of December. 1873. he was united in marriage with 
Nancy M. Anderson ; they are the parents of four children, of whom three are 
living, viz.. Fannie B., Belle and Mamie; the deceased died in infanc} T . 

THOMAS I'. TURPEN, retired; P. 0. Greenville; the paternal ancestry of 
our subject cannot be traced with any degree of certainty ; all that is definitely 
known is that his Grandfather Turpen was born in England, and emigrated to this 
country in about the year 17(H) ; on the maternal side, we only know that a Gc< 
Hubbard, whom we will call the first George Hubbard, was born in England in 
1590; settled first in Hartford, Conn., married Elizabeth Watts; came to Mid- 
dletown in 1(35(1 ; had eight children, six being sons ; died March 18, 1684 ; his 
children's names were Mary, born Feb. l<i. 1641 ; Joseph, born Dec. 10. 1643; 
Daniel, born December, 1645 ; Samuel, born May 9, 1648 ; George, born December, 
1650 ; Nathaniel, born Dec. 10, 1652 ; Richard, born Jan. 15, 1655 ; Elizabeth, born 
Ki59. II. Joseph Hubbard, son of George First, was born Dec. 10, 1643 ; died 
1686 ; his children were Robert, born Oct. 30, 1673 , George, born 1675; died Dec. 15, 
1765. III. George Hubbard, son of Joseph, was born 1675. died Dec. 15, 1765 ; 
married Elizabeth Miller Dec. 22, 1703 ; their children were George, born March 
9, 1705 ; Mahitable, born June 21, 1708 ; Richard, born Jan. 8, 1712 ; Abner, born 
April 10. 1715 ; Caleb, born Aug. 28, 1716 ; Hezekiah, born March 6. 1718 ; Abner, 
horn July 26. 1721. IV. George Hubbard, son of George Third, born March 9, 
1705; married Mercy Roberts; their children were George, born Feb. 6, 1731; 
Abner, born 1733, was lost at sea. V. George Hubbard, son of George Fourth, 
was born Feb. 6, 1731, old style, died Jan. 7, 1809, new style ; married Mary Stock- 
ing ; their children were George, born Aug. 17, 1758 ; Mahitable, born Feb. 18, 
1762 ; Jesse, born June 7. 1764 ; Elias, born Aug. 26, 1766; Asa, born Jan. 13, 
1769; Zadoc. born Jan. 8, 1771 ; Ansel, born June 15, 1774; Mary, born April 
16. 1780. Henry Turpen. father of our sketch, was born in Middletown. Conn., 
177.") : was married to Mary Hubbard in the year 1798, by whom he had twelve 
children, of whom six are still living ; Thomas P. Turpen was born near Lebanon, 
Warren Co., Ohio. Oct. 1, 1820 ; his early days were passed in the endless vari- 
ety of ways incident to boy life on the farm, and his educational advantages were 
commensurate with those early times ; he remained on the farm until the age of 
32. when he came to Greenville and engaged in the dry -goods business ; after two 
years' experience, he was employed as Government agent ; continuing in this for 
three years, he went to Peru, South America ; remaining about a year, he returned 
to Greenville and engaged in the furniture business ; remaining in this until 1S62, 
he was elected County Treasurer and served four years : in 1869. he built the 
'• Turpen House," and presided over it till 1878, when he was succeeded by his son. 
His marriage with Mary J. Hunter was celebrated March 14, 1843 ; she was born 
June 17. 1S24 : they were the parents of four sons and one daughter, viz.: Lucy 
H.. died at 3 years of age ; John C, County Auditor, whose sketch also appears 
in this work : William V.. now conducting the hotel, whose sketch also appears in 
this work : Daniel R.. and Frank ; Lucy H., born Feb. 21, 1844; John C, Oct. 31, 
1845 ; William V.. July 7. 1847 ; Daniel R . July 20. 1851 ; Frank E., March 12, 
1854. 

JOHN C. TURPEN, County Auditor; Greenville, Ohio; born in Darke 
Co., Ohio. Oct. 31. 1845, and is a son of Thomas P. Turpen. whose sketch also 
appears in this work ; John C. attended the public schools of Greenville, and com- 
pleted his education by attending the Adrian College, of Adrian. Mich., one year, 
and the Albion College. Albion, Mich., three terms: he then attended the Commer- 
cial College of Dayton, from which he graduated in 1868 ; he was then employed 
in the Auditors office at Greenville several years, and in 1878 was elected to the 



GREENVILLE TOWNSHIP. 



533 



above office, which he now holds. Upon the 21st of January, 1869, he was united 
in marriage with Mattie Wharry ; they have four children by this union. Fred H., 
Alary. Clara, and Maggie ; Mrs. Turpen is a daughter of Judge John Wharry, one 
of the early pioneers of Darke Co. 

WILLIAM V. TURPEN, proprietor of the Turpen House, Greenville ; 
born in Greenville Township. Darke Co., Ohio. July 7, 1847, and is a son of 
Thomas P. Turpen, whose sketch also appears in this work. A small part of the 
early life of our subject was passed on the farm, during which time he attended 
the common school, "but completed his education in the graded schools of Green- 
ville ; at 18 years of age, he entered the store of his father, continuing with him in 
his different branches of trade until the completion of the above hotel, which was 
erected, opened and conducted by his father until the spring of 1879, when he was 
succeeded by William V., who has already established a reputation as being one 
of the best hotel proprietors of the State, and we can say from our own experience 
that we have found no hotel in Ohio, where we have been so well satisfied as at the 
Turpen House, and predict that the genial landlord will soon find himself laboring 
under one difficulty, viz., want of room for the accommodation of his many pat- 
rons. The marriage nuptials of William V. Turpen and Mary Jones were cele- 
brated June 7, 1870 ; she was born in Darke Co. in 1850 ; her father, John Jones, 
was editor of the first paper printed in this county. Two children are the fruits 
of this union, viz., Benjamin and Nellie. 

JOSEPH R. TURNER, firm of Turner Bros., wholesale and retail liquor 
dealers, Broadway, Greenville, Ohio. Greenville, like most cities of its size, has its 
representative business men in nearly every branch of trade, and we must accord 
to the above firm the honor of being the leading firm of the place in their line, 
carrying, as they do, a large and extensive stock of foreign and domestic goods, 
which they sell at the smallest margin. Joseph R. Turner is the senior member 
of the firm, and was born in Montgomery Co., Ohio, June 23, 1842 ; received the 
advantage of the common schools, and completed his education by a course of two 
years' study at the Wittenberg College at Springfield. In the summer of 1861, 
he enlisted in the 13th Mo. V. I.; was then transferred to the 22d 0. V. I., serv- 
ing sixteen months ; he then returned home on a sick furlough ; received a 
commission as Second Lieutenant of Co. K, 93d 0. V. I., and served with this reg- 
iment through Kentucky and Tennessee, participating in the battles of Fort Don- 
elson, Shiloh, and some battles of less importance. The hardships of army life 
being too severe for his constitution, after being disabled from duty some four 
months, he resigned, returned home, and upon the 1st of July, 1865, he made the 
trip overland from Omaha to Virginia City with mule teams, the trip consuming 
some four months. He remained in Montana some five and a half years, during 
which time his thermometer of success suffered many changes, he having made and 
lost several fortunes. He returned to Ohio in 1871, and in 1874 located in Green- 
ville with his brother under the above firm name, where they have since done a 
successful business. His marriage with Hattie A. Macy was celebrated in Mont- 
gomery Co. in 1872 ; they have three children by this union, viz., Mabel, Ida and 

Maud. „ r 

HENRY V ANTILBURGH, farmer and stock-raiser ; P. 0. Greenville. We 
are pleased to make mention of the above gentleman among the old settlers of 
Darke Co. He was born in Montgomery Co., Ohio, March 6, 1813. His father, 
John Vantilburgh, was born in New Jersey, and emigrated to Warren Co., Ohio, 
thence to Montgomery Co., and about the year 1835 came to Darke Co.. where he 
died in 1837 ; his wife's maiden name was Sarah Francis ; the last fourteen years 
of her life we're spent with her son Henry, and died at his residence about the year 
1864. The subject of our sketch lived in Montgomery and Warren Cos. until 25 
years of age, when he came to Darke Co., and after a residence of two years, re- 
moved to "Preble Co.. and in 1844 returned to Darke Co. and located upon his 
present place, where he has lived for a period of thirty-five years, and has since 



534 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

cleared about 60 acres b} r his own labor. Upon Locating here, his worldly posses 
sions consisted of one small team of horses, and he was in debt $65 ; he, with the 
assistance of his amiable wife, battled against poverty, until they have secured a 
pleasant home and have secured sufficient of this world's goods to carry them 
through life. In June. 1843, he was united in marriage with Mabel F. Holly ; she 
was born in Butler Co.. Ohio, in 1821 ; they have one son and six daughters, 
viz., Nancy, Albinia, Eliza, Louisa, Sanford, Mabel and Maria. 

E. II. VOELKLE, retired carriage and wagon maker, Greenville. Our 
subject was born in Cleveland. Ohio. Aug. 20, 1848 ; in 1853, he with his parents 
moved and located in Covington. Miami Co., where they remained until 1858, at 
which time they came to Gettysburg, Darke Co.. and have since been residents of 
said county, he having been a resident of Greenville for several years. In April, 
1879, he was elected to the office of Constable, which position he now holds. 

JACOB WAGNEB, proprietor Wagner House, Greenville, Ohio. We eat to 
live, and live to eat ; therefore, to point out a good hotel is an act of kindness 
which is sure to be appreciated by the hungry traveler. The genial pro- 
prietor of the above house is the oldest hotel keeper of Greenville, and has a 
reputation as a first-class man in his line, his house having a good reputa- 
tation, extending over a large part of Ohio. Indiana and other States. He was 
born in Beinpfaltz, Bavaria. Germany. Jan. 24. 1833 ; he received a good educa- 
tion in German in his own country, and emigrated to America when 24 } T ears of 
age, landing in New York Dec. 1, 1857 ; coming directly West, he remained three 
years in Cincinnati, then one year in Louisville. Ky.. thence to Miamisburg, Mont- 
gomery Co., where he was employed as clerk in a hotel from 1862 to 1864 ; thence 
to Dayton, where he engaged in the hotel business for himself until 1868, and in 
the fall of 1 868 he came to Greenville and purchased King's Hotel, which he gave 
the name of Wagner, and which he has successfully run for a period of eleven 
years ; he also has a feed and sale stable connected with the house. He was mar- 
ried in Dayton, to Barbara Haas, in 1854 ; she was born in Hesse-Darmstadt, 
Germany, Jan. 2, 1838 : they are the parents of two children, one of whom died in 
infancy ; the living. George Lewis, was born June 14, 1865. Mrs. Wagner is a 
daughter of Conrad Haas, who emigrated from Germany to America in the year 
1868, and is now a resident of Miami Co. Mrs. Wagner emigrated to America 
in 1858, and located in Dayton, at which place her marriage nuptials were cele- 
brated with our subject. 

JOHN H. WABVEL ; P. 0. Pikeville ; resides in Greenville Township, 
Sec. 1. One of the early pioneers of Darke Co. ; born in Lebanon, Warren 
Co., Ohio, May 16, 1818. He was the oldest son of Christopher Warvel. who 
was born in Bockingham Co., Va., and came to Warren Co. in the year 1817, 
where he lived a few years, then to Montgomery Co. ; and, in 1838, came to 
Darke Co., and located in the woods, near Beamsville, where he lived until 
his decease ; he was one of the patriots of the war of 1812, under Col. Massie. 
A full and complete genealogy of the family will be found in the sketch of Daniel 
Warvel, in another part of this work ; John H. received a limited education in the 
subscription schools in Warren and Montgomery Cos., and assisted his father in 
fanning until 18 years of age, when he was apprenticed to learn the blacksmith's 
trade : after working at the same for two years he was obliged to give it up on 
account of his eyesight failing him ; in Aug. 14, 1838, he came to Darke Co., 
and purchased 80 acres of land near where Beamsville now stands ; after residing 
there three years he lost his wife, and to pay the doctors' bills, he was obliged to 
sell half of his farm ; upon locating here, he settled in the woods, his milling was 
done at Piqua, and there was only two houses between his residence and Green- 
ville : commencing life in penury, he has suffered all the privations and hardships 
of frontier life ; he has cleared 200 acres of land, and has now 275 acres of land 
upon the old homestead, a part of which was entered by him in the year 1850 ; he 
has been very kind to his children, and has settled upon each one money and land 



GREENVILLE TOWNSHIP. 535 

to the amount of $1,200. A part of the old homestead was entered by him in the 
year 1850 ; May 16, 1878, he was tendered a surprise by his friends and old ac- 
quaintances, to the number of 100, coming from different townships ; the company 
represented all ages from childhood to old age. bringing bountiful supplies of pro- 
viso >ns and refreshments ; Rev. Mr. Colvin offered prayer and made some appro- 
priate remarks, after which James Johnston made an address ; the Dallas band 
furnished music for the occasion. His marriage with Mary Souders was celebrated 
May 31, 1838; she was born in Montgomery Co., Ohio, April 15, 1819; she 
died May 15, 1841, leaving two children, of whom one is now living, viz.. Nathan 
S., born April 18, 1839 — the other died in infancy. His second wife was Barbara 
Holloway ; they were married Dec. 19, 1841 ; she was bora Jan. 30, 1820, and 
died Aug. 5, 1844, leaving two sons, one now living, Allen, bora Sept. 21, 1842 ; 
Irving, born June 12, 1844, died July 8, 1873. He married for his third wife, 
Phebe Harney, March 9, 1845 ; she was born Aug. 29, 1820 ; she died Jan. 25, 
1846, leaving one child, who died in infancy. His marriage nuptials with Mrs. 
Elizabeth (Beanblossom) Baker were celebrated Feb. 16, 1847 ; she was bora Dec. 
6, 1813, in Montgomery Co. ; they have four daughters, and have lost a son 
by death ; the living are Charlotte, born Dec. 13, 1847, now Mrs. L. C. Garver, of 
Dallas ; Sarah A., born Oct. 13, 1849, now Mrs. Adam Johnston, of Brown Town- 
ship ; Elizabeth, born Sept. 25, 1853, now Mrs. Orlando J. Hager, of Dallas; 
Emeline, born Feb. 10, 1857, now Mrs. George Garbick, living in Richland Town- 
ship. Mrs. Warvel is one of the oldest residents of Darke Co. ; she is a 
daughter of Christian Beanblossom, who was bora in North Carolina, and came 
to Darke Co. about the year 1817, and located in the woods among the wolves 
and Indians ; Mrs. Warvel has a vivid recollection of the familiar faces of the 
same. Her first husband was Andrew Baker, to whom she was married June 27, 
1841 ; he died March 14, 1844 ; they had two children, who died in infancy. Mrs. 
Warvel located here when there was nothing but an Indian trail from here to 
Greenville ; she is now living upon the same place where she has lived for sixty 
years. Mr. Warvel has been administrator of many estates, has been guardian for 
many children ; has been Infirmary Director six vears, and has held other offices. 

NATHAN S. WARVEL, Sec.'l, Greenville Township ; one of the old settlers 
of Darke Co. ; born in Richland Township April 18, 1839 ; he is the oldest son 
of John H. Warvel, whose biography also appears in this work. The subject of 
this sketch was raised upon a farm of his father's until upward of 20 years of age, 
and in 1859 he commenced business for himself by engaging in thrashing, which 
he has followed for eighteen years during the fall, being engaged for the balance 
of the year in farming. In 1861, he commenced farming in Richland Township, 
and in the fall of 1863 he exchanged farms with his uncle and located upon his 
present place, where he has since lived. Upon the 23d of December, 1860, he was 
united in marriage with Nancy J. Royer, who was born in Logan Co., Ohio, Dec. 
8, 1839 ; she was a daughter of David Royer, who was born in Rockingham Co., 
Va., Feb. 11, 1807, and came to Ohio at an early day, and died Feb. 15, 1860, aged 
53 years. The children of Nathan S. and Nancy (Royer) Warvel were four in 
number, of whom one is deceased ; the living are Martha S., born Oct. 22, 1863 ; 
Eva C., born June 21, 1865 ; Mary E., born June 9, 1868 ; the deceased died in 
infancy, Oct. 10, 1861. Mr. and Mrs. Warvel are both members of the Christian 
Church. 

HENRY A. WEBB, the present Mayor of Greenville. The career, brief- 
ly outlined, of individuals chosen by the people to direct in government, 
whether of city, State or nation, may well be considered of most interesting char- 
acter. Too frequently honors are heaped upon men whose fame is based upon 
success in sanguinary conflicts, and the pages which record their achievements 
seem dark and repelling from their crimsoned hue. As often, the men whose 
quiet lives displa} r manly action, strict integrity and true Christian principles, are 
quietly ignored as though the creations of peace were not comparable to the 



536 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

demolition and ravages of war. It is a well-approved saj'ing, that the best of men 
seldom find their way to the front. When, however, exceptions occur, the lesson 
is fraught with encouragement and example to posterity. Ancestry is a subject 
of which men have long been proud. There is pleasure in tracing a long line of 
honorable ancestors back toward the obscure shadow of the past. This pleasure 
is enjoyed by the subject of this sketch, Henry A. Webb, whose line of 
eight generations is on record, from Christopher Webb, of Wales, who came from 
that country about the year 1650, on down to the present. The following gene- 
alogy presents the chain of descent : Christopher Webb the second, the father of 
Benjamin Webb, the father of Timothy Webb the father of Stephen Webb, born 
at Windham. Conn., Oct. 4, 1742, who was the father of Nathaniel Webb, born 
Jan. 15, 1770, and died at Guyandotte, Va., Aug. 22, 1823; he was the father of 
Nathan Webb, born July 27, 1798, who married Margaret Albright, of Hanover. 
Penn., Oct. 31, 1819, and Nathan was the father of Henry A. Webb. The family 
removed to Vincennes, Ind., when Henry was an infant, from Hanover where he 
was born (Sept. 22, 1822), and the father dying, his widow, with a family of four 
children, returned to Pennsylvania. The journey is remembered as a long and 
tedious one, to which present travel is but as a pleasure-trip. At the age of 1 3, 
Henry was bound as an apprentice to George Young to learn the trade of tobac- 
conist ; having served six years, the desire to see other places, and to find a con- 
genial and promising opening for exertions, induced him to travel to various 
places, engaging in such work as could be had. On the 15th of June, 1845. he 
married Elizabeth Warner at Hampton, Penn., and three } T ears later removed to 
Baltimore, Md., where he continuously engaged in his business as a dealer in 
tobaccos until 1870, when he migrated to his present place of residence, Green- 
ville. Ohio ; here he resumed business, which has prospered and been increased, 
until the present stock affords an ample choice to the public of all articles kept in 
a variety store. From childhood. Mayor Webb has shown a fondness for painting. 
ami studiously labored during leisure hours to master the difficulties of this 
ideal and realistic work ; he succeeded, and many portraits extant are the work 
of his hand ; despite the discovery and perfection of sun pictures, his services 
are yet in demand, and the ancient and noble art }*et exists. He was originally 
a Democrat, and cast his first vote for James K. Polk; upon the nomination 
of President Lincoln to the office of chief magistrate of the nation the second 
term. Mayor Webb became a Republican, and has since continued to act with 
that party; in March, 1878, his name was placed upon the Republican ticket 
for the city of Greenville, as Mayor, and his election resulted by a majority 
of about one hundred over his opponent, A. P. Gorsuch. Major for two terms, 
a sti'ong. popular man, well calculated for the position. Believing in the refining 
and elevating tendencies of religion, he joined the English Lutheran Church, 
in 1848, at Baltimore, and remained with it till the time of his removal to 
Greenville ; there being no church of this denomination, he stood temporarily 
connected with the Methodist Episcopal Church four years, and acted as Superin- 
tendent of their Sabbath school ; he then began to attend the Episcopal Church, 
which considers him practically a member, and is the Superintendent of the Sab- 
bath school therewith connected. He joined the Washingtonians in 1S40. and 
stands by the brief pledge of the organization — abstinence from the use of intoxi- 
cating liquors as a beverage. In 1844. he became a member of the Independent 
Order of Odd Fellows. Mechanics' Lodge, and is also of the Encampment of 
Greenville. Taking little part in politics, he acts from principle ; he is earnest in 
example and influence for Christianity, delights in painting, and is beloved by his 
family, and generally respected. Mayor Webb is of line personal bearing, is well 
preserved, social, easy of approach, and a pleasant conversationalist. Following a 
quiet business and official routine, life is made useful, and the years pass swiftly 
and pleasantly. 

NATHAN B. WEBSTER, merchant. Allen's Block, Fourth street. Green- 



GREENVILE TOWNSHIP. 537 

ville ; dealer in groceries, provisions, glass and queensware, etc., etc. The 
subject of this memoir was born in Mt. Sterling, Madison Co., Ohio, Nov. 3, 1846. 
and is a son of J. S. Webster, now a prominent merchant of Ansonia, whose biog- 
rpahy appears among the sketches of Brown Township, in another part of this 
work ; our subject came to Darke Co. with his parents in 1865 ; after one 
year's residence he removed to Illinois, where he resided until 1871, at which 
time he returned to Greenville and followed clerking and various pursuits until 
January, 1880, when he purchased his present business, and from his extended 
acquaintance and popularity we predict, that he will command a large increasing 
yearly trade. His marriage with Dottie Martin was celebrated in Greenville in 
April, 1872 ; she was born in Greenville Sept. 2, 1850 ; the}' have four children 
by this union, viz., William, Charles T., Clyde and Gertrude. Mrs. Webster is a 
daughter of William Martin, one of the prominent early pioneers of Darke Co.. 
whose biography appears among the sketches of this township. 

HERMAN WEILLS, carriage manufactory, Greenville. The subject of this 
sketch was born in Washington Co., Penn., May 23, 1851 ; he is a son of Solomon 
and Lydia (Shaffer) Weills ; he left his place of nativity in 1856, and went to 
Liberty, Union Co., Ind., where he remained until 1S61 ; he then went to Tippe- 
canoe, Miami Co., Ohio, where he learned his trade, remaining there four years. 
He came to Darke Co ., and settled in Greenville in the fall of 1878. He was 
united in marriage with Catherine Porter Feb. 23, 1874 ; she was born Sept. 23. 
1851, and is a daughter of James Porter, a resident of Hancock Co., and is now 
living in Darke Co., at the age of 62 years ; his wife was born in 1828, and died 
in 1865. Mr. Weills' business is located at the corner of Walnut and Third streets. 
where he gives employment to several men, and manufactures some of the finest 
work in Greenville. 

JOHN E. WESTFALL, retired farmer ; P. 0. Greenville. Among the early 
pioneers of Darke Co., the gentleman whose name heads this sketch is accorded 
a place in the front ranks ; he was born near where the city of Cincinnati now 
stands Sept. 19, 1810 ; when 5 years of age, he came to Darke Co., with his 
parents and located in Adams Township ; when 12 years of age, the death of 
his father occurred, and at 15 years of age, he commenced the management of 
the home farm, continuing the same until 22 years of age. In 1832. he was 
united in marriage with Priscellia Williams, who was born in Ohio Sept. 21. 
1805 ; they were the parents of seven children, of whom George and Isaac Newton 
only survive, and are both mentioned in the biographical part of this work. In 1832, 
he removed to Greenville Township and purchased 30 acres upon the same section 
where he has since lived for a period of forty-seven years ; he has been a continuous 
resident of the count}' for sixty-five years ; he now has 145 acres in his home 
farm, located three miles from Greenville ; about the year 1869, he rented his farm 
to his sons, since which time he has retired from active labor. He has a vivid 
recollection of the Indians, the wolf and deer, and other game which in the early 
day of his coming here was to be found in abundance. He is one of the very 
oldest of our earlier settlers, nearly all of the pioneers of 1815 having either died 
or removed away. 

MARTIN C. WESTFALL, farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 32 ; P. O. Green- 
ville ; one of the earl}' pioneers of Darke Co. ; born in Montgomery Co. in 1S24 ; 
he was a son of Jacob Westfall, who was born in Virginia and came to Mont- 
gomery Co., Ohio, at an early day, and to Darke Co., about 1827, and was 
consequently one of the early settlers of Darke Co. ; he died in the same county, 
about the year 1839 or 1840. He was married in Montgomery Co. to Barbara 
Crawn ; she was also born in Virginia, and died at the residence of Martin C. in 
1878, at the advanced age of 88 years. Martin C. came to Darke Co. in the year 
1827, being then three years of age, and has always lived on the same place for a 
period of upward of half a century ; he is one of the oldest continuous resi- 
dents of Greenville Township ; he has now upward of 106 acres under a good 



538 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

state of cultivation, which he has brought from a howling wilderness to its present 
state of cultivation by his own labor. His marriage with Mary Pannel was 
celebrated in 1858 ; she was born in Virginia ; they were the parents of three 
children, of whom one is deceased ; the living are William L., born August, 1859, 
now living upon the home farm ; Ida E., born in 1868 ; the deceased, Charles 
M., died in infancy. 

GEORGE WESTFALL, farmer ; P. O. Greenville ; one of the old settlers of 
Darke County, was born in Greenville Township Jan. 19, 1841 ; he is the oldest 
son of John E. Westfall, one of our early pioneers, whose biography appears 
among the sketches of Greenville Township. The subject of our sketch received 
a liberal education, and assisted his father in agricultural pursuits until upward of 
24 years of age, when upon March 30, 1865, he was united in marriage with 
Martha Phillips ; she was born in Butler Co., Ohio, Dec. 17, 1843 ; they have five 
children by this union, viz., Leora B., John W., Maggie M., Bertha 0. and Arthur 
R. Upon the marriage of Mr. Westfall, he located upon his present place, where he 
has siifce devoted his attention to farming. In 1870, he was elected as Township 
Trustee of Greenville Township, which office he filled with credit to himself, and 
satisfaction to his townsmen, for a period of eight years. 

ISAAC NEWTON WESTFALL, farmer ; P. 0. Greenville ; the subject of 
this memoir was born in Greenville Township, Darke Co., Ohio, upon the 21st of 
February, 1843 ; he is a son of one of the early pioneers, John E. Westfall, and a 
brother of George Westfall, both of whom are mentioned in the biographical part 
of this work in this township ; in early life he applied himself closely to his 
studies, and b} r so doing succeeded in obtaining a good common-school education ; 
he has always followed the occupation of farming, and about the year 1869, rented 
a part of the farm of his father, which he has since operated. Upon the 4th of 
August 1864, he was united in marriage with Mary E. Bell, who was born in Gettys- 
burg. Adams Township, Nov. 29, 1846 ; they are the parents of five sons, viz.. 
Oscar W., William E., Charles E., Alonzo R., and an infant unnamed. Mrs. Westfall 
was a daughter of Jacob Bell ; her mother's maiden name was Mary Zimmerman, 
both natives of Penns}'lvania, and early pioneers of Darke Count} 7 . Mrs. Bell com- 
ing here in 1838, her husband locating here a few years previous. Mr. Bell died 
in 1850; Mrs. B. now makes her home with her daughter, and, at the age of 61 years, 
is in possession of all her faculties, and able to perform some household duties. 

WASHINGTON ALLEN WESTON, deceased, Greenville ; was born in 
Alexandria, Va., March 3, 1814, and died in Greenville, Ohio, April 24, 1876; 
his father, William Weston, was a sea captain and perished at sea ; his 
mother. Rebecca Conyes, was an English lady, and died soon after the death of her 
husband ; when an orphan boy of 15, he came to Ohio, and was six years a sales- 
man in a mercantile house in Dayton, where he made a record of fine business 
talent, industry and honesty ; about 1835, with a small capital, he began business 
in Piqua, Ohio, but the financial crisis of 1836-37 swept away even- dollar 
he possessed ; nothing daunted, however, he soon began again in Covington, 
Miami County, where he prospered and became leader in the public affairs of the 
community ; in 1847, he was elected on the Whig ticket to the General Assembly 
of Ohio, and acquitted himself with credit ; in the fall of 1848, he located in 
Greenville, and opened the first hardware store of the place ; in 1856, he purchased 
the Dayton paper mills, and for seven years conducted a thriving business in that 
city, and in 1863, returned to Greenville, resumed the hardware trade, and in Jan- 
uary. 1860. became one of the organizers of the Farmers' National Bank of 
Greenville, and President of the same, remnining such until his decease. 
He was prominently active in the local enterprise of the community, and his 
generosity was as universal as mankind, with a heart ever open, and a hand ever 
extended to relieve the necessities of the poor ami unfortunate. He possessed a 
fine literary and scientific taste, and had a very fair education, and was a good 
conversationalist ; he excelled as a writer, and contributed a number of timelv 



GREENVILLE TOWNSHIP. 539 

articles to the public prints of the day. The guiding principle of his life was the 
Golden Rule. 

A. WINKLEBLECK, contractor in supplies for P., C. & St. L. R. R. and 
dealer in timber, wood, bituminous and anthracite coal ; office, Martin street, 
Greenville. The subject of this sketch was born in Montgomeiy Co., on the 
2d of January, 1846. He has been a resident of Darke Co. for several years, 
and, on Dec. 25, 1865, he was united in marriage with Susan Gorsuch. They 
are the parents of six children, of whom three are deceased. The living are Homer 
C, Maud and Carrie C. 

JOHN LEOPOLD WINNER, merchant, banker, and legislator, Greenville ; 
was born in Franklin, Warren Co., Ohio, November 19. 1816. His parents were Isaac 
Winner and Mary Powell, natives of New Jersey. They were married in Philadel- 
phia and came to Ohio in 1816, where they passed their lives. Mrs. Winner died 
in April, 1832, and her husband in the October following. For about four years 
subsequent to his father's death, our subject worked at the cooper's trade" In 
April, 1836, he came to Darke Co. and located in Greenville, where he has 
since been extensively identified with the business of the community, and has also 
held a prominent place in the political councils of the county and State. In No- 
vember, 1837, he married Miss Charlotte Clark, daughter of John Clark, Esq., ot 
Warren Co., Ohio. For some five years Mr. Winner was in the grocery business. 
Eight years he kept a hotel. Four years he kept a drug store. In 1853, he en- 
gaged in banking in company with the late Col. J. W. Frizzell, and thus continued 
till May, 1865, when he became a stockholder in the Farmers' National Bank of 
Greenville, and, in January, 1866, he was made cashier of that institution, which posi- 
tion he held till January, 1872. In April, 1873, he opened the Exchange Bank of 
Greenville,and still conducts the business of that flourishing institution. His wife died 
Aug. 12, 1863. She possessed, in a high degree, those noble qualities of mind 
and heart so essential to a true wife, and was revered in the community for her 
sweetness of disposition and sympathizing charity for the poor and unfortunate. 
She left an only daughter, Hattie, who inherited the sterling qualities of her 
mother, but the loss of her mother so affected her that she survived her but a few 
weeks, dying at the age of 15 years. On April 1, 1867, Mr. Winner married 
Mrs. Jane Crider, widow of Frederick Crider, of Greenville, and daughter of John 
W. Porter of the same place. Since 1863, Mr. Winner has been a member of the 
firm of Moore & Winner, the leading dry-goods firm of the county. In 1846, he 
was appointed Auditor of Darke Co., to fill an unexpired term of four years, 
from 1857 to 1861 he represented Darke Co. in the Legislature, and from 1867 
to 1871 he served in the State Senate. In 1874, he was elected Mayor of Green- 
ville, and served two years. In politics, he is a Democrat. Although his school 
advantages were very meager, his active mind has grasped a knowledge of men 
and things that full}' compensates the loss. 

WILLIAM H. YOU ART, late of this township, deceased. The subject of this 
memoir was born in Ireland in 1796, and came to America about the year 1818, 
settled in Miami Co., Ohio, where he followed farming and working at his trade, 
that of wheelwright, with the exception of five years' residence in Indiana, until 
1850, when he removed to Darke Co., and located in Franklin Township, where 
his decease occurred in 1862. He married in Miami Co., Ohio, to Nancy Jay ; she 
was born in Pennsylvania in 1809 ; they were the parents of nine children, of 
whom five are now living, viz., Anna, William H, Samuel, Jennie and Emma ; 
Mrs. Youart is now living with her sons at their home, and at 70 years of age is 
in possession of all her faculties and able to attend to some light household duties ; 
their home is located one and a half miles east of Greenville ; Wm. H. and Samuel 
are the only sons now living ; they came to Sec. 36, Greenville Township, in 1871, 
and purchased their present place of 60 acres, where they have since lived ; in 1873, 
they engaged in the ice business, and have since largely supplied the citizens of 
Greenville with ice ; the\ have ice-houses the capacity of 12,000 tons, which 



540 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

amount they laid in the past year ; a card of their business will be found in the 
directory of Greenville, in another part of this work. 

DANIEL ZIMMERMAN, grain-dealer; firm of Zimmerman & G-rubbs. 
grain merchants, Lower Depot, Greenville, Ohio ; another of the old 
settlers of Darke Co., born in Lebanon Co., Penn., Jan. 25, 1827 ; he is a 
son of Henry Zimmerman, who emigrated from Pennsylvania to this county 
in the fall of 1835, and is now residing in Greenville at the advanced age 
of 83 years ; our subject came to Greenville with his parents, and when 16 
years of age he was apprenticed to learn the harness-maker's trade, which occu- 
pation he followed some seven years ; he then associated with Eli Helm in the 
butcher business, -continuing the same for twelve years. In the spring of 1863, he 
enlisted in the 94th O. V. I., and went forward to battle for the Union; 
hv received his commission as second Lieutenant, and after two months' service, 
received his discharge on account of disability. In 1865, he engaged in the grain 
business at his present place, which business he has successfully followed ; in 
1876 he associated with Mr. Grubbs, since which time he has done business under 
the above firm name ; they are extensively engaged in buying and shipping grain to 
the Eastern markets ; their shipments having in a single season amounted to upward 
of 150,000 bushels. Mr. Zimmerman has held his full share of town offices, having 
been Marshal of the city two years, Councilman three years, Street Commissioner 
two years, and is now Corporation Treasurer. His marriage with Catherine Hart- 
zell, was celebrated in Greenville in 1849 ; she was a native of Pickaway Co., 
Ohio ; she died in Greenville July 13, 1876 ; they were the parents of two chil- 
dren Mary, deceased, and Lillie C., living. 



ADAMS TOWNSHIP. 

JOHN BREWER, farmer, Sec. 16 ; P. 0. Stelvideo. Peter, his father, was 
born in Pennsylvania in 1777 ; he married Holy Babe Larern, a native of Pennsyl- 
vania, born about 1779 ; they emigrated to Ohio in 1804, locating in Hamilton 
Co., and in 1819 he moved to Darke Co., where he resided till his death, which 
occurred in 1855 : his wife died in 1843. John, the subject of this sketch, is one 
of Darke Co.'s old settlers ; born in Pennsylvania on the 7th of October, 1802 ; 
came with his parents to Darke Co. in 1819 ; his education, which is very meager, 
he obtained by his own exertions ; he lived with his parents till he was about 24 
years of age, when, on the 8th of June, 1826, he celebrated his marriage with 
Elizabeth Coppess, who is a native of Greene Co., Ohio, born on the 2d of November. 
1807 ; after his marriage, he rented a farm on Stillwater, where he remained for 
two years ; he purchased 80 acres in Adams Township, for which he paid $50. 
erected a log cabin and moved, and began the task of opening up his farm ; has 
added 93 acres more, making in all 173 acres, with 125 acres in a good state of 
cultivation, the whole valued at $11,000 ; he also owns a house and lot in Stel- 
video. Mr. and Mrs. Brewer are among the oldest settlers of Adams Township, 
and have lived to see the mighty forest disappear before the woodman's ax ; and 
where the old log cabin stood, a large two-story frame house is in its place ; they 
have passed through the many struggles, dangers and incidents so common 
to the pioneer of the West, but with an indomitable will, associated with frugality, 
industry and correct business habits, they have accumulated considerable amount 
of property ; ten children have been born to them, of whom nine are living, viz.: 
Alfred, born March 10, 1827 ; Mahala, born Dec. 25, 1828 ; Peter, born Aug. 8, 
1831 ; Adam, born Nov. 25, 1833; Daniel, born Oct. 4, 1835 ; Jesner, born Aug. 

29, 1840 ; Phoebe, born Oct. 9, 1843 ; John, born July 2, 1847 ; David, born May 

30, 1850. Mr. Brewer is not a church member, but a true religionist, and is 



ADAMS TOWNSHIP. 541 

known as a man of good principle and full of humanity ; he has raised six grand- 
children, besides his own family — one for Mahala, two for Alfred, and three for 
Phoebe. 

HENRY BROWN, carpenter and farmer'; P. 0. Gettysburg, Ohio. Samuel, 
his father, was a native of Pennsylvania, born in Lebanon Co. in June, 1803 ; he 
married Frances Kopp, who is a native of the same place, born in June, 1803 ; 
they emigrated to Ohio in May, 1834, locating in Wayne Co., eight miles north of 
Wooster, where they remained till the fall of 1847, when they removed to Mont- 
gomery Co., remaining there till spring, after which they removed to Miami Co., 
locating near where Bradford now stands, remaining till 1850, when he moved 
across the line into Darke Co., where he resided about four years, during which 
time he purchased a tract of land in Section 24, consisting of 124 acres, Adams 
Township, all of which was under heavy timber ; during the time between 
1850 and 1854, he, with the help of his boys, erected a hewn-log house and 
cleared several acres, and in 1854 he moved his family, where he resided 
till his death, which occurred on the 3d of March, 1866, leaving a family 
of eight children, of whom seven are living at present, viz., Jacob, Henry, 
Daniel, Reuben, William, Fanny (now Mrs. Brandle), Elizabeth ; his widow still 
lives on the old home farm, being 76 years old ; Henry, the subject of this 
sketch, is a native of Ohio, born in Wayne County on the 27th of August, 1834 ; 
spent his boyhood days on the farm, assisting his father in the clearing and the 
cultivation of the soil, receiving his education in the district schools ; he remained 
at home till he was 22 years old, when he quit his parental roof and went in search 
of his fortune ; he commenced to work at the carpenter's trade when he was about 
25 years old, in Gettysburg, Ohio, which trade he has followed ever since, making 
his home with his mother on the old home farm, assisting in the farming, etc. Mr. 
Brown is a live, energetic, thorough business man, strictly temperate in all his hab- 
its, and is highly esteemed by his many friends and acquaintances. He is a mem- 
ber of the Lutheran Church. 

ABRAHAM BYRD, Sr., farmer ; P. O. Webster, Darke Co., Ohio ; was born 
Feb. 18, 1804, in Shenandoah County, and raised in Rockingham Co., Va.; in 1840, 
he came to Ohio and stopped for a part of the first summer in Montgomery 
County, and then settled in Darke County ; worked at his trade, bricklaying, for 
two years. He then married Emma Radefelt, who was born Nov. 17, 1820, in 
Adams County, Penn. ; about the time of his marriage, he bought 80 acres of land 
in Sec. 36, Adams Township, on which he is still living ; he has 65 acres cleared, 
all of which he accomplished but about 15 acres ; they are the parents of ten chil- 
dren — George S., born June 2, 1843 ; Hannah C, Nov. 27, 1844 ; Jacob F., March 
31, 1847 ; Sarah I., Nov. 11, 1849 ; Mary M., Jan. 17, 1852 ; Abraham and Emma, 
July 27, 1854 ; Henrietta, April 16, 1858 ; Lucy A., Feb. 27, 1860, and Silves- 
ter, Aug. 4, 1862. 

SOLOMON B. CHRISTIAN, farmer, Sec. 9 ; P. O. Bradford ; Solomon, his 
father, was a native of Pennsylvania, born in Huntingdon County on the 25th of 
December, 1789. He married Mary Bauslaugh, who was a native of the same 
State and county, and was born March 4, 1794 ; in 1814, Mr. Christian made a visit to 
Darke County, Ohio, and while here entered the east half of Sec. 9, and in 1829 
he settled on his tract of land, which at that time was a dense forest ; his wife did 
not come till 1834, as she was afraid of the Indians ; she came with a firm deter- 
mination to share the trials, dangers and hardships with her devoted husband, in 
the then almost unbroken wilderness, with here and there a family, at the mercy 
of the bloodthirsty red man, and for twenty-five years she nobly acted her part of 
the great drama of life ; on the 26th of September, 1859, the messenger of death 
entered the household, removing her from earth to heaven ; Solomon, her husband, 
surviued the storm of life till Feb. 10, 1862, when he, too, sank peacefully to rest 
in the blessed knowledge of the immortality of the soul ; they were the parents of 
seven children, of whom four are living, viz.: Susan, now Mrs. Brakebill ; Anna, 



542 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

now Mrs. Katherman ; Sarah, now Mrs. Wise, and Solomon B., the subject of this 
sketch, who is a native of Darke County. Ohio, born Jan. 9. 1836 : he received his 
education in the district schools by the time he was 19 years old, during which 
time he assisted his father in the clearing and the cultivation of the soil. On the 
19th of -January. 1854, he celebrated his marriage with Miss Mary Brumbaugh, 
who is a daughter of Jacob and Susan Brumbaugh, natives of Montgomeiy County, 
Ohio ; Mary was born in Miami County on the 27th of December, 1830, being the 
fourth child in a family of eight children, viz.: Catharine. John, Carrad. Mary, 
Emanuel, Esther, Elizabeth and Susan ; after his marriage, he farmed the old home- 
stead, where he has resided ever since ; he came in possession of the home farm 
at the death of his father ; Mr. Christian has accumulated a considerable amount 
of property by his hard labor, in which he has been nobly assisted bj' his good 
and amiable wife ; he is strictly temperate in all his habits, being a member of the 
Masonic Order, also of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, and of the Patrons 
of Husbandry. He is a firm Democrat ; Mr. Christian is not a political aspirant, 
although he has been identified with the township offices, served as Township Trus- 
tee two terms, one j v ear as Pike Superintendent, and as School Director ten years. 
Mr. and Mrs. Christian are highly esteemed by their many friends and acquaint- 
ances for their good qualities ; Mrs. Christian is a member of the German Baptist 
Church ; thev are the parents of eight children, of whom seven are living, viz.: 
Susan, born May 18, 1855 ; Philip, Jan 1, 1858 ; George W., July 4, 1860 ; Mary, 
Jnly 14, 1863 ; "Martha, Jan. 13, 1866 ; Solomon, Sept. 7, 1868 ; John S. E.. Oct. 
31. 1871. Jacob Brumbaugh was born March 14, 1803, died Jan. 27, 1843 ; Susan, 
his wife, was born Nov. 11, 1807, died March 29, 1852. 

GIDEON J. COBLENTZ, farmer, Sec. 28 ; P. O. Bradford, Ohio. Daniel, 
the father of Gideon J., is a native of Maryland ; born in Frederick County in 
April, 1814. He married Margaret Worman. who was born in Ohio in 1815 ; she 
departed this life in 1855. Mr. Coblentz celebrated his second marriage with Sarah 
Shepherd ; the}' now reside three miles east of Dayton, Ohio. Gideon, the subject 
of this sketch, is a native of Ohio, born in Montgomery County, on the 17th of Oc- 
tober 1838 ; he spent his boy-hood days in Montgomery County, assisting his father 
on the farm till he became of age, obtaining his education in the district schools. 
On the 7th of Januaiy, 1863, he celebrated his marriage with Mary E., daughter 
of John and Sarah Hinsey, who was born in Mad River Township, Montgomery 
County (now in the Corporation of Dayton), on the 29th of April, 1838. After his 
marriage, he moved on his father's farm, where he remained about two 3'ears : after 
which he rented the Barlow farm, remaining for a period of about three years ; 
when he moved near Fort Wood, on a small farm for which he paid money rent, 
remaining three years ; he followed farming for four years on three different farms, 
and in March, 1876, he purchased 40 acres in Adams Township, Sec. 28, where he 
moved and resides at present ; has since added 8 acres more, making in all 48 
acres in a good state of cultivation. Mr. Coblentz has accumulated some property 
by his hard labor, in which he has been nobly assisted by his good and amiable 
wife ; is strict^ temperate in all his habits ; two children have been born to 
them, viz.: John I). W., born July 20, 1865 ; Sarah E. M. A., born March 27, 1872. 
Mrs. Mary E. Coblentz is a clairvoyant and has remarkable powers in the facult}- 
of clairvoyancy ; to diagnose disease and prescribe for the same, and has a large 
practice in the counties of Darke, Miami and Montgomery. After an illness of ten 
years, receiving treatment from the most able physicians of the county, but all 
to no avail until the 4th day of July, 1874, when the faculty of clairvoyancy was 
brought into action, and the beautiful " Beyond" was opened up to her vision ; in 
which a tall, venerable old gentleman, with gray hair and beard, spoke to her. say- 
ing : " I come to cure you." She was then ordered by her control to read the 
thirty-fourth chapter of of Ezekiel : after which she was ordered to go where there 
was a pool of dead water and remove from her person all but three garments and 
dip herself seven times, after which burn the three garments, which she did and in 



ADAMS TOWNSHIP. 543 

six weeks she had recovered from her illness so as to be able to do her housework. 
We now leave the reader to draw his or her own conclusions, however, the writer 
can truthfully say that she possesses remarkable magnetic powers, and has great 
power over disease. 

SOLOMON CREAGER, farmer ; P. 0. Gettysburg ; was born in Maryland in 
1809 ; was the son of Henry and Susannah Creager ; they had seven children, viz., 
Polly, Thomas, Charlotte, Rebecca, Valentine and Solomon ; the grandparents, 
Conrad and Susannah, were born in Germany ; Susannah's maiden name was Wolf. 
Henry and Susannah Creager came to Montgomery Co., Ohio, in 1810, when Solo- 
mon was about 9 months old, and located six miles south of Dayton, where they 
lived and died. Mr. Creager, the subject of our sketch, was married in 1833 to 
Maria, daughter of George and Susannah Martin ; George was born in England, 
and Susannah in Maryland ; Maria had two brothers and four sisters, viz., Eliza- 
beth, Maria, Ann, Mary, George and John Thomas ; the eldest and youngest being 
dead, and the rest are living ; they have had as the issue of their marriage six 
children, three of whom are living, viz., Henry, George M. and Cora Francis, all 
married and settled in life. Mr. Creager after his marriage, lived with his father 
about six years, till the year 18-10, when they came to this count}' ; having entered 
eighty -three acres of land about five years previous and settled upon it while it 
was a wilderness, and cut the first stick of timber ; made an opening and put up a 
small cabin, into which they moved ; then commenced clearing up. working and 
toiling from day to day and year to year ; making such improvements as time and 
means would admit, till at present the}' have about 65 acres cleared and in 
cultivation, and a good comfortable house, a large barn and other buildings for 
comfort and convenience. When Mr. Creager started in life he began without any 
capital, and has made all his property by his own industry and dilligent labor, ex- 
cept a very small amount received from their parents. Mr. Creager has always been 
an active Democrat ; has been School Director and Trustee of his township some six 
years; and also filled other township offices. He is a member of the Reformed Church, 
having belonged to the same for nearly half a century ; he and his wife were two 
of the six constituent members who organized the Zion's Church, the first Reformed 
Church established in this county ; he has been Elder in the church for eighteen 
years. Thus, while we have here a sketch of one of the old settlers of the county, 
we have also a sample of pioneers in the church work rarely excelled in length of 
time of service ; here we have a noble example of the coupling together of pioneer 
work in opening out the forests, and that of building up the church, which shall 
ever stand upon the pages of history as a bright and shining light to guide the 
children's children and future generations to industry in life, and a sure way to 
a happy immortality beyond. 

DANIEL CREx\GER, farmer; P. 0. Horatio; was born in 1820 in Ohio; 
was the son of Thomas and Elizabeth Creager, who were born in Maryland ; Eliza- 
beth was the daughter of Lewis Lecklider ; the grandfather was Henry Creager. 
Thomas and Elizabeth Creager came to Darke County, and located upon the farm 
on which Daniel now lives, in 1832, when all was a wilderness ; they cut their road 
through from New Harrison to get to their land, and cut their first stick of timber ; 
arriving at the farm on Sunday, the next Wednesday eve had a log house up, and 
moved into it Thursday morning ; from this beginning they labored on, clearing up 
and opening out and making improvements as time and means would admit, 
enduring the privations and hardships of such life ; for several years their prin- 
cipal milling and grain market was at Dayton ; Thomas lived till 1849, when he 
departed this life, leaving as the results of his labor about 130 acres cleared and 
under cultivation, being an example of wonderful industry and energy, and having 
accomplished a wonderful amount of labor for the length of time he lived here ; 
he had a family of thirteen children, eight of whom grew up to manhood, viz., 
Esaias, Mary Ann, Perryman. Daniel, Catherine, Lewis, Elizabeth and Josiah, six 
being now living, the eldest of the eight children having since died. Daniel, the 



544 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

fourth child, and the subject of this sketch, in 1847 went to Versailles, where he 
remained about two years ; then to Kokomo, Ind., where he remained about two 
years ; from there he went to California, where he remained about five years ; 
returned home and remained here till 1863, when he bought a mill in Miami 
County, which he operated about two years, sold out. and then went to Versailles 
into the mercantile trade, in partnership, with his brother, where he remained two 
years, when he sold out ; but the trade was not fully consummated, after which he 
was some of the time at Versailles and some of the time on the farm, to the expi- 
ration of five years, or till 1872, when his trade at Versailles was closed up, and 
he returned to the farm, where he has remained to the present time ; the original 
farm, as bought or entered by Thomas Creager. comprised 334 acres, of which 
there are now about 180 acres cleared and in cultivation ; the farm has remained 
undivided to the present time, the mother having departed this life only last May. 
1879, being nearly 86 years of age ; Daniel has bought out four of the heirs, thus 
becoming the owner of five shares, which, of course, gives him the greater portion 
of the farm. We see here the history of a man and a family who have been 
through many hardships, but the fruits of their labors are now visible, and enable 
them to live in comfort and plenty the rest of their lives ; and this history will be 
read by generations to come with much interest, and as an example of industry 
and good management will stand forth as a bright and shining light to all ages to 
come. 

E. 0. CRUEA, meat market, Bradford, Ohio. James Cruea, the father of 
E. 0., was born in Miami County, Ohio, on the 18th of June, 1818 ; was united in 
marriage with Miss Maria E. Alexander, who was born in Piqua, Ohio, on the 29th 
day of Januar}-, 1822 ; on the 7th day of August, 1873, the angel of death entered 
this peaceful family, removing from earth to heaven their kind and loving mother, 
leaving a large concourse of friends to mourn her death. Mr. Cruea is not a resi- 
dent of Darke County, as he resides in Miami County, the street being the division 
line ; he is hale and robust, being 61 j'ears old. E. 0. Cruea, the subject of this 
sketch, was born in Piqua, Ohio, on the 19th day of August, 1847 ; spent his boy- 
hood days in Piqua, where he obtained a good common-school education ; was united 
in marriage with Miss E. Anna Boulden, in Piqua, on the 16th day of September, 
1869 ; she was born in Piqua on the 9th day of September, 1848 ; he moved to Ger- 
man Township. Darke County, in the spring of 1870, where he engaged in the live- 
stock business, buying and selling ; meeting with good success, he sold out in 1872, 
and moved to Pottawattamie County, Iowa, where he dealt in live stock, butchering 
part of the time till the spring of 1874, when he sold out and moved to Bradford, 
where he still resides, and is at present engaged in the butchering business, carry- 
ing on the largest meat market in Bradford. Four children were given to their 
union, viz. : Anna A., who was born on the 18th day of September, 1870 ; James 
W. was born on the 2d day of November, 1873 ; Edna G. was born on the 2d day 
of December, 1875 ; Lizzie May was born on the 2d day of Mav, 1877. 

GEORGE W. ELIKER, farmer, Sec. 28 ; P. 0. Greenville. Henry, his 
father, was a native of Pennsylvania, born in 1794 ; he married Lydia Harris, 
who was a native of the same State, born in 1790 ; they emigrated to Ohio, locat- 
ing in Fairfield Co., where he remained till his death, which occurred in March, 
1871 ; Mrs. Eliker died in 1845. They were the parents of three children, of 
whom all are living at present writing, viz., George W., Mary and Susan. George 
W., the subject of this sketch, is a native of Pennsylvania, born in York Co. on 
the 7th of October, 1822 ; came with his parents to Ohio in 1826, locating in Fair- 
field Co., where he obtained a good common-school education in the old-fashioned 
schoolhouse ; lived at home till he was about 24 years old, and on the 10th of 
December, 1846, he celebrated his marriage with Eliza Graham, who was born in 
Fairfield Co., Ohio, on the 28th of May, 1823 ; after his marriage he rented a farm 
and farmed for about ten years, when he moved to Darke Co. and rented land for 
about five years ; he has bought and sold 120 acres, in which he gained about 



ADAMS TOWNSHIP. 545 

$2,800 ; he purchased 96 acres in Adams Township, for which he paid $5,000, 
where he now resides ; he has good farm buildings and about 80 acres in a good 
state of cultivation. Mr. Eliker had but little of this world's goods when he com- 
menced life, but by hard labor, economy, connected with strict temperate habits 
and integrity, he has accumulated considerable amount of property. A sad afflic- 
tion befell this interesting family, for on the 3d of October, 1878, the angel of death 
removed from earth to heaven the mother, who was a devoted mother, a good wife, 
and a zealous Christian. Eight children were born to them, of whom seven are 
living, viz. : John H., born Jan. 2, 1848 ; Joseph G., born Feb. 27, 1849 ; Mary C, 
born May 9, 1850 ; Sarah A., born Feb. 10, 1854; George W., born July 10, 1858 ; 
Simon, born May 9, 1852 ; Emma, born Oct. 24, 1860. Mr. Eliker is a zealous 
worker in the cause of religion, being a member of the " Brethren in Christ " for 
a period of twenty-one years. 

CHRISTIAN ERISMAN, farmer, Sec. 24 ; P. O. Stelvideo, Ohio. Jacob, 
his father, was born in Pennsylvania on the 12th of October, 1785 ; he married 
Nancy Cassel, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1795 ; they emigrated to Ohio in 
1839, locating in Darke Co., Adams Township, Section 21, where he resided till 
his death, which occurred in 1843. They were the parents of eighteen children, of 
whom nine are living, viz., Christian, Jacob, Henry H., Reuben, Benjamin, 
Emanuel, Daniel, Joseph, Anna. Christian, the subject of this sketch, is a native 
of Pennsylvania, born in Lancaster Co. on the 24th of December, 1820 ; he assisted 
his father on the farm in the clearing and the cultivation of the soil ; obtained his 
education in the subscription schools ; came with his parents to Darke Co. in 1839 ; 
he remained at home till he was 21 years of age, when he commenced life on his 
own responsibility, working by the day or month, and at all kinds of work, till the 
death of his parents, when he returned home, and, with his eldest sister Eliza, 
took charge of the farm, which he managed with good success. On the 6th of 
February, 1845, he celebrated his marriage with Miss Catharine Long, who is a 
native of Pennsylvania, born in Adams Co. on the 16th of February. 1827 ; he now 
began the herculean task of clearing and opening up a farm, which has been 
accomplished ; and, through the mercy of Providence, he has been spared to see 
the mighty forests fall before the woodman's ax, and what at that time was a 
dense wilderness, is now dotted with beautiful meadows, with elegant farmhouses 
and large and commodious barns ; he has under cultivation 110 acres, with good 
farm buildings, has erected a large barn at a cost of about $1,000, also a two-story 
brick house at a cost of $1,200, all of which was done when labor and material 
were very low ; he now owns 144 acres, valued at $10,000, all of which he has 
accumulated by hard labor, in which he has been nobly assisted by his good and 
amiable wife, having passed through the many struggles, dangers and incidents so 
common to the pioneer of the West ; eleven children have been born to this union, of 
whom only five are living, viz. : Lizzie, born Feb. 14, 1850 ; Franklin C, born Feb. 
14, 1860 ; Lewis E., born Dec. 9, 1864 ; Cora M.,born May 5, 1867 ; Arthur A., born 
Oct. 5, 1871. Henry Erisman, his brother, lives but a short distance from the old 
home farm ; he married Mary Jane Reck on the 26th day of September. 1848 
eight children have been born to them, of whom seven are living, viz. : Samuel H 
born Aug. 26, 1849 ; Ervin H., born May 13, 1852 ; Edward, born Dec. 11. 1854 
Brough, born July 4, 1862 ; Charles, born, Dec. 7, 1868 ; Frances, born Nov.2, 1857 
Delia, born July 25, 1856. 

ADAM C. FRAMPTON, farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 15 : P. O. Stelvideo. 
The subject of this memoir is a son of Hugh Frampton, who was a native of Penn- 
sylvania and was born in 1799 ; he came to Ohio and settled in Richland Town- 
ship, Darke Co., when he was a young man. He was united in marriage with 
Mary Coppess ; she was born in North Carolina in 1805. They were the "parents 
of five children, of whom four are now living, viz., Adam C, William, Martha 
(Mary J. deceased) and Sarah E. Mr. Frampton entered 80 acres of land which 
at that time was all under heavy timber ; here they settled, lived and died. Mr. 



546 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

Frarapton departed this life in 1862; his wife dying two years previous. Our 
subject was born in Ohio. Darke Co.. Nov. 5, 1S26 ; he remained at home until lie 
was 22 years of age, during which time he acquired a good common-school educa- 
tion in the district school. At the age of 20 he commenced school teaching, 
which he followed for about three years ; teaching during the winter months and 
working on the farm in the summer. On the 31st of May, 1849. he celebrated his 
marriage with Mary .Jane Patterson : she was born in Maryland in 1826 and is a 
daughter of Robert and Anna Patterson, who emigrated from Maryland in 1 832 
and located in Richland Township, this county. Mr. Patterson departed this life 
in 1842 ; his wife's death occurring in 1854. They were the parents of five chil- 
dren, four of whom are living, viz., John, Esther. Mary Jane, Samuel and Michael, 
deceased. After the marriage of Mr. Frampton, he settled on his farm in Richland 
Township ; remaining there about three yeai-s. he sold out and moved to Stel- 
video, Ohio, and in company with two of his brothers-in-law erected a steam saw- 
mill and engaged in the timber business, following the same for about thirteen 
years, meeting with good success ; he then sold out and purchased fifty acres of 
land in Sec. 15, Adams Township, for which he paid $800 ; he also owned 60 
acres in the same section, but disposed of 4 acres and now has 106 acres in his 
farm. When he purchased this land, it was all under heavy timber with the 
exception of 2 acres ; he moved into a little house which had been erected previ- 
ous to his coming here, but in a short time he had the residence erected he now 
lives in, and a good barn and other good farm buildings ; he has 70 acres cleared 
and under a good state of cultivation. It can be truly said that Mr. Frampton is 
a ' : pioneer, " that is, as far as clearing and opening out a farm is concerned ; he 
has accomplished this Iry his hard labor, correct business and temperate habits, in 
which he has been nobly assisted by his good and amiable wife. He has been 
identified more or less with township offices since his residence in the county ; 
served as Trustee of Adams Township for a period of six years, and has held some 
other offices ; he is not a church member, but believes that religion must be lived 
as well as professed, and it can be said that he is always be found at his post ready 
to relieve suffering humanity. Five children are the fruits of this union, four of 
whom are living, viz., Robert P., Carrie, Minnie and Lillian. On the 3d of March, 
1878. the death messenger entered this peaceful and interesting family and 
remove! from earth to heaven, Rosella, a daughter of 16 summers, cut down in the 
bloom of life and leaving a host of friends to mourn her loss. Mr. Frampton is a 
member of the I. 0. O. P. Order ; also a member of the Patrons of Husbandry and 
is strictly temperate in all his habits, not using tobacco in any shape and has 
never taken a drink of an} r liquor only for medical purposes, and is an earnest 
worker in the cause of temperance. 

JACOB F. GAUBY. manufacturer of brick and tile ; P. O. Bradford, Ohio. 
Jacob, his father, was born in Pennsylvania on the 20th of March, 1803 ; he mar- 
ried Christina Fike. who was born in Berks Co.. Penn., on the 11th of March. 1811 ; 
they emigrated to Ohio in 1855, locating in Darke Co.. where they resided until 
death overtook them ; Christina died June 11, 1873, and on the 16th of October. 
1873, Jacob sank peacefully to rest. 

Jacob F.. the subject of this sketch, was born in Pennsylvania on the 7th of 
December, 1837 ; he spent his boyhood days in Pennsylvania, where he received a 
good education in German ; came with his parents to Ohio when he was 17 
years old ; after he came to Ohio, he obtained some knowledge of the English lan- 
guage by his own efforts ; he remained at home until he was 21 years old. and on 
the 20th of January, 1859, he celebrated his marriage with Rebecca Wise, a native 
of Ohio ; he then engaged in farming, and in a few years he purchased 122 acres 
of land ; unfortunately, he lost his wife on the 22d of March, 1865 ; three chil- 
dren were born to them, viz.: Moses, born Oct. 19, 1860; Jacob, born July 16. 
1862 ; Rebecca, born March 9, 1865. About one year later, he celebrated his 
second marriage with Abigail Boocher. of Montgomery Co.. Ohio ; three children 



ADAMS TOWNSHIP. 547 

by this union, of whom two are living, viz.: Henry, born June 27, 1868; John, 
born Dec. 3. 1870. On the 16th of January, 1874, the death messenger called 
again and summoned his wife to that better land ; this, a second bereavement, 
almost crushed him to the earth. In 1874, he was married to Malinda J. Stose, a 
native of Ohio, born on the 7th of June, 1853 ; three children have been born to 
this union, viz.. P]ffie J. D., Cora, William. Mr. Gauby has sold off 80 acres of 
his land, investing the proceeds in his manufacturing of tile and brick ; he now 
owns 42 acres of land where he resides, one house and lot in Bradford, also a 
blacksmith-shop ; he is now engaged in the manufacturing of brick and tile, and 
it is said that his tile and brick are the best in the count}'. The brickmasons say 
that they can make a better job out of his kiln than from any other in the 
country ; he has the largest and most complete tile manufactory in the county. 
Mr. Gauby has had his full share of township offices ; served as Constable and 
Supervisor ; he is a member of the I. 0. 0. F., and was a member of the German 
Baptist Church until he joined this order, when the church dismissed him for join- 
ing this good and noble order. 

WILLIAM E. GEORGE, dealer in grain and hogs, also ticket, freight and 
express agent, Gettysburg, Ohio. George, his father, was a native of Germany, 
born in Hesse-Darmstadt in 1812 ; Mary, his wife, whose maiden name was 
Bishop, was a native of Adams Co., Penn., born in 1815 ; the}* were united in 
marriage in Gettysburg, Penn., where they spent their days. Mrs. George departed 
this life Dec. 24, 1843, Mr. George in 1879. Our subject is a native of Penn- 
sylvania, born in Gettysburg, Adams Co., the 6th day of June, 1835 ; he spent 
his boyhood days in his native State, where he received his preparatory education 
in the district schools, after which he entered the preparatory department of the 
Pennsylvania College, where he obtained an academic education, and at the age 
of 20 years engaged in teaching school in the vicinity of Chambersburg, Franklin 
Co., which he followed about three years ; came to Darke Co.. Ohio, in the fall of 
1857, and located in Washington Township, where he engaged in teaching in 
the district schools, which he followed for a period of about seven years, averaging 
about nine and a half months per year ; he was united in marriage with Deborah 
H. Fonts on the 13th of January, 1861 ; she was a native of Indiana, born in 
South Bend, St. Joseph Co., on the 16th of October, 1840 ; her parents were 
natives of Maryland, and came to Indiana in an early day. On the 4th of June, 
1863, the death messenger entered the household of Mr. George and removed 
from earth to heaven his beloved companion ; after her death he sold all his real 
and personal property, following his profession of teaching in different localities, 
during which time he entered Bryant & Stratton's Commercial College of Indian- 
apolis, where he graduated in the fall of 1865 ; he then came to Gettysburg, 
Darke Co., and resumed his profession, teaching at different places in Adams and 
Franklin Townships and vicinity, for about eight years. On the 28th of Decem- 
ber, 1865, he celebrated his second marriage with Sarah M. McDowell, born in 
Darke Co. Jan. 4, 1844 ; her parents were from Pennsylvania, and came to this 
count}' in a very early day. In July, 1872. Mr. George was appointed ticket, 
freight, and U. S. Express agent of the P., C. & St. Louis R. R. at Gettysburg 
and at the same time engaged in the grain and stock trade, which he has since 
followed ; he now has in course of erection a large elevator. 26x110. and 26 feet 
high, which will be supplied with all the necessary machinery ; he handled about 
170,000 bushels last season, of different kinds of grain. Mr. George has one 
child by his last marriage, Myrtie A., born Oct. 10. 1871 ; also one child by his 
first wife. viz.. Charles A., born on the 3d of December, 1862 ; his mother died 
when he was but 6 months old, after which his uncle, William English, of Spar- 
tanburg, Randolph Co., Ind., took him to raise, where he now lives, but is making 
arrangements to engage in the drug business in Marshall, 111. Mr. George has 
been identified with the various township offices since his residence here ; has 
been clerk of the township for about twelve years, which office he now holds ; was 



5-tS BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

appointed Deputy U. S. Marshal in 1870, having for his district, Adams, Franklin, 
Van Buren and Monroe Townships ; he was confirmed in the Lutheran Church in 
1850, but after he came to Darke Co., Ohio, he past his lot with the Presbyterians, 
his wife also being a member of the same church ; he has accumulated a consid- 
erable amount of property by his hard labor, connected with correct business 
and temperate habits, in which he has been assisted by his good and noble wife ; 
he owns 260 acres of land in Iowa, and about five acres in the corporation of 
Gettysburg, the whole valued at about $0,000. Mr. George commenced life with- 
out any of this world's goods, and when he came West he borrowed $50 to bring 
him here, and has met with many trials and troubles since he commenced life ; 
the greatest misfortune was in losing his right arm on the 19th of February, 1849, 
two and a half miles south of Gettysburg, Penn.; while feeding a thrashing ma- 
chine he unfortunately got his hand caught in the cylinder, and was mangled so 
badly that he was compelled to have it amputated ; he is a man who possesses an 
indominitable will, strictly honest, and a thorough business man ; strictly temper- 
ate, neither chews nor smokes tobacco ; is a great worker in the cause of temper- 
ance ; a Republican in politics. 

LEVI GILBERT, farmer ; P. 0. Gettysburg. James, his father, was a native 
of Maryland, born in 1776 ; was taken to Pennsylvania by his parents, where he 
married Mollie Reeser in Lebanon Co., where they spent their days ; he departed 
this life about 1814 ; Mollie, his wife died in about 1816 ; six children were born 
to them ; three are living at the present writing, viz., Levi, Joseph and Benjamin ; 
Joseph lives in Montgomery Co.. Benjamin in Darke Co. Levi, the subject of this 
sketches a native of Pennsylvania, born in Lebanon Co. on the 26th of September, 
1806 ; he was left an orphan when quite 3 T oung, thrust out on the cold charities of 
the world to fight the battles of life among strangers ; he lived in Lebanon Co. till 
he was about 16 years old, working for different persons for his clothes and board ; 
he would attend subscription school part of the winter, which tuition he paid him- 
self ; he went to Dauphin Co.. where he worked by the month on a farm for about 
one year and a half, after which he went to Lancaster Co., where he resided till he 
was about 30 years old, following teaming and farming. On the 8th day of 
December, 1829, he celebrated his marriage with Miss Mariah Spires, who is a 
native of Pennsylvania, born in Lancaster Co. on the 13th of July, 1808. In 1837. 
he and his family of three boys bade farewell to friends and their native county, 
started with a two-horse team for the West to better their condition, and on the 21st 
day of May they arrived in Miami Co., where he rented the Eller farm near Cov- 
ington, where he remained abput five and a half years, meeting with good success, 
during which time he purchased 110 acres in Adams Township, Sec. 19, all of 
which was under heavy timber, for which he paid $41)0 ; after he purchased this 
tract of land, he commenced the task of clearing and opening up a farm, worked at 
spare times till he had cleared sufficient to put out a little crop ; during this time, 
he had erected a log cabin, and in 1843 he moved his family into this " mansion, " 
where he has continued to reside ever since, but not in the old log cabin, as in the 
course of time he erected a beautiful two-story brick house, and other farm 
buildings. Mr. Gilbert has accumulated a considerable amount of property by 
hard labor, in which he has been nobly assisted by his good and amiable wife, b >th 
of whom have passed through the many struggles, dangers and incidents so common 
to the pioneer of the West ; they have a host of friends and are held in high 
esteem by nil who know them ; they are active' workers in the cause of religion, 
being members of the Evangelical Church, and the writer can truthfully say that 
they are living devoted Christian lives, and he will never forget that pleasant hour 
and a half he spent in their company. May their days, which will be few in the 
body, be brightened by the golden light of spirit land —the summer land— and 
when they are through with the body may the passing-out be as a gentle zephyr. 
They are the parents of seven children, of whom six are living, viz.. Henry, 
Samuel, Levi S.. Frances (now Mrs. Merrick). Mollie (now Mrs. Holman). Elizabeth 



ADAMS TOWNSHIP. 



549 



(now Mrs. Reck), Elmira (now Mrs. Floinerfield) ; Henry, his son, is a native 
of Pennsylvania, born in Lancaster Co. on the 23d of October, 1830 ; he spent his 
boyhood days on his father's farm, assisting in the clearing and the cultivation of 
the soil. He received a good common-school education in the district schools. At 
the a<re of 18, he commenced to learn the coopering trade in his father's shop, 
where°he worked till he was 21 years old, after which he continued on his own 
responsibility till he was about 29 years of age, during which time he made his 
home with his father. He celebrated his marriage with Nancy A. Hill on the 28th 
of August, 1859 ; she was born in Miami Co. in 1839, and on the 12th of August 
the death messenger removed her from earth to heaven, leaving one child, who in 
seven days later fell asleep in death also. In two years and five months, he 
celebrated his second marriage,with Miss Mary E. Harry, who is a native of Mont- 
gomery Co., Ohio, born in Dayton in May, 1843 ; seven children by this union, 
viz • William H, born Dec, 28, 1863 ; Samuel H, born September, 1865 ; John C, 
born March, 1867 ; Benit, born August, 1869 ; Edward 0., born March, 1872 ; 
Yinie B.,born November, 1876 ; May, born September, 1879. Mr. Gilbert resides 
on his father's farm, carrying on the coopering business during the winter and 
farming in the summer. . 

LEVI S. GILBERT, farmer, P. 0. Gettysburg, Ohio; a son of Levi and 
Mariah Gilbert ; was born in Lancaster Co., Penn., on the 13th day of September 
1835; came with his parents to Ohio, locating in Miami Co., and in 1842 
removing to Darke Co, where he spent his boyhood days on his father's farm, 
receiving his education in the district school ; at the age of 16, he commenced to 
learn the coopering trade in his father's shop ; he followed his trade about six- 
teen years, four years of which he worked in Gettysburg ; in 1863, he sold out his 
shop and purchased a farm of 124 acres in Sec. 29, Adams Township, where he 
moved and has since resided ; he now has ninety acres in a good state of culti- 
vation a beautiful brick house ; a barn, 80x47 feet, which he erected at a cost 
of about $1,500 ; on the 29th day of September, 1859, he celebrated his marriage 
with Rosana, daughter of Mathias and Arnstena, who was born in Montgomery Co., 
on the 28th day of December, 1840 ; five children have been born to them, viz., Elmer 
E born August 9, 1862 ; Nora May, born December 5, 1865 ; Harry A., born Feb. 
17, 1867 ; Edith J., born March 25, 1869 ; Raymond M., born March 7, 1874, Mr. 
Gilbert has accumulated a considerable amount of property, in which he has been 
nobly assisted by his good and amiable wife ; he is strictly temperate in all his 
habits. In 1864, he enlisted in the 100-day service and went forth in defense of his 

country. , , 

AARON HAHN ; P. 0. Gettysburg. The subject of this sketch was born m 
Mahoning Co.. Ohio, March 26, 1816 ; he is a son of Samuel and Hannah (Pau- 
line) Hahn, who were natives of Maryland; Mr . H. was born about the year 1790 
or 1791, his wife in 1795 ; they came to Darke Co. in 1831 and located in Frank- 
lin Township ; Mrs. H. departed this life in 1861 ; Mr. H. is still living, and resides 
in Greenville, with his son Amos. Our subject came to this county with his parents 
when 15 years of age, where he assisted his father on the farm during the summer 
season and attended the district school through the winter, thereby obtaining a 
o-ood common-school education ; he remained at home till 21 years of age, when 
his father gave him 93 acres of land, all under heavy timber ; he then commenced 
the task of clearing and preparing the land for cultivation. On the 21st of March, 
1839, he was united in marriage with Mary A. Reck, and located upon his farm, 
to which he had added until possessed of 184 acres in all ; Mrs. H. departed this 
life May 11, 1853; their children were five in number by this union, of whom 
four are living, viz.: Mary E., born May 18, 1844 ; Jeremiah, Oct. 15. 1846 ; John 
E.. May 21, 1850 ; Joseph, April 30, 1853 ; Mr. H. carried on his farm and cared 
for inVchildren till Jan. 26, 1854, when he was united in marriage with Catherine 
Feeser ; she was born in Frederick Co., Maryland, July 7. 1834 ; they remained on 
the farm in Franklin Township till 1868, when he sold, and bought 127 acres m 



550 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

Adams Township, which he traded for 84 acres in Sec. 25, locating there in 1873, 
where he still resides : his residence is situated in the corporation of Gettysburg ■' 
he has been afflicted with palsy for several years, which has confined him to his 
room a greater part of the time ; Mr. H. has in no way been an office-seeker, yet 
he has been identified with the township offices since his residence here ■ he has 
served as Trustee of Franklin Township for a period of six years, and has Keen 
Clerk and School Director ; the children of Aaron and Catherine (Feeser) Hahn 
were ten in number, of whom nine are living, viz.: Emeline, born April 15 1857 
William. Oct. 16, 1858 ; Martha E.. May 5, 1860 ; Susanna C, Sept. 10,' 1861 ; 
Laura B.. May 16, 1863 ; Ansenora, Oct. 24, 1865 ; Samuel N., May 15, 1868 ; Sarah 
J., May 1, 1869, and Benjamin F., May 15. 1871. Mr. H. has passed through the 
many hard struggles, trials and incidents of frontier life, and has accumulated a 
good property, in which he has been nobly assisted by his good wife. Mr. and 
Mrs. H. are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and are good, consistent 
Christian people. 

ROBERT L. HARPER, farmer; P. O.Horatio. He was born in 1812, in 
Pennsylvania, the son of Robert and Sarah Harper, both being born in Pennsylva- 
nia. He was married in 1832 to Martha Adams, daughter of George and Eliza- 
beth Adams, who were born in Virginia, and came to Ohio in about 1810 ; George 
Adams — Col. Adams, as he was then called — was in the war of 1812, serving as 
Colonel all through the war, and bringing home the marks of active service, hav- 
ing seven bullets shot through his body ; the issue of the marriage of the subject 
of our sketch were eight children, of whom five are now living, viz., William S. 
Thomas B., Robert, George and Martha Jane, all married and settled in life.' 
except Martha Jane, who is yet single and remains at home. Mr. Harper 
located upon the farm where he now lives, consisting of 81 acres, in the 
spring of 1833, and cut out the first stick of timber, made an opening, and 
put up a little log cabin, this being the only settlement around nearer than 
New Harrison, one and a half miles distant ; from this beginning he labored, open- 
ing out and improving as time and means would permit, till now he has 60 acres 
cleared up and in good cultivation, with a good frame house and good barn ; this 
has all been accomplished by diligent industry and energy, coupled with econ- 
omy, he being $300 in debt when he went on to the farm, and now he has the pleas- 
ure to enjoy the comforts around him for the rest of his life ; Mr. Harper is a 
brother of Sanford Harper, of Greenville. This is a very remarkable example of 
early pioneer life, one who endured especially the toils and hardships incident to 
such a life, and it will stand recorded here "upon the pages of this history, as a 
bright and shining example of what diligence and industry will accomplish, and 
will be read with interest and profit by children's children and future generations 
for ages to come. 

ISAAC HARSHEY. furniture and undertaking, Gettysburg. The brother of 
David, a native of Darke Co., Ohio, born on the 23d of February, 1839 ; lived at 
home till he was 30 years old ; attended school during the winter months in District 
No. 2, Adams Township, where he obtained a good common-school education, and at 
the age of 18 he commenced to learn pump-making, which he has, with cabinet-mak- 
ing, followed ever since, and he is at present canying on the furniture and undertak- 
ing business with his brother ; in May, 1864, he enlisted in the hundred-day service, 
joining himself with the 152d Regiment, Company C ; he served four months, during 
which time he participated in several severe engagements, viz., Lynchburg. Va.. and 
Sweet Springs, Va.; he was mustered out in September, 1864, after which he went 
to Illinois, where his father resided, and farmed with his father for two years, when 
he. with his father, returned to Darke Co., Ohio, and in 1868 he moved to Gettys- 
burg, formed a partnership with John S. Plants, and carried on the pump and cab- 
inet making business for about eighteen months, when they dissolved partnership. 
and he formed the present partnership with his brother. On the 2d of May. 
1869, he celebrated his marriage with Margaret Layer, daughter of Peter and 



ADAMS TOWNSHIP. 551 

Hannah Layer; she is a native of Darke Co., Ohio, born on the 25th of Novem- 
ber, 1844 ; one child has been born to them, viz., Hannah B., on the 5th of Sep- 
tember, 1871. Mr. Harshey is not a member of any church, but lives in his own 
soul's freedom, keeping the Golden Rule in view, being honorable, truthful and very 
conscientious in all his dealings with his fellow-man. He has, by hard labor, con- 
nected with correct business and temperate habits, accumulated some property, in 
which he has been noblv assisted by his good and amiable wife. 

DAVID HARSHEY, of the firm of ^Harshey & Bro., manufacturers of furni- 
ture and undertakers, Gettysburg, Ohio ; Jacob, their father, was a native of Penn- 
sylvania, born in Adams Co., in 1806. He married Elizabeth Deeter, who was 
born in Miami Co., Ohio, on the 20th of October, 1815 ; he came with his parents to 
Ohio in the fall of 1833, locating in Darke Co., where he purchased 160 acres in 
Sec. 29, Adams Township ; he also entered 240 acres in Adams and Richland Town- 
ships ; in September, 1864, he sold out and removed to DeWitt Co., 111., where he 
purchased 120 acres of prairie land near Clinton, the county seat; he had. however, 
previous to his moving to Illinois, purchased 200 acres in Fayette Co.; in 1865. his 
wife died, after which he sold out and removed to Darke Co., and purchased 80 
acres in Sec. 29, Adams Township, where he remained about five years, when he 
sold out and purchased 41 acres in Franklin Township, where he moved and on 
the 12th of April, 1874. he departed this life, leaving a family of eight children. 
viz., Isaac, David, Hannah, John D., Jacob, Lucinda, Susanah and Elizabeth. 
David, the subject of this sketch, was born in Ohio, Darke Co., on the 17th of Nov- 
ember. 1841, lived at home until he was about 18 years of age, receiving his education 
in the district school, after which he commenced to learn the carpenter's trade with G. 
W. Weaver, of Miami Co., where he worked about two and one-half years, when he 
engaged with B. Kepner, receiving good wages ; he worked for him two years, 
after which he carried on the business on his own responsibility, meeting with good 
success ; in June, 1 863, he enlisted in the 152d 0. V.I., Co. C, and went forth in defense 
of his country, serving three months, during which time he was in several severe 
engagements, viz., Sweet Springs. Va., on Greenbrier River, and was with Hunter 
when he made his raid on Lynchburg, Va.. where he was repulsed ; he returned 
home in September, and re-enlisted in September, 1864. in the 19th O. V. I.. Co. F, for 
three years ; during this campaign, he was in the battle of Ft- McAlister and the 
siege of Savannah, Ga.; he was mustered out in June. 1865 ; after his return from 
the army he followed his trade, and in 1872 he formed a partnership with his 
brother Isaac, in the manufacture of furniture and the undertaking business, in 
Gettysburg, where he has remained ever since ; they have a complete outfit of 
machinery suitable for their business, and are doing a good business ; on the 10th 
of November 1878, he celebrated his marriage with Miss Clara H, daughter of Sam- 
uel and Eliza M. Lehman,who was born in July. 1859 ; one child has been born to 
them, viz., Franklin Judson, born on the 26th of July, 1879 ; Mr. Harshey is 
strictly temperate in all his habits, and is a member of I. O. O. F., of Gettysburg. 

EMANUEL HERSHEY, farmer and minister. Sec. 28 ; P. 0. Gettysburg. 
Jacob, his father, was born in Lancaster Co., Penn., on 17th of November, 1796 ; he 
married P]lizabeth Miller, who is a native of the same State and county, born on 
the 17th of May, 1804. Mr. Hershey lived, died and was buried in his native 
county, his death occurring on the 12th of August, 1872. Elizabeth, his widow, is 
living at present writing and resides in Lancaster City, Penn. Emanuel, the sub- 
ject of this sketch, is a native of Pennsylvania, born in Lancaster Co. on the 4th 
of February, 1821 ; spent his boyhood days on his father's farm, receiving his 
preparatory education in the district schools of his county, and. at the age of 17, 
he entered Litiz College, where he obtained a good academic education. After his 
return from college, he worked two years in his father's flouring-mill. where he 
learned the trade, after which he went to Buffalo, N. Y., and worked in the Black 
Rock flouring-mills six months, when he returned home and worked in his father's 
mill till the spring of 1849. when he started for the West, and on the 9th of May 



,552 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

arrived in Darke Co., and then rented the flouring-mill one mile west of New 
Harrison, on Greenville Creek, which mill he operated for about seven years, when 
he moved on his farm of 30 acres, which he had purchased in 1853, and then com- 
menced to burn lime, and at the same time operate his farm, to which he has 
added 112 acres, making in all 142 acres, with good farm buildings ; he has been 
manufacturing sorghum molasses for about fifteen years, making from fifty to 
eighty barrels during the season, and has the credit of making the best grade of 
molasses in the county. He celebrated his marriage on the 14th of November, 
1844, with Magdalena Bear, who was born in Lancaster Co., Penn., on the 10th of 
September, 1825 ; ten children have been born to this union, of whom nine are 
living, viz. : Adam B., born Jan. 9, 1846 ; Samuel, born Sept. 28, 1847 ; Jacob, 
born Sept. 12, 1849 ; Barbara Ann, born May 15, 1852 ; Sarah E., born Jan. 28. 
1854 ; Emma, born Feb. 19, 1857 ; John, born Feb. 12, 1859 ; Eliza, born March 
19. 1861 ; Mary, born Jan. 20, 1868. Mr. Hershey has had his full share of town- 
ship offices, viz., served as Trustee of Adams for five j r ears, and in 1879 was 
elected Land Appraiser of Adams Township. He takes a very active part in 
religion, being a member of the German Baptist Church and minister of Oakland 
Church for a period of ten years ; his wife is also a member of the same church. 
Mr. Hershey has accumulated a considerable amount of property, in which he has 
been nobly assisted by his good and amiable wife. He is strictly temperate in all 
his habits. 

ROBERT C. HORNER, farmer; P. 0. Gettysburg; was born in Darke 
County, Ohio ; was a son of Alexander and Eliza Horner ; Alexander was born in 
Adams County, Penn., and was the son of James Horner, who was also born in 
Pennsylvania ; Eliza's maiden name was McGargon. Robert C. was married in 
October, 1860, to Sarah Clark, daughter of Zachariah and Hester Clark ; Zachariah 
was born in Pennsylvania ; Hester was born in this county. Robert C. and Sarah 
Horner are parents of ten children, six of whom are now living, viz., Maretta 
Rosella, Mary Hester, Ellen Pherba, Robert Elmer, James Harvey, and Eliza 
Leola ; Robert lives upon the same farm his father came to in 1833, where he lived 
and died, his death occurring in 1871 ; when he came here in 1833, the place now 
known as Gettysburg was all a wilderness ; the farm is now just outside of the 
corporation of Gettysburg ; there was just a little cleared upon it when he came 
here : he originally purchased 189 acres, labored in clearing up and opening out 
the country till there are now about 120 acres in good cultivation, built a nice brick 
house, good barn, and other buildings ; this has mostly been accomplished by his 
own labor and industry, and from time to time he purchased more land, till at his 
death, which occurred the 7th of February, 1871, he owned 390 acres all in one body, 
at which time it was all sold ; and his son Robert, the subject of our sketch, 
bought and now owns 136 acres, upon which he has since resided ; he has laid off 
for building lots for the town about 4 acres ; his farm being so near the town 
makes it quite valuable, a convenient home, and pleasant situation. His father 
was in the war of 1812 ; Robert was in the war of the rebellion ; enlisted in the 
152d Regiment 0. N. G., in May, 1864 ; this regiment did some very active service ; 
he served about four months, when he was discharged, and returned safely home 
to his family ; he has held the township offices of Constable and Assessor, and is 
now J ustice of the Peace ; we are pleased to place upon the pages of this history a 
record and genealogy of another family of the early settlers of this country, whose 
life, industry and success stand forth to be read with pleasure and profit by their 
children's children for ages to come. 

LEVI HUDDLE, retired farmer, Sec. 8 ; P. O. Webster, Ohio. Frederick, 
his father, was born in Shenandoah Co., Va., on the 21st of September. 1791 ; he 
married Magdalena Boyd, who was a native of the same State and county, born 
on the 25th of August, 17!»2 ; they emigrated to Ohio in 1829, locating in Fair- 
field Co., where they remained about six months, when they removed to Mont- 
gomery Co., eight miles north of Dayton, where they resided until 1833, when 



ADAMS TOWNSHIP. 553 

they came to Darke Co., locating in Wayne Township, near where Webster now 
stands, where, on the 5th day of June, 1834, he sank peacefully to rest in the 
knowledge of the blest immortality of the soul, as the veil had been lifted from 
the faculty of spirituality and the finer firus placed on the organ of clear sight, or 
clairvoyant faculty, and he caught a glimpse of that beautiful summer land ; and here 
the writer desires to call attention to the remarkable accuracy and interesting 
account of his death, as given by his son Levi. A short time before his death, he 
caught a glimpse of the higher courts, in which he saw the day that he would leave 
his body and pass into spirit-life ; this he related to his good wife and children, of 
which they did not understand, and passed it off as superstition ; but on the day 
that the transition was to occur, thei'e being several of the neighbors present, and 
his friends, to hear the good old man talk and give directions concerning his 
burial, etc.. he placed himself in the large arm-chair, chatting all the while to his 
friends, and at the appointed hour, after bidding all good-bye, his arms fell lifeless 
by his side, when he drew one long breath, and his spirit had fled. Magdalena, 
his widow, survived the storm of life until the 27th of April, 1866, when she was 
found dead in her bed, her spirit having fled and joined the angel-band that was 
awaiting her arrival. They were the parents of five children, of whom two are 
living at present writing, viz., Catharine, and Levi, the subject of this memoir, 
who was born in Rockingham Co., Va., on the 20th of December, 1820 ; he spent 
his boyhood days on the farm, assisting his father in clearing land and cultivation 
of the soil ; he received his education in the district schools ; his father died 
when he was about 14 years old, which left his widowed mother with the 
family to his care and support, which duty he nobly performed ; when he was 20 
years old, he commenced to teach school ; his first school was taught in an old log 
schoolhouse which stood on the farm where he now resides ; he taught during the 
winter months, and in the summer he would farm and trade ; he followed teaching 
for about twenty-three years, during which time he taught a term of eleven months 
in Vandalia, Montgomery Co.; while teaching here, he took lessons in higher 
arithmetic, algebra, penmanship and drawing, of Mr. David Ecker, and by hard 
study and close application he acquired a good academic education ; in 1846, he 
traveled for a stove firm in Dayton, which he followed for about two years ; he 
commenced work at $1 per day, and after the first month, the firm raised his 
wages to $52 per month, and at the close of the second month, his wages were 
raised to $100 per month. In 1849, he entered the employ of William Mitchell, 
of Dayton, as salesman and collector, where he remained about one year, after 
which he followed the same business until 1851, but for another party ; in 1851 
he traveled for a Piqua firm selling notions, which he followed for about four 
years. On the 9th of April, 1854, he celebrated his marriage with Miss Lucinda, 
daughter of Abraham and Salome Hetzler ; three children were born to them, of 
whom two are living, viz.. Mary L. Lucinda, Sarah Jane R. In April, 1871, the 
messenger of death entered this peaceful and interesting family, removing the 
mother from earth to heaven. His two daughters are attending the Westerville 
College, from which the}' will graduate in 1880. He celebrated his second mar- 
riage on the 16th of September, 1872, with Mary, daughter of Anson and Lydia 
Aldrich ; she is a native of Massachusetts, born on the 19th of September, 1845 ; the 
marriage ceremony was performed by the Rev. William Jay. Mr. Huddle is the 
largest landholder in Darke Co., having accumulated a large amount of property 
by his hard labor, connected with strict temperate and correct business habits ; 
he now owns 3,400 acres, all of which is paid for, of which 600 acres are in Green- 
wood Co., Kan.; 320 in Phillips Co., Mo.; 220 in Pike Co., 111.; and the rest lies in 
Ohio and Indiana ; he was one of the first stockholders of the State Bank of 
Ohio —William Scott, President, and Young, Cashier ; and. when the bank was 
changed to the First National, he took $11,000 stock; in the Citizens' Bank of 
Piqua, $4,100 ; ten shares in the Farmers' National Bank of Greenville, and 100 
shares in the Building Association of Greenville, twenty shares of which belong 



554 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

to each member of the family. He is a member of the United Brethren Church, 
and his wife a member of the Christian Church, and his two daughters are mem- 
bers of the Methodist Church. 

.JOHN A. HUNTER, -rain-dealer, of the lirm of Williams & Hunter. Brad- 
lord. Ohio. Robert Hunter, the father of J. A., was born in Fairfield Co.. Ohio, on 
the 24th day of August. 1818 : Nancy Alexander, his wife, was born in Pennsyl- 
vania on the 26th day of August. 1826 ; six children were given to this union, of 
whom three are living, viz.. John A.. James A., and Anna B. ; James A. was 
horn on the 11th day of September. 1852 : Anna B. was born on the 28th day of 
August, 1859; Mr. and Mrs. Hunter are still living and reside in Mercer Co., 
Ohio. John A., the subject of this memoir, was born in Fairfield Co., Ohio, on 
the 10th day of May. 1844: and in 1846 his parents moved near Fort Recovery, 
Mercer Co., Ohio, where he spent his boyhood days, assisting his father in the 
cultivation of the soil during the summer season, and attending the district school 
in the winter months till he was about 17 years of age, after which he entered the 
high school at Liber. Ind., attending about four terms, thereby obtaining a good 
academic education ; in the spring of 1864, he responded to the call of President 
Lincoln for one-hundred-day men by enlisting in the 152d 0. V. I., and went forth 
in the defense of his country : was mustered out of service at the expiration of 
term, after which he returned home and attended the Liber High School one term ; 
he taught his first school in the winter of 1864-65 in Mercer Co. : followed teach- 
ing till 1870, teaching during the winter season and farming during the summer ; 
was united in marriage with Miss Martha A. Bailey in West Liberty, Ind.. on the 
1 nth day of May. 1869 ; she was born in Luzerne Co., Penn., on the 22d day of 
September, 1846 ; two children were given to this union, viz. : Ella C, born Feb. 
♦I. 1870 ; C. Austin Hunter, was born April 2, 1872. Mr. Hunter came to Darke 
Co. and located in Bradford in the fall of 1870. where he has continued to reside 
ever since : engaged in the grain business in 1<S71. and now has the largest grain 
elevator in Bradford, shipping on an average about 35,000 bushels during the sea- 
son. Mr. Hunter has been identified with the township offices, more or less, since 
his residence in Darke Co. ; was elected Justice of the Peace and Mayor of Brail- 
ford in the spring of 1878 ; has served one term as Trustee of Adams Town- 
ship. 

JOHN B. KINNEY, farmer ; P. O. Horatio ; was born in Greene County, 
Ohio, in 1830 : was the son of John and Margaret Kinney ; John was born in 
Pennsylvania and Margaret in Ohio ; her maiden name was Brown, daughter of 
George and Debora Brown. Mr. Kinney, the subject of this sketch, was married 
in 18f)f> to Nancy Ellen, daughter of William and Elizabeth Spry, they being both 
born in Ohio ; her grand parents were Henry and .Martha Spry ; Mr. Kinney and 
wife are the parents of five children, three of whom are now living, viz., Clinton 
Douglas, John Milton and Minnie E. Mr. Kinney spent one year, after he was of 
age, in traveling in the lightning-rod business ; then he went into Mr. Burrough's 
store, in Fairfield. Ohio, as salesman, where he remained with him about five years ; 
then he went into partnership with Mr. Tate, in Tremont, (Mark County, where he 
continued one year and sold out. and was married soon after and went back to 
Fairfield and was salesman for Mr. Burroughs for two years more ; then he left 
there and went on to a farm in Greene County about one and a half years ; then 
sold out and went into the fruit-tree trade for Forgy, McCarfry & Co.. traveled 
one summer ; then rented a farm for one season ; then moved to Dayton and went 
into tin.' tobacco business with J. P. Wolf & Co., where he remained four years ; 
when he went to Darke County and bought the farm upon which he now lives, and 
moved with his family on to it and has followed farming since ; he first bought 
Hid acres, but at various times he sold off from it till he had but 10 acres left ; 
and during his trading he came in possession of a farm of 80 acres north of Ver- 
sailles, after which he bought back 25 acres of the old farm, so that he now owns 
the two farms together, making 115 acres. Mr. Kinney has had his " ups and 



ADAMS TOWNSHIP. 555 

downs" in life, having lost much by going security and other ways ; but. notwith- 
standing this, his industry and energy have enabled him to retain his property, and 
he has built new buildings on his farm, and is fixed very comfortably ; he is a 
member of the Reformed Church, to which he has belonged about twenty-one 

W. C. LECKLIDER, merchant and farmer, Horatio. Jacob, the father of W. C. , 
is a native of Maryland, born on the 12th of April, 1802 : came, with his parents to 
Ohio, while he was quite young. He married a Miss Willey ; two children were 
born to them, of whom one is living, viz., W. C; his wife died in about 1836. He 
celebrated his second marriage with Nancy Eshleman ; they now reside near Green- 
ville, Ohio. W. C. Lecklider, the subject of this sketch, was born in Montgomery 
Co.. Ohio, on the 13th of February, 1834 ; spent his boyhood days on his father's 
farm, assisting in the cultivation of the soil during the summer months, and in the 
winter attending the district school, where he obtained a good common-school edu- 
cation ; when he was about 18 years old, he went to Greenville, Ohio, where he 
clerked in the dry-goods and grocery store of Swisher & Co. for about ten months ; 
after which he went to Beamsville," same county, and clerked for J. H. C Dill for 
a period of two years. He now came to the conclusion that it was not good to be 
alone, and on the 8th of March, 1855, he celebrated his marriage with Miss Mar- 
garet Riffle, who was born in Darke Co., Ohio, on the 4th of March, 1834 ; after 
his marriage, he moved to Ansonia, Darke Co., and engaged in the grocery and 
dry-a;oods business, which he followed for a period of twenty-four years, meeting 
withgood success ; he sold out and moved to Horatio in 1865 and engaged in the 
same "business, carrying a full line of groceries and dry goods ; in 1870, he pur- 
chased 90 acres of land, for which he paid $4,150 ; he has erected a large two- 
story frame house, at a cost of about $1,500 ; also a barn, 40x60, and other out- 
buildings ; all of said property he has accumulated by his hard labor, in which he 
has been nobly assisted by his good and amiable wife ; he is also strictly temper- 
ate in all his habits ; Mr. Lecklider has never been a political aspirant, although 
he has been identified with nearly all of the township offices ; served as Township 
Clerk for two years ; was elected Justice of the Peace in the fall of 1875, which office 
he still holds ; was appointed Postmaster at Horatio in 1870, which office he now 
holds, and during his residence in Ansonia, he was Postmaster for several years ; 
was appointed ticket and freight agent at Horatio in 1869, of the P., C. & St. L. 
R R which agency he still holds. Seven children have been born to this union, 
viz.: Ira H., Jan. 18, 1856 ; W. Charles, July 30, 1857 ; Jacob H., March 2, 1859 ; 
Claudius G.. Dec. 26, 1860 ; Ulysses G., Aug. 14, 1862 ; Arthur E., Nov. 19, 4867 ; 
Harvey B., March 11, 1870. 

CHARLES LECKLIDER, farmer ; P. 0. Gettysburg ; was born in Mont- 
gomery Co., Ohio, in 1842 was the son of Jacob C, and Nancy Lecklider ; his father, 
of Jacob C, was born April 12, 1802, at Middletown, Frederick Co., Md. ; was the son 
Lewis and Catherine Lecklider. Nancy was born in Pennsylvania. Jacob C. was 
married in August, 1825, to Charlotta Creagor ; after a few years, being left a wid- 
ower, in November, 1833, he was married to Catharine Willey, with whom he lived 
but a short time till death snatched her from his side, and in September, 1835, he was 
united in marriage to Nancy Eshleman ; he is the father of twelve children, viz., 
John, Lucinda, William C, Henry, David V., Elizabeth, Catharine, Sarah Jane, Mary 
Ellen, Adaline, Charles and Francis C. Jacob C, the father of our subject, came 
to this county September 16, 1846, and located in Adams Township, on Sec. 22, but 
after residing here for a time he bought more land in Greenville Township, 
Sec. 32 ; the subject of our sketch was only 4 years old when his 
parents brought him* into Darke Co. In 1874, he was married to Barbara, daughter 
of Emanuel and Martha Hershey, who came from Pennsylvania ; they have one 
child, viz.: Judd ; they located immediately after his marriage on his father's farm, 
where they have resided ever since ; the farm consists of about 83 acres of good 
land, about 65 acres cleared and in good cul 



556 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

MARTIN MARTINDALE, farmer, Sec. 13; P. 0. Gettysburg. John, his 
father, was a native of North Carolina, born in 1798. He eame with his parents 
to Ohio when he was about 3 years old, locating in Montgomery Co.. where he 
spent his boyhood days on his father's farm ; was united in marriage when he was 
22 years old. with Mary Sidney, after which he obtained his education by boarding 
a school teacher. Unluckily for him, his wife died in about twenty-two months 
after they were married ; one child was born to them. viz.. Jesse, who now resides 
near Dayton, Ohio. His second marriage was celebrated with Amelia Campbell, 
who was a native of Ireland, born in about 180-4 ; twelve children were born to 
this union, of whom ten are living, viz., Elizabeth, Robert, Samuel, Mary, Rachel, 
John. William. Steward, Martin and Rebecca. Mr. Martindale departed this life 
in March, 1858. Amelia, his widow, survived the storms of life till April, 1SG5. 
Martin, the subject of this sketch, is of Scotch descent on the paternal side, and 
Irish on the maternal, born in Montgomery Co., Ohio, on the 26th of January. 
1839 ; he spent his boyhood days on his father's farm, assisting in the clearing 
and cultivation of the soil : obtained a good common-school education in the district 
schools of his county ; he lived at home till he was about 22 years old, when, on 
the 18th of April, 1862, he celebrated his marriage with Rebecca C. Yount, who 
is of German descent ; Fredric Yount, her father, was born in North Carolina ; 
her mother is a native of Ohio. Rebecca was born in Miami Co., Ohio, on the 4th 
of June, 1842. After his marriage, he rented his father-in-law's farm, where he re- 
mained till September, 1862,when he purchased 79 acres of land in Adams Township, 
Darke Co., where he moved and has resided since ; he has erected a beautiful two- 
story frame house, at a cost of about $1,600, and has cleared or put under cultiva- 
tion since his residence here about 22 acres, and at present has 59 acres in a good 
state of cultivation ; has a good frame barn, 40x76 feet. Mr. Martindale has by 
his hard labor, connected with correct business and temperate habits, accumulated 
a considerable amount of property, in which he has been nobly assisted by his 
good and industrious wife. They are active workers in the cause of religion, 
being members of the Christian Church. They have no children of their own, 
but have taken Sheridan Ingle, a bright and promising little boy, born on the 23d 
of September, 1867. Mrs. Martindale's grandmother was a native of Scotland. 
and her grandfather on her father's side, Duben Campbell, whose father was 
Duke of England. 

GEORGE W. MILLER, farmer, Sec. 34 ; P. O. Gettysburg. Phillip, the father 
of George W., was a native of Maryland, born in 1775. He married Rachel Baldwin, 
who was a native of the same State, in 1793 ; he departed this life in his native 
State, in May, 1837; Rachel, his widow, remained in Maryland till 1844, when 
she. with her family of eleven children, emigrated to Ohio, locating in Darke 
Co., where she resided till her death, which occurred on the 16th of August. 1853, 
leaving a family of ten children, of whom seven are living at the present writing, 
viz., Abraham, Daniel, Joseph, Kisiah, Margaret, Rachel, Rebecca. George W., 
the subject of this sketch, was born in Carroll Co., Md., on the 13th of May. 1828 ; 
he came, with his mother, when he was about 16 years old, but lived with his 
brother Abraham, who resided in New Harrison, where he obtained a good com- 
mon-school education ; at the age of 18, he commenced to learn the blacksmithing 
trade with his brother, in the town where he resided ; he only followed the busi- 
ness two years, when he began the carpentering trade with Samuel Paulin. where 
he worked for about two years ; he then followed the trade on his own responsi- 
bility for about six years. On the 7th of October. 1853, he celebrated his marriage 
with Eliza Reck, who was born in Darke Co., Ohio, on the 14th of Septem- 
ber, 1836 ; in 1863, he rented a farm, where he lived for a period of about six 
years, after which he purchased 27 acres of S. Rontzon, for which he paid $1,600, 
where he has resided since. Mr. Miller has accumulated some property by his 
hard labor, in which he has been nobly assisted by his good and amiable wife. 
They are members of the Lutheran Church, and are living zealous and consistent 



ADAMS TOWNSHIP. 557 

Christians. Five children have been born to them, viz., Margaret A., Nov. 10, 1854 ; 
George W., Feb. 13, 1857 ; John E., Sept. 10, 1859 ; William H., April 20, 1862 ; 
Welby L., Aug. 13, 1867. Mr. Miller and his wife have passed through the man}' 
struggles, dangers and incidents so common to the pioneers of the West. Unfor- 
tunately for him, his father died when he was only about 9 years old, leaving his 
mother with eleven children, to survive the storms of life ; but Providence smiled, 
sparing her life to see all her children grow into manhood and womanhood. George 
W, by his indomitable will and iron nerve, has fought the battles of life manfully, 
coming off more than conqueror. In 1864, he enlisted in the one-hundred-day 
service and went forth to battle for his country. Philip, his father, served in the 
war of 1821, and was at the bombardment of Baltimore in 1814. 

ABRAHAM MILLEB, retired blacksmith ; P. 0. New Harrison ; is a native of 
Maryland, born in Frederick County, on the 9th of March. 1820 ; his father's sketch 
appears with his brother, Geo. W. Miller, in another place of this work : Abraham 
came to Ohio when he was about 21 years old ; he obtained a good common-school 
education in the district schools of Maryland ; he commenced to learn the black- 
smithing trade when he was in his eighteenth year, at which he served two years. 
When he came to Ohio he opened up a shop in New Harrison, where he operated 
for a period of thirty years ; meeting with good success, he now owns 70 acres of 
land, valued at $4,000, all of which he has made by his hard labor, in which he 
has been nobly assisted by his good and amiable wife, to whom he was married on 
the 4th of December, 1845 ; she is a daughter of William and Christina Beck, born 
in Adams County, Penn., on the 17th of September, 1824, her name being Julia 
Ann ; eight children have been born to them — viz.. William B., Jeremiah, Abra- 
ham S., Eliza Christina, Bachel Bebecca, Samuel (deceased), Henry H., Julia 
Ann ; Mr. and Mrs. Miller are members of the Lutheran Church. 

THOMAS O'BBIEN, retired farmer ; P. 0. Gettysburg, Ohio ; Michael, his 
father, was a native of Ireland, where he lived, died, and was buried in his native 
country ; he married Margaret Kilday, who was also a native of Ireland, born on 
the 15th of August, 1769 ; she emigrated to America with her daughter Ann, in 
1850, landing in New Orleans, and in 1861 she came to Darke Count}', Ohio ; she 
departed this life in Gettysburg, Ohio, at the residence of her son, on the 15th of 
August, 1879, at the advanced age of 110 years ; the day of her death being her 
birth day, her friends and relatives were going to celebrate the day with joy and 
good wishes, but alas ! the messenger of death entered the household and removed 
her from earth to heaven. Thomas, the subject of this sketch, is a native of 
Ireland, born in March, 1822 ; lived with his mother and worked on the farm 
during the summer, and attended subscription schools during the winter, and by 
close application he obtained a good common school education ; at the age of 17, 
he emigrated to America, landing in New Orleans, and in 1841 he went to Cin- 
cinnati, Ohio, where he remained till June of the same } r ear, when he began to 
travel from one State to another till he had visited nearly every city and State in 
the United States, during which time he worked at all kinds of work ; and, at the 
breaking-out of the rebellion, he was working in Nashville, Tenn., acting as fore- 
man of the corporation, in which he worked a squad of men on the public works, 
and had, by using economy, accumulated some money, but left the city ; and 
in March, 1861, he came to Darke County, Ohio, locating in Van Buren Township, 
and followed farming ; and in 1862 he purchased 62^ acres of land, for which he 
paid $900, where he remained till 1872, when he rented his farm and purchased 
property in Gettysburg, where he moved and has resided since. On the 27th of 
March, 1857, he celebrated his marriage with Bridget Mannix ; three children 
were born to them, of whom one is living, viz., Margaret, born on the 13th of 
April, 1859 ; his wife died Jan. 29, 1861. He celebrated his second marriage 
with Catherine Meagen on the 29th of January. 1865 ; she was born in Ireland in 
831, and emigrated to America in the fall of 1854 ; no children by this union. 
Mr. O'Brien has accumulated some property by his hard labor, in which he has 



558 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

been nobly assisted by his good and industrious wife. He is a member of the St. 
Mary's Church of Greenville. 

DAVID PATTY, farmer ; P. 0. Bradford, Ohio ; James, his father, was a 
native of South Carolina, born on the 11th of November, 1805. He married Nancy 
Jones, who is a native of the same State, born on the 4th of October, IS 14 ; they were 
married in Miami Co., Ohio, on the 3d day of April, 1831 ; shortly after their 
marriage, they moved to Darke Co., locating in Adams Township, Sec. 33 ; they 
commenced life with but little of this world's goods, but by hard labor, connected 
with temperate and correct business habits, accumulated a considerable amount of 
property. On the 26th of November, 1871, the angel of death entered their peaceful 
and interesting family, removing from earth to heaven James, the father, who was 
a loving father and a kind husband ; Nancy, his widow, is living at the present 
writing on the old home farm. They were the parents of sixteen children, of 
whom only five are living, viz., David, Joseph J., Ennis E.. Malinda, Nanc} r J., 
David, the subject of this sketch, was born in Darke Co., on the 10th of September, 
1851 ; he spent his boyhood days on his father's farm, assisting in the clearing 
and the cultivation of the soil during the summer months, and attended the dis- 
trict school in the winter, thereby obtaining a good common-school education ; he 
also attended two terms at Pleasant Hill (Miami Co.) Graded School, also two 
terms in Gettysburg, Ohio ; on the 31st day of April, 1870, he met with a shocking 
accident ; while tying a jack in the stable, the animal caught him by the calf of 
the left leg, chewing it so badly that he was compelled to have it amputated above 
the knee ; Mr. Patty owns the old home farm, where he and his mother resides at 
present ; his mother is a member of the Christian Church, living a zealous and con- 
sistent Christian. Children — Joseph J., born 23d of March, 1857 ; Ennis, born 
26th of September, 1840 ; Malinda, 20th of October, 1842; Nancy J., 17th of 
February, 1853. Joseph J. is married, and has erected a beautiful two-story 
frame house on part of the old home farm. 

FRANKLIN PEIFFER, blacksmith, Gettysburg, Ohio ; is a son of Joseph 
Peiffer, whose biography appears in another place of this work, was born in Darke 
Co., Ohio, on the 26th 'day of June, 1854 ; he assisted his father on the farm until 
he was about 17 years old, when he commenced to work for himself, performing 
all kinds of work by the day and month, for different persons ; followed the 
thrashing machine for several seasons ; assisted in getting out railroad ties for 
some time, and also worked on the railroad as a section hand ; he commenced to 
learn the blacksmithing trade when in his 20th year, with Albert Behme, at 
Painter's Creek, where he applied himself very closely for a period of three years, 
completely mastering his trade. On the 25th day of March, 1877, he was united 
in marriage with Margaretha E. Friedrich, who was born in Dayton, Ohio, on the 
19th day of November, 1856 ; he moved to Dawn, Darke Co., and formed a part- 
nership with G. W. Hartzell, and carried on blacksmithing for about seven months, 
meeting with fair success ; sold out to his partner and moved to Painter's Creek, 
where he followed his trade for about nineteen months, after which he moved to 
Gettysburg, Ohio, and entered into partnership with his brother Jacob, where he 
now resides. Mr. Peiffer is a hard-working man, and, with the help of his good 
wife, will in a short time, receive the reward of his toil. They have one child — 
Mary Olive, who was born on the 27th daj r of September, 1877. 

JACOB PEIFFER, blacksmith, Gettysburg, Ohio ; Joseph G. Peiffer, the 
father of Jacob, is a native of York County, Penn., born on the 19th day of August. 
1815 ; Magdalena Btter, his wife, is a native of Pennsylvania, born on the 18th 
day of August, 1817 ; they emigrated to Darke County, Ohio, in 1850, locating 
north of Gettysburg, where he rented a farm ; in 1869, he purchased 64 acres^ in 
Franklin Township, where he now resides ; have had seven children, of whom five 
are living, viz., Lucy, Michael, Jacob, Franklin and Peter A. Jacob, the subject 
of this sketch, was born in York County, Penn., on the 12th day of June, 1848 ; 
iame with his parents to Darke County in the spring of 1850 ; lived with his 



ADAMS TOWNSHIP. 559 

parents till he was 20 years of age, assisting his father on the farm during the 
summer, and in the winter attended the district school, thereby obtaining a com- 
mon-school education. On the 2d day of May, 1864, he enlisted as a substitute for 
his brother-in-law in the one hundred day service, and went forth in defense of his 
country ; served four months, after which he was mustered out of service and 
returned home. In 1868, he commenced to learn the blacksmithing trade at 
Painter's Creek, with Poock & Behme, and in two years, he, by strict and close at- 
tention to business, mastered his trade, and in 1870 he went to "Woodington and 
worked jour work till the 1st of April, 1871, after which he worked in Greenville, 
Ohio, with Coonrad Baker, for about six months, when he returned home and 
worked on the farm a short time ; on the 5th day of December, 1871, he formed a 
partnership with Gr. W. Hartzell, of Gettysburg, carrying on blacksmithing till 
1873, when he sold out to his partner, and in June he made a visit to Pennsyl- 
vania, remaining about six weeks ; returning to Gettysburg, he worked at his 
trade with Aaron Dershen till the fall of 1875, and in November he purchased 
property in Gettysburg, where he now resides ; in April, 1879, he formed a 
partnership with his brother Franklin, and are now doing a good business, giving 
universal satisfaction to their patrons. He was united in marriage with Millie A. 
Shimp, in Gettysburg, Ohio, on the 4th day of February, 1875 ; she was born in 
Preble County, Ohio, on the 28th day of August, 1852 ; two children are the 
fruits of this union, viz.: Edith Pearl, b6rn on the 29th day of December, 1875 ; 
Vernon Ellsworth, born on the 28th day of March, 1878. Mr. and Mrs. Peiffer 
are members of the Lutheran Church, and are highly esteemed by all who know 
them. 

THOMAS A. RAMSEY, farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 31 ; P. 0. Gettysburg, 
Ohio. Samuel, his father, was a native of Pennsylvania, born in Berks Co. in 
1780 ; was married to Ellen Fletcher, who was a native of England, born in Der- 
byshire about 1784 ; she came to America with two of her cousins when she 
was about 9 years old, locating in Pennsylvania, where she was married, and in 
1811 they emigrated to Ohio, locating in Montgomery Co., two miles east of 
Dayton, on Gen. Finley's farm ; at that time, there were only a few houses in Day- 
ton, now a city of 05,000 inhabitants ; six years later, he purchased 208 acres of 
land in Miami Co., about five miles from Troy, where he moved, remaining there 
until his death, which occurred in September, 1860 ; Ellen, his wife, died in about 
1855. Mr. Ramsey served as a wagoner under Gen. Hull, in the war of 1812 ; he 
also performed guard duty at the old block-house which stood opposite Gettys- 
burg, Ohio ; he would pilot parties from the block-house to Greenville, and back 
again ; but the deca} r and ra\ ages of time have left no trace of the " old block- 
house." Thomas A., the subject of this sketch, is a native of Ohio, born in Mont- 
gomery Co., on the 17th of August, 1814 ; he was taken by his parents to Miami 
Co. when he was quite young, where he spent his boyhood days, assisting his father 
on the farm during the summer months, and attending school part of the winter, 
which at that time was kept up by subscription until within the last two or three 
years, when free schools were organized ; he lived with his parents until he was in 
his 33d year, giving his entire services to them, knowing that by so doing his 
father would give him a good start in life ; however, there was a strong attach- 
ment between the father and son ; however, as he advanced in years, he concluded 
that he would engage in business for himself, and with due consideration he 
formed a resolution to take a partner for life, and on the 15th of April, 1847, he 
celebrated his marriage with Malinda Hoover, daughter of John and Mary Hoover, 
who was born in Ross County, Ohio, in 1826 ; after his marriage he moved on his 
farm of 50 acres, which his father had given him, and engaged in farming for 
about seven years, when he sold out and purchased 50 acres in the same county 
(Miami), near Tippecanoe, whore he moved, but only resided there about one year, 
when he sold out for $2,500, and moved on the Booher farm, consisting of about 
500 acres ; however, previous to his moving, he had been appointed guardian for 



560 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

the Booher heirs ; he resided here for about nine years, during which time he lost 
his wife her death occurring on the 27th of December, 1861 ; after her death he 
moved into the town of Tippecanoe, where he followed, or rather engaged in. the 
banking business on his own hook. In 1869, he purchased 197 acres in Darke 
County. Adams Township, for which lie paid $7,880 ; during the same year he 
moved, and has resided there ever since, and on the lid of March, 1864, he cele- 
brated lus second marriage with .Mrs. AdaJine Litteral, whose maiden name was 
Snell, daughter of Eli and Evaline Snell, who is a native of Ohio, born in Miami 
County on the 23d of February, 1843; one child has been born to them, viz., 
Allie Grant, born on the 13th day of February. 1865. Mr. Ramsey is not a mem- 
ber of any church, but lives in his own soul's freedom, thinking, acting, and read- 
ing for himself, obeying the golden rule. "Do unto others as you would have them 
do unto you ;" is strictly temperate in all his habits, and has accumulated a con- 
siderable amount of property, in which he has been nobly assisted by his good and 
amiable wife. He is a firm Republican, his first vote being east for Martin Van 
Buren. Mr. Ramsey's father and mother were the parents of ten children, five 
boys and five girls, of whom seven are living at the present time of writing, viz., 
Eliza. John H., James H., Thomas A., Mary A., Margaret B., Lewis M., George 
B., Harriett E. and Alfred W. 

MICHAEL RECK, farmer and mechanic, P. O. Gettysburg, Ohio ; John, his 
father, was a native of Pennsylvania, born in Adams Co., in 1785. He married 
Miss Ann Hiner. who was a native of Maryland, born in Frederick Co., in 1788 ; 
they emigrated to Ohio in 1827, leaving Pennsylvania the 14th of October, arriving 
on the old Campbell farm on the 14th of November, moving in the house with Mr. 
Campbell, where they spent the winter, and in the spring they moved on the north- 
west corner of Sec. 31, on the banks of Greenville Creek, and in 1831 he erected a 
saw-mill near where the flouring-mill now stands ; Mr. Reck laid out the town of 
Getty sbui'g. and named it after the Gettysburg in Pennsylvania ; he entered 928 
acres in Darke Co.; they were the parents of eleven children, six boys and five girls; 
ten were living when they came to Ohio, six of whom have survived the storms 
of life at the present writing, viz., Samuel, John, Eli. Lydia, Elizabeth and 
Michael. Mr. Reck departed this life on the 9th of February. 1878. being 93 years 10 
months and 24 days old; his wife died Sept. 11, 1856. Michael, the subject of 
this sketch, is one of Darke Co's old pioneers, who is a native of Pennsylvania, 
born in Adams Co., on the 23rd of October, 1810 ; he received his education in the 
ciistrict schools of Adams Co., Penn., and, being a natural mechanic, he spent the 
most of his time at carpentering, in preference to farming ; he came to Darke Co.. 
with his parents, in 1828, being in his 17th3'ear : he continued to follow his trade. 
and in 1830 he performed the first carpentering work on the first schoolhouse 
built in the township. On the 2<>th of June, 1833, he celebrated his marriage 
with Eliza Hershey, and on the 28th of November, 1834, she passed from earth to 
heaven. He followed his trade for about twenty-three years. On the 28th of 
November, 1836, he celebrated his second marriage with Miss Mary Warwick 
after his marriage, he moved on a tract of land which contained 70 acres, that he 
had purchased in 1831, in Sec. 31, where he resided for a period of about six years, 
when he removed to Gettysburg,. and engaged in the hotel business, which at that 
time was good ; he had built the stand in 1838; he remained here about six 
vears. meeting with good success ; he then rented the hotel to William Fritz, and 
removed to his farm, where he remained till 1869, when he removed to Gettysburg, 
remaining about eighteen months, after which he removed to his farm, where he 
has continued to reside ever since . in the course of time he traded the hotel prop- 
erty in Gettysburg, for a farm of llill acres in Mercer Co.. which he sold in 1862 
for $1,650 ; he now owns 181 acres and a house and lot in Gettysburg : Mr. Reck 
has given to his children about $11.1100 in land and money ; he has. by his hard 
labor, connected with correct business and strict temperate habits, accumulated a 
large amount of property, in which he has been nobly assisted by his good and 



ADAMS TOWNSHIP. 561 

amiable wife, both of whom have passed through the many struggles, dangers, 
privations and incidents so common to the pioneer of the West, and are now 
reaping the reward of their toil ; Mr. Reck would not accept any of the township 
offices, although they have been offered to him time and again. They are the 
parents of ten children, of whom eight are living, viz., Sarah A., born Jan. 24 
1838 ; Wilkins, Nov. 14. 1841 ; Jeremiah 8., Oct. 15, 1843 ; Frances, July 28, 1845 ; 
Nancy J.. Sept. 29. 1848 ; Mary, Nov., 16, 1854 ; Charles E., May 16, 1852 ; James 

C, April 6, 1858. Mr. Reck has raised a large family and has taught them the 
great importance of industry and the use of carpentering tools. 

WILLIAM L. RECK, miller and grain dealer ; P. 0. Gettysburg ; the son of 
David Reck, whose biography appears in another place of this work ; born in Penn- 
sylvania, on the 10th of February, 1835 ; came with his parents to Ohio when he 
was in his 4th year ; spent his boyhood days on his father's farm, and obtained 
his education in the first schoolhouse that was built in Adams Township ; at the 
age of 21 he apprenticed himself to his brother to learn the carpentering 
trade, and at the expiration of two and a half years he completed his trade, and 
formed a partnership with his brother, carrying on the business for about six 
years, meeting with good success ; dissolved partnership, and worked on his own 
responsibility till 18G4, when, on the 2d da}- of Ma}-, he enlisted in the 100-day 
service, going forth in defense of his country : was mustered in the United States 
Service at Camp Dennison, where he joined the 152d 0. N. G. Co. C, and was 
appointed Sergeant ; joined the command of Gen. Hunter in Virginia ; he was 
in several hard-fought battles and long and tedious marches, viz. : Lynchburg, 
Sulphur Springs, Liberty, etc, ; on the 2d of September, 1864, he was mustered 
out at Camp Dennison ; he enlisted in the State service, 28th Battalion, Co. 

D, and was appointed Third Sergeant ; after his return from the army he was 
drafted, but hired a substitute, Joseph Allspaugh. who died in Wilmington, N. C. ; 
in 1871 he purchased the half-interest in the Premium Flouring Mills, near Gettys- 
burg, where he now resides ; the mill has four run of buhrs, with a capacity of 100 
bushels per day ; the brand of flour brings the highest market price in the Eastern 
market ; he handles about 1 50.000 bushels of grain during the year, always pay- 
ing the highest market price. Was united in marriage with Mary Ann Trump 
on the 14th of August, 1859 ; she was born in Montgomery County, Ohio, on the 
27th of April, 1840 ; seven children have been born to this union, viz. : Ervin, 
born June 10, 1861 ; Lanna Bell, Oct. 22, 1863 ; Horris, July 6, 1866 ; Harriett, 
July 6, 1866 ; Olive, May 22, 1868 ; Cora, May 16, 1870 ; Mary Blanch, Dec. 12, 
1874. Mr. Reck has accumulated a considerable amount of property by his hard 
labor, in which he has been nobly assisted by his good and industrious wife ; he 
is a member of the Masonic Order, also of the I. 0. O. F. of Gettysburg ; he 
stands high in both orders, and is known as an honest, upright man in all his deal- 
ings, being strictly temperate in all his habits. 

JACOB RECK, grain-dealer; P. O. Horatio, Ohio ; is a son of Jacob and 
Mary M. Reck, who is a native of Pennsylvania, born in Bedford County on the 
3d da}- of July, 1833. Jacob, his father, was a native of Pennsylvania, born in 
1795 ; he married Mary M. Seibt, who was born in Mar} land, near Chambersburg, 
in 1802. In 1837, he with his family were making preparations to move West, 
when death overtook him and he sank peacefully to rest, his spirit .passing to the 
higher courts above, and in 1838, Mary ML, his widow, with a family of six chil- 
dren emigrated to Ohio, locating in Adams Township, Darke County, where she 
bought a farm for which she paid $800, all the money that she possessed, and for 
six years she with her family labored hard to keep from starving, living on corn 
bread the most of the time, but with willing hands and an indomitable will she 
survived the storm of life to see all of her children arrive at the years of maturity, 
and in 1868 her spirit joined the angel band -that was awaiting her arrival to the 
summer land ; her children are all living at the present writing, viz. : William, 
Samuel, Susan (now Mrs. John Morrison), Mary J. (now Mrs. Henry Erisman), 



562 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

Anna E. (now Mrs. John Walker). Jacob, the subject of this memoir, lived with 
his mother till he was about 18 years old, during which time he assisted in the 
clearing and the cultivation of the soil during the summer months, and attended 
the district school part of the winter, and by close application to his books he ob- 
tained a good common school education ; at the age of 13 he commenced to learn 
the carpentering trade with Levi Heck, for whom he worked a period of about 
eighteen months, when he accidentally cut his knee with the ax. which prevented him 
working away from home ; however, while at home he built a kitchen for his 
mother, remained at home for about one year, when he formed a partnership with 
Perry Creager and engaged in the grocery and dry-goods business in Horatio, 
where they also bought and sold grain, which business they followed for about 
eleven years, meeting with good success ; they sold out to Perry's brother, but one 
year later Mr. Lecklider purchased the property. He moved on his mother's farm 
and farmed for three years, after which he removed to Horatio, where he has re- 
sided ever since, working at all kinds of work, carpentering, plastering, buying 
grain, etc., and, in fact, is never idle. He celebrated his marriage on the 19th day 
of September, 1861, with Lizzie Werts, an accomplished daughter of Christian 
and Mary Werts ; she was born in Mercer Co., Ohio, on the 6th of September, 
1840 ; she has taught school four years ; her parents reside in Mercer Co., Ohio. 
Mr. Reck has accumulated a handsome little fortune by his hard labor, in which 
he has been nobly assisted by his good and industrious wife, connected with cor- 
rect and temperate business habits. They are active workers in the cause of 
relio-ion, being members of the Presbyterian Church of Gettysburg ; three children 
have been born to them, of whom one is living, viz. : Ira W., born on the 13th of 
January 1868. The shadows of two great afflictions have rested upon the family 
hearth-stone during the past ten years — that of little Noah, a bright and promising- 
little boy of 6£ summers, who came to his death by a stick of wood falling on him, 
killino- him instantly ; Estella, an interesting child of 18 months, was called to 
join her angel brother in that beautiful summer land. Mr. Reck is not a political 
aspirant, refusing all offices offered him. 

JOHN RECK, farmer ; P. 0. Gettysburg. He is a son of John Reck, whose 
biography appears with Michael Reek's, who is a native of Pennsylvania, born in 
Adams Co., on the 27th of February, 1814 ; lived with his parents and assisted his 
father on the farm during the summer months, and attended subscription school a 
part of the winter, till he was in his 14th year, when he, with his parents, emi- 
grated to Ohio, locating in Darke Co., Adams Township, while at that time there 
was not a schoolhouse in the township, and during the summer of 1830 he assisted 
in the erection of the first schoolhouse, and completed his course of studies in the 
same, although he did not have the opportunity of attending the school as much 
as he desired, as he was compelled to assist his father in clearing and preparing 
the soil for cultivation ; he remained at home, helping his father to open up the 
farm, till he was 23 years old, except at times he would assist his brother Michael 
in carpentering. On the 5th day of January, 1837, he celebrated his marriage 
with Isabell Belew, who was born in Miami Co., Ohio, on the 13th of January, 
1819 : after his marriage he erected a hewed-log house on Sec. 31, a tract of land 
which his father had given him as his share ; he then moved what little furniture 
thev had. which consisted of one bedstead and bedding, seven splint-bottomed chairs, 
one set of cups and saucers, one set of plates, one skillet, two Dutch ovens and a 
teakettle; the cupboard he made himself, and in fact he made nearly all of his 
furniture, as he was a natural mechanic ; he then commenced the task of clearing 
and opening up his farm ; he did not spend much time in hunting, but put all his 
time in on his farm, although he has killed several deer by torchlight on Green- 
ville Creek. He remained on his farm for a period of about four years, after which 
he rented his farm and moved to his father's saw-mill, on Greenville Creek, where 
he took charge of the sawing, which he followed for nearly seven years, when he 
removed to his farm, where he has resided ever since, and. by hard labor, connected 



ADAMS TOWNSHIP. 563 

■with correct business and strictly temperate habits, he has cleared nearly 100 acres, 
accumulating a considerable amount of property, in which he has been nobly 
assisted by his good and industrious wife, both having passed through the many 
struggles, dangers and incidents so common to the pioneer of the West ; having 
fought the battles of a pioneer life bravely, they are now reaping the reward of 
their labor. They have had a family of six children, of whom three are living, 
viz.: Isaac, born July 13, 1838; Silas, July 20, 1844; Rebecca, June 12, 1846. 
Mr. Reck relates a very interesting account of a remarkably large white-oak tree 
which stood on his farm ; he felled it with his ax, and it took him about three- 
quarters of a day to cut it down, which, when down, measured eight feet through ; 
from which tree 'he made 730 rails from 7 o'clock A. M. till 4 P. M. Where could 
there be found a young man at this time who could perform the same amount of 
labor in a week ? He now owns 160 acres, with good farm buildings, etc.. and 
has given his children to the amount of about $7,000. Mr. and Mrs. Reck are 
members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and are living zealous and consistent 
Christians, having been members of the church for about forty-two years. 

DAVID RECK, retired farmer ; P. 0. Gettysburg, Ohio. Christian Reck, 
the father of David, was born in Littlestown, Penn.; was married to Sophia Ruker, 
who was born in Pennsylvania ; nine children were born to this union, six boys 
and three girls. Mr. and Mrs. Reck spent their days in Pennsylvania ; he died 
about the year 1806 ; she died about the year 1820. David, the subject of this 
sketch, is \ native of Pennsylvania, born within seven miles of Gettysburg, on 
the 14th day of October, 1803 ; was left an orphan when only 3 years old ; lived 
with his mother until he grew to manhood, working on the farm, taking care of 
his mother until she died, and attended subscription school whenever the oppor- 
tunity presented itself, and by close application acquired a good common-school 
education. Was united in marriage with Miss Ann Maria Lightner, in Adams Co., 
Penn., on the 5th day of January, 1826 ; she was born in Maryland on the 14th 
day of July, 1 800 ; he followed farming during his residence in Pennsylvania ; 
on the 14th day of October, 1839, he started with his family in a two-horse team 
for the West, bidding farewell, perhaps forever, to friends, old acquaintances and 
his native country, to seek a home in the Far West, where nature's stillness reigned 
supreme, only broken by the howling of the wolf and the whoop of the red man ; 
on the 14th daj T of November*, just one month from the time of starting, he 
with his little family arrived in Darke Co., Ohio, locating about one and a half 
miles east of where Gettysburg now stands : rented a tract of land and com- 
menced the task of clearing up a farm ; remained here about three years, during 
which time he lost his wife, a sad misfortune. On the 23d day of August, 1841, 
the messenger of death entered this peaceful and interesting family, removing 
from earth to heaven, the mother of the family, after an illness of eleven da}-s. 
In 1842, he bought 154 acres in Van Buren Township, where he resided until 
1877, after which he sold his farm, and is now living with his children. Six chil- 
dren were the fruits of this union, of whom five are living, viz., Levy, born on the 
22d of November, 1826 ; Sophia, born on the 20th of February, 1829 ; Franklin, 
born on the 18th of January, 1832 ; William, born on the 10th of February, 1835 ; 
Ann Maria E., born on the 24th of March, 1838 ; Amos, born on the 28th of 
December, 1841, and on the 23d of March, 1876, left his body and has gone to 
join his angel friends. Mr. Reck is a member of the Presbyterian Church, con- 
necting himself with the organization in 1874. 

JOSHUA ROHR, farmer and fine stock-raiser, Sec. 6 ; P. O. Webster, Ohio. 
Fredrick, his father, was a native of Batavia, Germany, born in 1801; he emigrated 
to America in 1820, locating in Maryland ; he married Miss Catharine Arnold, in 
1826, in Maryland; in 1828, they came to Darke Co., locating where his son 
Joshua now resides, which at that time was a dense forest ; they remained there 
till February, 1864, when the}' removed to Miami Co., where Mr. Rohr came to his 
death by a saw-log rolling off the wagon, which caught his leg, crushing it horribly, 



564 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

so that amputation of his limb was necessary, from which he never recovered, only 
surviving 36 hours after the amputation — this occurred on the 25th day of June, 
18(54. Catharine, his widow, survived the storms of life till on the 15th day of 
April, 1878, when she sank peacefully to rest in the knowledge of the immortality 
of the soul, living with her daughter Catharine in this county at the time of her 
death. They were the parents of nine children, of whom eight are living, viz.. Joseph. 
born in 1830 ; Lucy Ann, born in 1832 ; Joshua, born in 1833 ; John, born in 1836 ; 
William, born in 1838 ; James Madison, born in 1840 ; GeorgeF., born in 1842 ; Cath- 
arine, born in 1840 ; all of whom live in Darke Co., except Lucy Ann and George F. 
Joshua, the subject of this sketch, was born in Darke Co., on his present place of 
residence, on the 13th day of October, 1833 ; he lived at home till he was four day-, 
past 21 years, assisting his father in the clearing and the cultivation of the soil din- 
ing the summer, and in the winter he would attend the district school perhaps about a 
week, going in all to school about six months of his life; the first school he 
attended was taught by Levi Huddle, on the farm of Levis, which was about two 
miles distant ; when in his 20th year, he, attended about one month, being the 
longest time he ever attended at one time, also being his last school. When he 
was four days past 21, his father gave him $2 and told him to go and earn his 
own fortune, which he did ; he went to Miami County and worked on a farm for 
two years, and, on the 27th of November, 1856, he celebrated his marriage with 
Louisa Koster, daughter of Gerhard A. and Anna J. Koster ; she was born in 
Germany on the 17th of July, 1837 ; her parents were born in Germany, in the 
kingdom of Hanover ; they were married in September, 1825, and in 1845 emi- 
grated to America in the sail vessel Albert, being fifty-nine days on the ocean, 
landing in Baltimore ; thence to Cincinnati, Ohio, remaining but a short time, 
when they moved to Minster, where they remained till the death of Gerhard, which 
occurred August 25, 1846, when his widow, with her four children moved to 
Piqua, Ohio, where she resided till the marriage of her daughter Louisa, with 
whom she resides at present. After his marriage he rented a farm two miles north 
of Piqua, where he remained three years, and January 1, he purchased the old 
homestead, which consists of 107 acres, for which he paid $3,500, removing to the 
same on the 27th of March, 1860, where he has continued to reside ever since, and 
in 1871, he purchased of Benjamin Overholser 53 acres, joining on the west, mak- 
ing in all 160 acres, nearly all of which is in a good state of cultivation ; he erected 
a handsome bank-barn, 40x80 feet, in 1874, and in 1875 he erected a magnificent 
two-story brick house. Mr. Rohr is an admirer of fine stock, taking great pride 
in the raising of the same. Mr. Rohr is strictly temperate in all his habits, and 
has accumulated a large amount of property by his hard labor, in which he has 
been nobly assisted by his good and amiable wife ; six children have been born to 
them, of whom five are living, viz.: Charles A., born May 18, 1859 ; Anna Jane. 
born March 5, 1864; Franklin E., born Jan. 11, 1866; 'Ella Bell, born Aug. 4, 
1869 : Ida May, born May 23, 1871. 

SYLVESTER RYNE ARSON, farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 26 ; P. 0. Gettys- 
burg. Abraham, the father of Sylvester, is a native of Ohio, born in Warren Co. on 
the 27th of April, is]!', lie married Rachel Ball, who is a native of, the. same State 
and county, born on the 12th of August. 1S17 ; they have seven children living. 
viz.: Sylvester, Alice (Mrs. Huffer), Emetine, Stroud. Cyrus. Minerva (Mrs. Fonts) 
and Letha. Mr. Etynearson came to Darke Co. in L836, where he now resides. 
being 67 years old ; Rachel, his wife, being 62. Sylvester, the subject of this 
memoir, is a native of Ohio, born in Warren Co. on the 5th of December, 1835 ; 
he received a good common-school education in the district schools ; he remained 
at home till he was 21 years of age. assisting his father in the cultivation of the 
soil ; he then left home and began to work for himself by the month on the farm. 
which he followed for a period of four years, except three months, when he worked 
in a flouring-mill, and in four years lie put in forty-four months of hard work, 
which speaks volumes for his industry and correct business habits; in the four 



ADAMS TOWNSHIP. 565 

years' work he saved $350 ; however, during this time, he made a visit to Iowa 
(Mahaska Co.), where he worked on a farm, receiving $15 per month part of the 
time, and $10 for the other. On the 1st day of November, 1861, he enlisted as a 
private in Company C, 5th Iowa Regiment (infantry), James A. Suvers, Captain of 
the company, and" Col. H. T. Reid. regimental commander ; he was an entire 
stranger to all. but approached the Captain with the salutation, " Captain, I have 
come to enlist in your company." This regiment, when its organization was com- 
menced, in November, 1861, was intended by Glen. Fremont for the protection of 
Missouri; when it was mustered in at Keokuk, in 1862, the programme was 
changed and it was sent down to do duty on the Tennessee River ; they joined 
Grant's army at Pittsburg Landing, and in the battles of the 6th and 7th they lost 
one-fourth of their number ; and it was in these hard-fought battles that he ever 
fired an army gun, the first fire being at the would-be destroyers of the Union. 
Mr. Rynearson, as well as the 15th Iowa V. I., has a proud record ; for three 
years and a half he, with his company, bore the brunt of battle, participating 
in many of the hardest fought engagements of the West, from Pittsburg Landing 
down to the capture of Vicksburg, Atlanta, and all the bloody battles preceding 
it ; followed Sherman in his conquering march through the heart of the 
South, and their battle-torn standards bear them witness that they preserved 
their valor well. Mr. Rynearson entered the company as a private, but, through 
his heroism, strictly temperate habits, and his intelligence, filled every non-com- 
missioned and commissioned office of the company, returning as Captain of Com- 
pany C. The original strength of the regiment was 1,038 ; of these only 712 
remained on the roll, and only 535 officers and men were present to be mustered 
out on July 24, at Louisville, Ky. Their several marches, added together, show 
that during his service he marched 7.898 miles. The company entered the service 
with 108 men, of whom only fourteen returned home. He was in twenty-two hard- 
fought battles, and was under fire of the enemy from the 9th of June, 1864, until 
the"2d of September, 1861 ; he participated in every engagement that the com- 
pany had, every march ; sickness never prevented him from discharging his duty, 
and" returned home without a scratch from the enemy's bullet, receiving his dis- 
charge at Davenport, Iowa, on the 3d of August, 1865. After his return, he fol- 
lowed farming for his father, and in June, 1866, he purchased 100 acres of land 
near Farmland, Randolph Co., Ind., for which he paid $4,000. On the 13th day 
of September, 1866, he celebrated his marriage with Miss Mary Jane Clark, an 
accomplished young lady, daughter of John and Sarah Clark, who was born in 
Warren Co., Ohio, on the 29th day of December, 1839. In the fall of 1866, he 
moved on his farm, where he remained until 1870, when he sold his farm for 
$5,300, and purchased 140 acres in Darke Co., Ohio, Adams Township, Sec. 26. 
paying $11,000, where he now resides. Mr. Rynearson has accumulated a consid- 
erable amount of property by his hard labor, in which he has been nobly assisted 
by his good and amiable wife. They are active workers in the cause ef religion, 
being members of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Gettysburg ; he is a charter 
member of the Masonic order of Gettysburg ; also one of the managers of the 
Darke County Agricultural Society ; recommended by Gen. W. W. Belknap, who 
says of him : "lie is a very worthy man, and was a gallant officer of my reg- 
iment (15th Iowa), during the war." They have one child, viz., Eddy, born in 
Randolph Co., Ind., on the 23d of June, 1867. 

JOHN H. SCOTT, Bradford, Ohio. Philip Scott, the father of John H, was born 
in Warren Co.,.N. J., on the 5th day of June 1814 ; was united in marriage 
with Miss Elnor Beaty, who was born on Staten Island, N. Y., in 1804, and 
in the year 1862, the death angel entered this peaceful family and removed from 
earth to heaven a kind and loving mother, who has gone to join the throng of her 
angel friends. Mr. Scott, came to Darke Co., Ohio, in the spring of 1870, and at 
present resides with his son, in Bradford; he is a plasterer by trade. Is a Master 
Mason, being a member of Eagle Lodge, No. 53, Hudson City, New Jersey. 



566 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

John H. the subject of this memoir, was born in Hudson City, N. J, on 
the 10th of July, 1847. Lived with his parents, spending his boyhood days in 
Hudson City, attending the city school till he Avas about 15 years old, thereby ob- 
taining a good common-school education. Left home when he was in his 10th 
year, to tight the battles of life alone, traveling until he found himself in the State of 
Kansas, where he remained for about three years, following agricultural pursuits. 
He then went to Texas, where he engaged in the Government mail service, carry- 
ing the mail between Clarksville, Tex., and Washington, Ark., for a period 
of about fourteen months, after which he returned to Northern Kansas, but only 
remained there a short time, when he went to Wilson Co., remaining there about 
six months, after which he started for New Jersey, but changed his course, and 
went to Springfield, Ohio, where he remained for about one year, and in 1871 he 
came to Bradford, Darke Co., where he now resides ; has followed plastering in 
Darke and Miami Counties for about four years. Was united in marriage with 
Miss Catharine Kendrick, in Winchester, Ind., on the 23d of February, 1873. She 
was born in Darke Co., on the 20th day of September, 1858; two children were given 
to this union, viz.: Lilly M.,born September 30, 1874; Nora May, born October 30, 
1870. 

JACOB SENSEMAN, farmer and stock-raiser ; P. 0. Gettysburg. Daniel, 
the father of Jacob, was a native of Pennsylvania, born in Lancaster Co. in 1797 ; 
Mary, his wife, whose maiden name was Frey, is a native of the same place, born on 
the 5th of June 1800 ; they moved to Cumberland Co., Penn., in 1825, where he prac- 
ticed medicine till his death, which occurred in 1835 : Mary, his widow, is living 
at the present writing, and resides in Pennsylvania, being nearly 74 years old ; 
they were the parents of six children, of whom four are living, viz., Reuben, Hiram. 
Jacob and Sarah A. Jacob, the subject of this sketch, is a native of Pennsyl- 
vania, born in Cumberland Co. on the 22d of October, 1831 ; he spent his boyhood 
days in Mechanicsburg, Penn., where he obtained his preparatory education in the 
city schools, after which he entered the academy, receiving a good academic edu- 
cation, and at the age of 18 he commenced to teach school, which profession he 
followed for a period of about twenty-six years ; he came to Ohio in the fall of 
1857, locating in Miami Co., and engaged in teaching, remaining in the county 
four years, after which he removed to Darke Co., Adams Township, in 1801, where 
he has resided ever since ; he owns 128 acres of land where he resides, and 180 
acres in Cass Co., Ind., the whole valued at $18,480. He was united in marriage 
with Miss Catharine J. Thompson on the 25th of February, 1858 ; she is the 
daughter of Bonaparte and Justina Thompson born on the 5th of June, 1838 ; two 
children have been born to this union, viz : Henrietta C, born Nov. 20, 1858 
William G., born March 2, 1873; Mr. Senseman has had his full share of town- 
ship offices since his residence in the county ; he served as Trustee of Adams Town- 
ship four years, Supervisor two years, and Pike Superintendent one year ; Mr. 
Senseman commenced life with about $305, and has by hard labor and good man- 
agement, accumulated a considerable amount of property, in which he has been 
nobly assisted by his wife ; they are members of the German Baptist Church. 

HARMON R. STAHL, farmer; P. 0. Horatio. Ohio. Jacob K.. his father, was a 
native of Pennsylvania horn in 1810; came to Ohio with his parents when he was quite 
small; he married Sarah Limber, who was anative of Pennsylvania, born in 1818; the; 
wire the parents of nine children, of whom four are living at the present writing. 
viz., Davis J., Henry J., Ella, Harmon R. Mr. Stahl departed this life in 1861, 
Sarah, his wife in 1879. Harmon R., the subject of this sketch is a native of Ohio. 
born in Darke Co., on the 7th of April, 1844; lived with his parents till he was 23 
years old, assisting his father in the cultivation of the soil during the summer, and 
attended the district school during the winter months, thereby obtaining a good com- 
mon-school education, and on the Ktth day of February, 1807, he celebrated his mar- 
riage with Miss Lucy Rudy, daughter of Isaac and Mary Rudy, who was a native 
of Ohio, born in Darke Co. in 1847. After his marriage, he rented a farm and 



ADAMS TOWNSHIP. 567 

engaged in farming, and on the 9th of April, 1871, the messenger of death entered the 
household, removing Luey, his wife, from earth to heaven. Two children were born 
to this union, viz.. Luella and AdnahL. On the 12th of February, 1877, he celebrated 
his second marriage, with Estella F. Myers, daughter of Samuel K. and Frances B. 
Myers, who was born in Miami Co., on the 28th of March, 1858. One child has 
been born to them, viz., Harry Harmon, born on the 5th of May, 1879. Mr. Stahl 
now owns and resides on the old home farm. He has been troubled of late with 
bronchial affections. He has, by his hard labor, accumulated considerable amount 
of property, in which he has been noblv assisted by his good and amiable wife. 

DANIEL SWADNER, farmer ; P. 0. Horatio ; was born in Montgomery 
Co., Ohio, in 1820 ; was the son of Henry and Eleanor Swadner, who were born 
in Maryland ; the}* had nine children, viz., Mary Jane, Daniel, Samuel, Sarah Ann. 
Elizabeth, Clarinda, Lavina. Charlotte and Henry ; Eleanor's father was Jacob 
Suman. Mr. Swadner was married in 1859 to Margaret Bobo, born in 1822, 
daughter of John and Elizabeth Waltz, and was born in Montgomery Co. ; her 
father, John, was born in Maryland, and her mother in Pennsylvania. Mrs. Swad- 
ner was a widow, being first married to John Bobo, by whom she had one child, 
viz., John L., who is now living. Mr. Bobo died in 1851, while crossing the 
Plains on his way to California. The} 7 are parents of two children, viz., Henry 
A. and Samuel F. Mr. Swadner moved to this county in 1869, upon the farm he 
now lives upon, consisting of 80 acres ; when he came here, there were about 
20 acres cleared ; now he has 55 acres cleared and in good cultivation, and has 
put up all the buildings, having a good two-story frame house and good barn, and 
other buildings for convenience and comfort. Mr. Swadner is one of those who 
has had to make his own fortune, starting without capital, but by industry and dili- 
gence in business, has a good farm and a competency for comfortable living. Mr. 
Swadner is a member of the Reformed Church ; has belonged to same some forty 
years; his wife belongs to the Lutheran, having joined them about forty years ago, 
also. Thus, while we here see one who has made a good record, in the work of 
acquiring property and the comforts of life, we also see a long service in the 
church, and their example will stand as a bright and shining light for their chil- 
dren's children for ages to come. 

JOHN TILMAN, farmer and stock-raiser ; Section 28 ; P. 0. Greenville. The 
subject of this sketch is a native of Ohio, born in Preble Co. on the 16th of July, 
1816 ; spent his boyhood da}*s on his father's farm, receiving his education in the 
subscription schools in the unique schoolhouses so peculiar to those days. On the 
26th of July, 1838, he celebrated his marriage with Thisby Snyder, who was a 
native of New Jersey, born on the 18th of May, 1817. In 1838, he moved to 
Darke County, locating in Neave Township, on a tract of land consisting of 160 
acres which his father gave him, which, at that time, was a dense forest ; he erected 
a log cabin, moved in and commenced the herculean task of clearing and open- 
ing up a farm, and in a few years the mighty forest had disappeared, and in place 
of the "little log cabin" a beautiful brick house now stands erected at a cost of 
$1,500, also a barn 40x60 feet erected at a cost of $800 ; he added 160 acres 
more, making in all 320 acres with 240 acres under a good state of cultivation. 
In 1869, he purchased his present place of residence, 156 acres, at a cost of $7,304 : 
he has cleared about 40 acres since his residence here ; he now owns 470 acres, 1 50 
in Adams Township, and 320 in Neave, the whole valued at $36,000, all of which 
he has made by his hard labor, connected with correct business and temperate 
habits. In the spring of 1 843, he lost his wife, after an illness of three years ; two- 
children were born to them, of whom one is living, viz.. Anderson, born March 
26, 1841. In 1846, he celebrated his second marriage with Margaret Daughterty, 
who was a native of Ohio, born on the 7th of September, 1818 ; four children were 
the result of this union, of whom three are living, viz. : Nancy A., born April 21, 
1848 ; Martha and Cellia (twins), born Dec. 5, 1S50 ; Humphry D., born April 2, 
1856 ; and on the 16th of March. 1879, the angel of death entered this peaceful 



568 HIOGKAPHICAL SKETCHES : 

family, removing Mr. Tilman from earth to heaven ; she was a loving mother 
and a devoted wife. Mr. Tilman is not a church member, but knonw as an honest, 
upright man. 

WILLIAM VOGT, merchant, Gettysburg, of the firm of Martin & Vogt. who 
•have just received the largest and most complete stock of groceries ever brought 
to Gettysburg, also a complete stock of choice cigars and smoking tobacco, with 
-a large variety of notions and hardware. William is a son of Henry Vogt, who 
is a native of Darke Co., Ohio, born on the 25th of February, 1857 ; he spent his 
boyhood days in Gettysburg, where he received a good common-school education ; 
at the age of 17, he went to Louisville, Ky., where he clerked in a grocery store for 
a period of about two years and a half, alter which he returned home, where he 
has remained ever since. In the spring of 1879, he was elected Constable, which 
office he still holds. He is a member of the National Guards, Co. G, 3d Regiment : 
Mr. Vogt is a live, energetic, thorough-going business young man ; he is not a 
member of any church organization, but lives in his own soul's freedom, thinking, 
reading and acting for himself, keeping the golden rule in view. 

HENRY VOGT, the father of William, is a native of Germany, born in 
Hesse on the 17th of August, 1817 ; spent his boyhood in Germany, where he 
obtained a good education in the German ; in 1848, he, in company with his 
brother John, emigrated to America, landing in Baltimore on the 9th of May, after 
a long and tedious voyage. On the 23d of August, 1848, he celebrated his mar- 
riage in Baltimore with Margaret Cohn, who is a native of Germany, born on the 
28th of May, 1824 ; in 1849, they started for the West by rail as far as Cumber- 
land, Md., when his wife took passage on the stage-coach for Pittsburgh, while he 
walked to Brownsville, a distance of sevent3 r -five miles, where he boarded a steam- 
boat and met his wife in Pittsburgh, and on his arrival he found that their baggage 
had been left at Cumberland by mistake ; so he returned to Cumberland, and ob- 
tained the baggage, which he sent through by stage, while he returned to Brownsville 
on foot, from which he returned to Pittsburgh by steamboat, where he joined his 
wife, after which they took passage on a steamboat for Cincinnati, Ohio, where she 
remained one week, while he went to Dayton by stage, from where he walked to 
Darke County, arriving in Gettysburg on the 13th of April, 1849 ; his wife came 
through with his brother-in-law on the 17th ; he rented a house, moved in, and 
commenced housekeeping, he working around by the day and month at all kinds 
•of work for about two years, when he hired to work in the tanyard in Gettysburg 
by the month, receiving $15, and boarded himself ; after four months, he then 
received $20 per month, working for about two years, when his wages were raised 
to $1 per day; at the expiration of two years, he became a partner in the 
business, operating till March, 1860, when he traded for the tannery, which he still 
owns ; he now owns 51 acres of land in Sec. 24, Adams Township, but resides 
in Gettysburg on his own property. Mr. Vogt had but little of this world's goods 
when he started in life, but by hard labor, industry and correct business habits, 
he has accumulated a considerable amount of property, in which he has been 
nobly assisted by his good and industrious wife ; he has been identified with the 
township offices, viz. : Served as Pike Superintendent one year, Supervisor one 
year, School Director one year, and a member of the Town Council two years. He 
and his wife are members of the Lutheran Church ; they are the parents of nine 
children, of whom four are living, viz., Christian H, Augustus H. William. 
and Louisa. 

JOHN WEAVER, farmer ; P. 0. Gettysburg, Ohio. Elijah, his father, is a 
native of Virginia, born in 1820 ; Sarah, his wife, whose maiden name is Elmore, 
was born in Miami Co., Ohio., in 1833; he came with his parents to Ohio in 1821. 
locating in Highland Co., near where New Petersburg now stands ; he resided 
about five years in Highland Co., after which he came to Miami Co., where he lived 
eleven years when lie moved to Darke Co., in 1837, where he has resided ever 
since; they are the parents of six children, viz., Andrew, John, Henry, Charles. 



ADAMS TOWNSHIP. 569 

Jennie, Anna Bell ; Henry, the father of Elijah, was born in Virginia, on the 22d 
of November, 1793. He married Susan Winters, who was born in 1793 ; Peter 
Weaver, the father of Henry, laid out the town of New Petei'sburg, in Highland 
Co.; Henry, Elijah's father, departed this life on the 22d of November (being his 
birthday), 1865, Susanah, his wife, in 1866. She had a very remarkable dream a 
short time before her husband's death, in which she was warned of the death of 
her husband, also of her own, which was to occur just one year after her husband, 
and in one year and two days from that time, she sank peacefully to rest. John, 
the subject of this sketch, is a native of Ohio, born in Darke Co., on the 24th of 
September, 1852 ; he spent his boyhood days on his father's farm assisting in the 
cultivation of the soil, receiving his education in the district schools ; when he was 
18 years old, he went to Dayton, Ohio, where he worked for Peter Bolander in the 
fruit-tree nursery for about six months, after which he returned home and rented 
-6 acres of his father and engaged in the fruit-tree business on his own hook, and 
at the same time worked on the farm, which he followed for a period of about 
two years, meeting with good success ; he followed buying and selling cordwood, 
which he hauled with team for one season, after which he concluded to take in a 
partner for life. On the 15th of April, 1875, he celebrated his marriage with Miss 
Hattie A Butt, daughter of Simon and Lovina Butt, who was born in Darke Co. 
on the 28th of January. 1852 ; after his marriage he rented his fathers farm 
and engaged in farming, where he resided for about two years, after which he 
moved on his father-in-law's farm, where he has resided ever since. Mr. Weaver 
is a young man of good moral habits, a live, energetic, thorough business man, 
and, with the help of his good and amiable wife, has accumulated some property ; 
one child has been born to them, viz., Simon Homer, born on the 5th of November, 
1879. 

DAVID G. WENRICH, farmer and dealer in agricultural implements ; P. 0. 
Bradford, Miami Co., Ohio ; was born in Adams Township, Darke County ; is a son 
of David and Elizabeth (Grubb) Wenrich. David was born in Dauphin Co., Penn., 
Jan. 1, 1816, and was a son of Thomas and Esther (Brandt) Wenrich. Thomas 
Wenrich was born in Berks County and his wife in Dauphin Co., Penn. ; being 
poor folks, they hired out their son David to work at farming, until, in his 17th 
year, he went to learn the cabinet and carpenter trade, which he followed till 
nearly 21 years of age. Having a desire to see the Western country, he then took 
a trip to Ohio, landing at Dayton, where he made a short stay ; he then went to 
Salem and worked at his trade for about six months, when he went to Miami 
County, near Covington, and worked as journeyman at his trade for one year. In 
the mean time, his parents immigrated to Miami County, and located where Brad- 
ford, in part, now stands. On the 1st of March, 1838, he was united in marriage 
with Elizabeth Grubb, who was born in Miami Co., July 22, 18 IS, by whom he had 
eight children — Mary, born in Miami Co., Oct. 10, 1839 ; Hettie. Jan. 8, 1842, and 
died in 1866, leaving one of her two children ; John, Feb. 6, 1844 ; Levi, born in 
Darke Co., Oct. 7, 1846; David, Nov. 25, 1849 ; Malinda. May 5. 1852 ; Martha, 
Oct. 31, 1854 ; Isaac, Jan. 27, 1858. Our subject always lived at his native place, 
the farm which his father and family cleared up, with the exception of 15 acres ; they 
have now a very desirable farm of 160 acres, of which about 106 acres are in a good 
state of cultivation. David G. followed teaching in public schools for ten winters ; 
is one of the original proprietors of an agricultural store in Bradford, owning a half- 
interest in the same, which he runs in connection with the home farm, of which he 
has entire charge. His marriage withAllie Babylon was celebrated Dec. 28, 1875 ; 
she was born in Miami Co. Jan. 7, 1851, and is the mother of two children — 
Sherman Byron, born Sept. 15, 1876 ; Chloe Bell, Jan. 2. 1880. 



570 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 



CERMAN TOWNSHIP. 

LOYD BROWN, farmer ; P. O. German. The subject of this sketch is one 
of the prominent farmers of German Township ; was born in Baltimore Co., Md.. 
in 1807 ; he is the son of Nicholas Brown, who was also a native of Maryland. Our 
subject was raised on a farm, and early acquired the art of farming which he has suc- 
cessfully practiced all his life. His minority was spent at home assisting in the 
duties of the farm, after which time he set out on his own responsibilities. For a 
time, he farmed the homestead on shares. He was united in marriage, in Maryland, 
to Miss Rachel Miller, who was also born in Baltimore Co. They emigrated to 
Ohio soon after their marriage and located first in Harrison Township ; after 
remaining here about three years, he came to the place where he now resides and 
where he has ever since lived. By dint of hard labor and habits of industry and 
economy, he has put himself in the possession of several fine, well-improved farms. 
Mr. and Mrs. Brown are the parents of eight children, all of whom grew up to 
mature years ; since then, death has visited four of them. The others are located 
on farms near the homestead. 

G. M. CALDERWOOD, physician ; P. 0. German ; the subject of this 
memoir was born in Butler Township, in September, 1849 ; he is the son of J. R. 
and Jamima (Otwell) Calderwood ; his father was born in Montgomery County, 
Nov. 6, 1821, and came to this county when quite young ; he is one of the prom- 
inent citizens of the county, and a millwright and carpenter by occupation ; his 
wife is a native of North Carolina, born near Goldsboro the 13th of April, 1825. 
Our subject was raised on a farm, assisting in its duties during the summer, and 
devoting his winter months to the acquisition of knowledge in the common schools, 
till he was 18 years of age, at which time he entered the union school at Green- 
ville ; at this latter place he spent one year, and subsequently entered the profes- 
sion of teaching ; this he followed successfully for a few years, employing his 
leisure time in reading medicine, which he continued till the winter of 1872, when 
he attended lectures at the Miami Medical College, Cincinnati. He first began 
practice in Adams County, Ind. ; at the end of about six months he located in 
Bradford, Ohio, where he remained in practice about eighteen months ; his health 
being much impaired at the end of this time, he retired from active work for a 
period of six months. April 12, 1875, he formed a partnership with Dr. Jobes, of 
Palestine, which continued about seven months, when Br. Jobes was elected to the 
office of Probate Judge of this county ; after the partnership was dissolved, he con- 
tinued the practice here in his own name ; he has, b}' careful attention to his profes- 
sional duties, built up a large and increasing practice, and is one of the promising 
young physicians of the county. He was united in marriage Aug. 5, 1872, with 
Miss Isabella Reed, at the residence of Rev. McConnell, of Greenville ; she is a 
Dative of Versailles, Darke County, where her father has been engaged in the dry 
goods and grain business for about half a century. Mr. and Mrs. Calderwood are 
the parents of three children — Rhoda, Jimie (who died when eight months old) 
and Carl. 

GORDEN CLOYD, farmer ; P. O. German. The subject of this memoir is a 
native of this county, born in German Township in 1 822 : he is the son of the pioneer 
James Clo} T d, who was perhaps the first permanent settler in the township. He 
was born in Virginia in 1780 ; when but a mere lad he emigrated to Ohio, at the 
breaking-out of the war of 1812, and he gave his services in the defense of his 
country ; he was stationed a portion of the time at Port Greenville. He was at 
this latter place when the children of William Wilson were murdered within sight 
of the block-house, and was one who assisted in their burial. At the close of the 
war, he remained in the county, and married Miss Elizabeth Norftsinger, the 



GERMAN TOWNSHIP. 571 

daughter of Andrew Norftsinger, one of the first settlers in the county, who came 
to the county previous to the war of 1812, and erected a block-house in Neave 
Township, and remained there during the war. He was a " man of the chase," 
and delighted in hunting. James Cloyd was a member of the first grand jury 
that ever met in the county ; after his marriage, he first settled on the prairie 
southeast of the present town of Palestine ; from there he located on land now 
owned by David Wilcox ; he remained here about sixteen years, in which time he 
prepared much of the farm for agricultural uses, which was all in the woods when 
he entered it ; he then disposed of this farm with the intention of emigrating to 
Illinois, but after visiting this latter place he returned satisfied to spend the rem- 
nant of his days in German Township ; he then entered a quarter section just west of 
Palestine, on which he erected a house and passed the remainder of his life. He 
died May 26, 1872, at the ripe old age of 81 years 10 months and 11 days ; thus 
passed away a pioneer and a soldier, lamented by all who knew him ; he had a 
sympathetic heart and a charitable spirit, and many a needy neighbor was made 
glad by his charities. His wife survived him only a few years, her death occurring 
June 17, 1875, at the age of 76 years 3 months and 6 days. They were the par- 
ents of seven children, four sons and three daughters, four of whom are still living. 
Our subject's early life was devoted to such labor as the frontiersman was accus- 
tomed to do ; he availed himself of what educational opportunities then offered, 
often going a distance of two miles through swamp and thickets to school. At the 
age of 20, he went to Preble County and engaged as a laborer on a farm ; he re- 
mained here five years, and then located on the place where he now resides. He 
was married in 1846 to Miss Julia A. Woodniansee, a native of Butler County; 
her father was an early settler and prominent citizen of the township, having fre- 
quently had the offices of Trustee and Justice of the Peace conferred upon him. 
Mr. and Mrs. Cloyd are the parents of four children— Edward, Elmira, Flora B. 
and Sampson. They are members of the M. E. Church, and are leading exem- 
plary lives. 

JAMES N. EAKINS, farmer ; P. 0. German. The subject of this memoir 
is a descendant of one of the early pioneer families of .the Township. He was born 
in the township Aug. 15, 1855, and is the son of George Eakins, and grandson of 
the pioneer Benjamin Eakins. Benjamin Eakins came to this township imme- 
diately after the close of the war of 1812 and located on the land where our subject 
now resides. His first house still stands a monument of early days. He passed 
through with all of the privations and hardships incident to frontier life, sharing 
its trials and triumphs, and died at a ripe old age honored by all who knew him. 
Our subject was early left an orphan by the death of his parents, and was then 
taken and raised by his uncle, Wash Brown. He is now engaged in farming which 
has always been his occupation, and is one of the promising young men of the 
county. Dec. 31, 1876, he celebrated his marriage with Miss Thomas, who was 
born and raised in New Madison. She is also a descendant of early pioneers of 
Harrison Township. Mr. and Mrs. Eakins were the parents of two children, one of 
whom has been taken from them by the messenger of death. 

SOLOMON FKANK, retired farmer ; P. 0. German, Ohio. This gentleman 
was born near Wheeling, W. Va., April 12, 1817, and is the son of Stephen Frank, 
a native of New York State ; when quite small, he emigrated to Montgomery Co., 
Ohio, with his parents ; his father deceased when he was a small boy, thus leaving 
him without the comforts or benign influences of a parental home ; this misfortune 
early threw him upon his own resources ; he engaged at the occupation of la rul- 
ing,* hiring out, until he was 18 ; at this age, he began the coopering business, 
which occupation he followed for upward of twenty years. In 1840, he came to 
this township and located in the town of Palestine, where he pursued his usual 
vocation. He has been married twice ; his marriage with Miss Acca Parent was 
celebrated Dec. 15, 1842 ; her parents were early settlers of this township, and 
their biographies occur under the sketch of I. D. Parent. Mr. Frank and family, 



572 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

together with a large circle of acquaintances, were called upon to mourn her 
death, which occurred March 29, 1861 ; she was for many years identified with 
the cause of religion, being 'first a member of the M. E. Church, and, at her death, 
of the U. B. Church ; her life was an exemplary one. and her death a loss which 
the church and community both felt. Mr. Frank was united in marriage the sec 
ond time, Feb. L6, 1862, with Mrs. Sarah A. (Crisler) Leas ; she is a native of 
Preble Co., Ohio. Six children were born to the first union, one of whom deceased 
when quite small ; the rest are all living ; one child was the fruit of the last 
union, which died in infancy. Mr. Frank has devoted his latter years to farming 
and superintending his farm. Mr. and Mrs. F. are both active members of the I". 
B. Church of Pleasant Grove, and are leading exemplary lives. 

REUBEN GrOENS, farmer ; P. (.). German ; was born in South Carolina, 
Sept. 1, 1830, and is one of the early settlers of this section of the country ; his 
father, Henry G., was born in North Carolina and emigrated to Ohio with his 
family in 1833, locating in German Township, near Palestine ; he is the father of 
nine children, and has been married three times ; he is still living, at the age of 
72 years, hale and hearty. Our subject lived with his parents till he was 8 or !» 
years, of age, when he went to live with Benj. Stanton, a Quaker, of Newport. Ind., 
now known as Fountain City ; with this man and in this vicinity he spent his boy- 
hood days. While here he became an enthusiastic co-worker with the Friends — 
who were as a class severely opposed to the system of slavery — in assisting fugi- 
tive slaves to escape into Canada ; he entered heartily and earnestly into the work 
while yet a boy, and many slaves owed their freedom to his assistance. The 
Friends had formed a secret society, the object of which was to aid the refugees 
to escape. They established a " Court of Inquiry " to avoid being deceived by im- 
postors, their purpose being to assist only those who were fleeing from bondage. 
In this court, our subject often sat and listened to the sad tales of the fugitives, till 
he formed an intense hatred against the " cursed institution of slavery," and deter- 
mined to render, with anj' and all sacrifices, whatever assistance he could to the 
" runaways. " As they would find their way to Newport, he would drive them over 
to what was known as the " Greenville Settlement," making the trip after night to 
avoid detection ; from this latter place, they were helped into Canada, After he 
had grown up to majority, he had a strong desire to visit Canada, and see how 
those whom he had aided in their " flight for freedom " were prospering under 
their new surroundings. To this place he found his way, and here met many whom 
he had helped in their escape. He remained here for a year or more and then returned 
home. In the mean time, he was engaged on the lakes as a laborer on a boat, and 
also on the Canada Southern R. R. At this time, there were no educational oppor- 
tunities provided the colored race in Indiana. Recognizing the necessity of edu- 
cating the slaves who found their way here, the Friends, assisted by other chari- 
table persons, erected a Manual Labor Institute in Randolph Co., Ind., just across 
the line from the Greenville settlement. Into this enterprise our subject entered 
with enthusiasm and assisted in clearing the ground and erecting the building, 
and has since rendered what aid he could to the institution. Prof. Tucker was 
employed as teacher tor about twenty years, during which time the school pros- 
pered greatly, and the good which has flowed from it to the colored race can never be 
estimated. Those have been educated here who have since occupied seats in 
Congress, and hundreds are scattered over the South and elsewhere to-day. 
giving to others the knowledge which they acquired at this institution. Mr. 
Goens is now filling the position of Trustee for this university, which is still ac- 
complishing much good. Mr. 0. has been married twice ; his first marriage was 
with Miss Mary Clemens, who deceased in 1852; she was the granddaughter of 
James Clemens, the first settler in this part of the county ; his second marriage 
was consummated with .Miss Emily A. Smith, also a granddaughter of James Clem- 
ens ; Mr. G. has since been chiefly engaged in farming, though he has dealt to 
some extent in stock. In 1864. he gave his services for the defense of his country, 



GERMAN TOWNSHIP. 573 

being placed in the 45th Penn. V. I. ; they were located at Washington City near 
Gen. Lee's farm till April 15, 1865, when they were ordered to the front ; he par- 
ticipated in the battles around Petersburg and Richmond, and was present at Lee's 
surrender ; they were then sent into Texas, where they remained till they were 
honorably discharged, the last of September. 1865, at Brownsville, Tex. ; he then re- 
turned home b} r way of the Gulf and Mississippi River to Cairo, 111., and from there bj- 
railroad. Mr. and Mrs. Goens are the parents of five children, two of whom are 
dead ; the living are Robert C, Rufus W. C. and Russell V. Mr. G. may be re- 
garded as one of the self-made men of this township ; beginning with no capital., 
he has struggled up with the assistance of his wife against misfortune and adver- 
sity to take a place among the thrifty and enterprising farmers of the township. 

H. L. HILL, retired farmer ; P. 0. German. Mr. Hill is one of the few 
remaining pioneers of this county ; he was born in York District, South Carolina, 
the 1st of February, 1815 ; is of Irish descent; he is the son of William E. Hill, 
whose father, William Hill, came from Ireland. William E. was born in Franks- 
town, Washington Co., Md.. April 9, 1772 ; though of Irish birth, the first language 
he lisped was German, that being the prevailing language of his native town ; his 
parents moved to South Carolina when he was quite a small lad ; his father, was 
one of the patriots during the great struggle for American freedom, and took an 
active part in it ; near the close of the war, when the British and Tories held pos- 
session of South Carolina, and were visiting the patriots with merciless severity 
and cruelty, murdering hundreds in cold blood, they called at the house of Mr. 
Hill, thinking to find and dispatch him as they had many other brave men, but 
Mr. Hill was at his post of duty repelling the bloodthirsty murderers, and the}' 
failed to find him ; not being able to ascertain his whereabouts from Mrs. Hill, 
equally patriotic, and his daughter, they attempted to extort the desired informa- 
tion from William E., then a lad of about nine summers, by hanging him ; this 
they did several times, punishing him most severely, but to no avail ; thus failing 
in their purpose, they proceeded to plunder the house, taking out the feather beds 
and scattering the feathers to the winds. William E. Hill's bo3 7 hood was spent 
upon a farm, but quite early in life he turned his attention to the cai'penter's trade, 
to the construction of cotton gins and cotton screws chiefly ; being raised in a Slave 
State, his early training was such as to lead him to look favorably on this system of 
servitude, but his nature never could endure to see the slaves cruelly used ; atone pe- 
riod in his life, he was called near Charleston to erect a cotton gin for Rambert, one of 
the largest slaveholders in the country ; every evening those slaves who failed to per- 
form the daily task imposed upon them by their cruel master, were taken to the 
whipping-post and unmercifully wmipped ; their agonies from this could be heard 
all night through, and Mr. Hill gave it as one of the most painful periods of his 
life, although he was allowed the comforts and luxuries of the splendid Rambert 
mansion. In order to obtain a place among the higher class of society, Mr. Hill 
was obliged to purchase some slaves and become a slaveholder ; this purchase 
proved a financial disaster to him, which misfortune led him to seek a more con- 
genial clime, and in the fall of 1817 he emigrated to Ohio, locating on a school 
section about three miles west of the present town of New Madison. Here he pur- 
chased a lease for $1, with about seven acres cleared on it ; here, on this piece of 
land, he and his devoted wife spent the remnant of their days, and now their bodies 
lie interred on the same soil. He combined with farming the occupation of 
cooper and loom manufacturer, and his looms are yet to be found over this county,, 
relics of pioneer life. Although not much given to the " chase," he had one which 
ended in a remarkable fruition. In company with two of his neighbors, John 
Downing and Thomas Mecum, one winter morning, when the ground was covered 
to an unusual depth with snow, over which a strong crust had formed, he spied 
seven deer, and gave chase with dogs ; the snow so impeded the progress of the 
deer that they all soon fell victims to the eager dogs. Mr. Hill was married to 
Miss Sarah F arris in South Carolina, who was born in County Antrim, Ireland, 



574 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

on the 8th day of March, 1780 ; she emigrated to America when only 12 years 
old, with her parents, settling on Fishing Creek, York District, South Carolina. 
Twelve children were born to Mr. and Mrs. J I ill. and all grew up to years of matu- 
rity but three, who died in their infancy. Mr. Hill deceased in April, 1848, his 
wife surviving him till June, 1855, when her death occurred. Thus we record the 
death of two more of the early pioneers of this county. During their lives, they 
were successively members of three religious denominations, viz., Presbyterian, 
United Brethren and Universalist. Our subject was only 2 years old when he 
came to this county ; his early life was not much different from most of the pio- 
neer boys ; the log cabin constituted his home and the wilderness his surround- 
ings ; povert}' was the most constant companion of his youth, and frequently has 
he been tucked under the bed while his only shirt was receiving a vigorous appli- 
cation of soap and water. The first teakettle used in the family was purchased 
for $3, and his mother spun flax and tow, at 12^ cents per dozen cuts, 
to pay for it. The domestic wear of his sisters consisted of home-made goods, 
made of cotton filling and flax chain, the cotton being carded and spun by hand ; 
these goods, colored in various hues, constituted their Sunday costume. The first 
calico di-esses introduced into the neighborhood, by a family from Kentucky, were 
objects of no little interest to the community, and the family that had the audacity 
to make such a display of finery as this ran no little risk of being ordered to leave 
the county or don the home-made goods ; it was looked upon as a dangerous cus- 
tom, not to be allowed with impunity ; this feeling, however, soon wore off, and 
the fair daughters of the forests were allowed to indulge in the luxuries of a calico 
dress ; the first dress of this make introduced into the family of our subject was 
purchased of Shadwick & Co., of New Paris, at 25 cents per yard, and paid for in 
home-made goods at the same price ; this served as a passport into the higher 
class of society. Financial circumstances did not improve materially till Mr. H. 
grew up to manhood and was able to perform considerable manual labor. At the 
age of 21, by agreement previously entered into, his father deeded to him 80 acres 
of land, one-half swamp and one-half timber ; this was his first earthly possession. 
About this period, March 16, 1837, he celebrated his marriage with Miss Elizabeth 
Kunkle, who was born in 1815, in Bedford Co., Penn., and came to this county 
with her parents when only 3 years of age, locating in Harrison Township ; her 
mother is still living, at the ripe old age of 86, in the possession in a remarkable 
degree of all her faculties. After the marriage of Mr. H.. he moved to his land. 
then all in the wild state ; hard work and perseverance were demanded of them 
both to meet the exigencies of their surroundings ; these were heartily furnished. 
Mrs. H. performing her part at the spinning-wheel and loom, in addition to the 
usual domestic duties ; after they had been struggling against poverty and its 
•concomitants for some time, Mrs. Hill's mother bequeathed them $250, the savings 
of her own small earnings, $218 of which were in silver half-dollars ; with this 
Mr. Hill started for Fort Wayne, Ind., on foot, a distance of ninety miles, to enter 
land, and succeeded in entering 148 acres in Allen County ; at the end of seven- 
teen years, he disposed of his first farm and purchased 160 acres in (xernian Town- 
ship, Sec. 27, where he has since lived ; he subsequently added to this by the pur- 
chase of 268 acres; in 1870. his estimated worth was $20,000, the accumulation of 
his own exertions, assisted by his wife. At this period of his prosperity a great 
financial calamity befell him, which was doubly severe because of the manner and 
source from which it came, it being security and forged notes to the amount of 
$12,000 ; for him and his devoted companion to have the fruits of their lives' toils 
and sacrifices thus unlawfully snatched from them was a bereavement most keenly 
felt, and on his family it fell with equal weight. Mr. and Mrs. H. are the parents 
of nine children, six sons and three daughters, and are the grandparents of twenty- 
one children ; one son, the youngest and oldest daughters, and live grandchildren 
have died. Mr. and Mrs. Hill are members of the Universalist Church at Palestine. 
BALSEll HORN, farmer; P. O. Hollandsburg. Mr. Horn was born in 



GERMAN TOWNSHIP 575 

Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, April 2, 1811 ; he attended school till he was 14, 
when he served an apprenticeship of two years at the cooper trade and one year 
at brewing ; he then traveled till he was 20, at which time he was called in for 
service in the Hessian army ; by contributing to a general fund which was kept 
for the purpose of hiring substitutes, the sum of 95 guilders — nearly $40 — he was 
released from further obligations to the army. On the 4th of April, 1832 he em- 
barked on a sail vessel at Bremenhaven for America, and was landed at Balti- 
more, Md. on the 4th of June, being 60 days on the voyage ; he soon found his way 
to Penn., where he engaged in teaming for a time ; he came to Ohio Oct. 25, 1833, 
and located in Fairfield County, where he at once began coopering ; he was married 
Oct. 23, 1836, to Miss Nancy Kanney, a native of Maryland. She came to this State 
in 1825, her parents preceding her about one year. Soon after the marriage of 
Mr. H. he began the occupation of farming, which he has ever since followed with 
eminent success ; he disposed of the farm which he possessed in Fairfield County, 
and came to this county Aug. 30, 1849, locating in Sec. 30, on 123 acres which he 
purchased ; since then by industry and economy he has added to this till now he 
has a farm of 273 acres ; on this he has erected one of the finest brick residences 
in the Township, and has put the farm under the best modern improvements ; he 
is one of the self-made men of this country. When he landed at Baltimore, he had 
in his pocket only 37 cents, all his earthly possessions. Though he landed with 
an empty purse, he was possessed of an indomitable energy and perseverance which 
served him well then and has ever since been his guiding genius. Mr. and Mrs. 
H. are the parents of nine children, of whom four have deceased ; two sons and 
three daughters are still living ; all have attained to majority. Two daughters 
have been united in marriage, one living at home, the other in Minnesota. 

SQUIRE JEFFERIS, farmer ; P. O. German. The subject of this memoir, 
Squire Jefferis, was born in German Township, Darke Co., Ohio, June 26, 1828 ; 
he is of English descent ; he lived with his parents until he attained to his major- 
ity, assisting in the duties of the farm, which then consisted largely in removing 
the forests from the land, preparatory to farming ; his winter months were devoted 
to the acquisition of knowledge in the common schools, which were then after the 
pioneer style ; he attended his first school in the second schoolhouse erected in the 
township, which stood on Sec. 13 ; his first instructor was Milton Moore ; by close 
attention to his books, he qualified himself for the profession of teaching, and 
taught his first school in 1850. in what was known as the " James Daily District," 
in German Township ; the building in which he taught was only 16x18 feet, and 
his average daily attendance forty ; he was recompensed for his arduous 
labor at the rate of $15 per month, boarding himself ; he followed teaching during 
the winter months for a period of ten j^ears, and for five summers during this 
time engaged in the manufacture of brick, the balance of the summers were spent 
in farming. In 1858, he was married to Miss Margaret A. Brown, daughter of 
John and Mary Brown ; after his marriage he moved to Washington Township, 
and engaged in farming ; in the same spring, he was elected Constable of the town- 
ship, to which office he was elected for four years in succession ; he lived with his 
wife about six years, when they separated and broke up housekeeping ; one child 
was born to this union, viz., Ida Jane. For several years subsequent to this, he 
had no permanent home. On the 9th of February, 1869, he was united in mar- 
riage to Martha M. Butler, of Randolph Co., Incl.; she is the daughter of James 
and Elizabeth E. Butler ; the same spring of his marriage, he moved to German 
Township, locating on Sec. 3, where he has since lived ; three children are the 
fruits of this union, a son and two daughters. The chief occupation of our sub- 
ject has been farming, though he has dealt to some extent in stock for the last 
fifteen or twenty years ; in 1872, he was elected to the office of Justice of the 
Peace, and served a term of three years, discharging the duties thereof, with com- 
mendable zeal and satisfaction to his constituency ; he is the son of Darlington 
L. and Mary Jefferis. Darlington L. was born in Virginia, Oct. 25, 1796 ; in 



576 BIOGRArHICAL SKETCHES: 

1798. his father moved to Fayette Co., Penn., where they lived until 1806 ; at this 
time they emigrated to Ohio and Located in Butler Co.; at the end of two years, 
they moved to Clinton Co.; in 1820. Darlington L. left the parental roof, to try his 
fortunes in the wilds of Darke Co.; he first made his home with Peter Kimball, in 
Washington Township, and the same year entered 160 acres of land in German 
Township. His marriage with Miss Mary Potter was celebrated the following 
year. 1S21 ; she was the daughter of Daniel and Elizabeth (Drew) Potter, natives 
of New .Jersey, and early pioneers of this State, coming herein 1816. Shortly 
after the marriage of Mr. Jefferis, he erected a log cabin on his land, into which 
he moved and began life in earnest ; by his indomitable energy and persevering 
industry, being ably assisted b}' his noble wife, he soon made the wilderness 
"blossom as the rose ; " by good management he added to his farm, until he sub- 
sequently had in his possession over 500 acres of fertile land, under excellent 
improvement ; he is still living on the farm he entered sixty years ago. There 
were born to Darlington L. and Mary Jefferis, ten children, viz.: Rebecca, deceased 
in infancy : Julian, deceased at the age of 13 ; Job D., married to Caroline Coble ; 
Squire, subject of this sketch; John, deceased at age of 3 years ; Milton M.. 
married to Louisa Chenoweth ; Mary A., married to Samuel F. Armstrong ; 
Joshua, married to Sarah J. Ware ; William H. H. died at the age of 22, at Nash- 
ville, Tenn., while in the service of his country in the late rebellion ; his remains 
were brought home and buried beside his friends gone before ; Elizabeth, married 
to William H. Mills. Darlington L. Jefferis is a son of Job and Rebecca (Long) 
Jefferis ; Job J. was born in Chester Co., Penn., June 9, 1776, and married 
Rebecca, daughter of Owen and Lydia Long, Dec. 10. 1794 ; she deceased four- 
years after their marriage, leaving a son, Darlington L.. the father of our subject ; 
his second marriage was consummated with Rebecca Vail, whose death occurred 
shortly after ; a daughter was born to this union, Catherine, who subsequently 
married Ivan Ward, and moved to Jay Co., Ind. Mr. Jefferis married Elizabeth 
Nichalson for his third wife, who died Oct. 19, 1856 ; three children were born to 
this uni >n — Job E., Joab and Hannah. Mr. Jefferis was a farmer by occupation, 
and emigrated to Clinton Co., Ohio, in 1808, where he lived until his death, which 
occurred dan. 1. 1846 ; he was the son of William and Hannah (Darlington) Jef- 
feris. William J. was born in Chester Co., Penn., May 12, 1729, and united in 
marriage in 1752, to Hannah Darlington, daughter of Abraham and Elizabeth Dar- 
lington. Abraham Darlington was born in Darnhall, Cheshire, England, and emi- 
grated to America when a young man. William and Hannah J. resided in Brad- 
ford, Chester Co., Penn., until their death ; they were the parents of twelve children, 
viz.: Jane, born Oct. 20, 1752, married to Frederick Wolf; Elizabeth, born April 
15, 1754. married John Hickman ; Rachel, born Aug. 14. 1755, married to Griffith 
Roberts; Hannah, born April 7, 1757, married to David Harris; Rebecca, born 
Aug. 18, 1759 ; William, born Sept, 5, 1761, married to Ann Woodward and Mar- 
tha Mendenhall ; Abraham, born Feb. 22, 1763, married Martha Way and Ann 
Carter; Agnes, born Sept. 2, 1764; Job, born June 9, 1766, married Rebecca 
Long and others ; Lydia, born May 17. 1768, married Jacob Aughee ; Mary, born 
Dec. 10, 1770 : Martha, born Feb.'l7, 1773. William Jefferis was a son of Will- 
iam Jefferis. Sr., and Elizabeth Jefferis. William Jefferis, Sr., was born in Dela- 
ware Co., Penn., about the year 17<H), and was married in 1724 to Elizabeth, widow 
of John Xield. and daughter of Nathaniel and Elizabeth Bing ; after residing for 
several years in Delaware Co., they moved to Chester Co.. where they Lived until 
their death ; they were the parents of the following children : Mary, born July 29, 
1727. married William Marsh ; William, born May 12. 1729. married Hannah Dar- 
lington : Martha, born March 8. 1731. married William Bennett ; Nathaniel, born 
Jan. 8, 1733, married twice, persons unknown: Hannah, married John Hunt: 
Samuel, born Dec. 6, 1736, married Margaret Townsend; Nathan, born July 6, 
1741, married Penninah Strode. William Jefferis. Sr., was a son of Robert and 
Jane (Chandler) -Jefferis. Robert Jefferis was born about the year 1670, and emi- 



GERMAN TOWNSHIP. 577 

grated to Chester Co., Penn., as early as 1685 ; it is supposed that he was born in 
England ; he was married in 1693 to Jane, daughter of George and Jane Chand- 
ler, who came from Wiltshire, England, in the year 1689. They were the parents 
of the following children : Patience, married to Henry Betterton ; Charity, married 
to John Evans and John Cope ; William, married in 1724. Elizabeth Neild ; James, 
married in 1827 Elizabeth Carter ; Robert, married to Eleanor , and Eliza- 
beth ; George, married to Lydia ; Jane, married to Joseph Skeen ; Anne, 

married to Alexander Duncan ; Mary, married to Thomas Temple. Robert Jeff- 
eris was married the second time, and there were born to this union, Benjamin, 
Thomas, John, and Richard. 

M. M. JEFFERIS, farmer ; P. 0. German. The subject of this memoir is a 
native of this township ; born within one-fourth mile of where he now resides 
Jan. 8, 1833 ; he is the son of D. L. Jefferis, whose sketch appears in the memoir 
of Squire J. ; he was brought up to farm labor and remained at home till his mar- 
riage, which he celebrated with Miss Louisa Chenoweth, April 6, 1855 ; the mar- 
riage ceremony was solemnized by A. Hiller, J. P. ; Mrs. J. is the daughter of 
Thos. F. Chenoweth. whose sketch appears in those of Washington Township ; 
after his marriage, he located where he now lives ; he has a well-improved farm of 
160 acres, under a good state of cultivation ; he has erected on it the finest two- 
story brick residence in the township, and has with it all the conveniences which 
could be desired ; he is no office-seeker, but has been elected to the office of Town- 
ship Trustee. Mr. and Mrs. J. are the parents of twelve children — Franklin W., born 
Jan. 18, 1856, deceased July 31, 1863 ; Orlinda, Jr., April 6, 1857, deceased Aug. 
4, 1858 ; Victoria I, Jan. 7. 1859, recently married; Laura Ellen, March 12, 1861, 
recently married ; Mary J.. Sept. 9, 1863 ; Lorinda A., May 21, 1865, deceased Sept. 
21. 1871 ; Chas. T., Aug. 8, 1868 ; Emma C. E., Jan. 6, 1871 ; Flora May, Oct. 2, 
1872 ; Elmer D., June 24, 1874 ; Edward F., Nov. 18, 1876 ; Homer L., March 21, 
1879. Mr. and Mrs. J. have their connection with the Universalist Church at Pal- 
estine. 

JOSHUA JEFFERIS, farmer ; P. 0. German. Joshua was born in the house 
where he now resides, October 15, 1837 ; he is the son of D. L. Jefferis whose 
sketch appears in another place ; our subject was reared a farmer boy, assisting in 
the duties of the farm during the summer and attending the common schools 
during the winter months ; he has always lived on the homestead place, which he 
began cultivating on shares in 1863, since which time he has been farming on his 
own account. He was united in marriage with Miss S. J. Ware, January 10, 1867 ; 
she is the daughter of Jacob Ware, whose sketch appears in another part of this 
work ; she was born in the township June 20, 1849 ; Mr. Jefferis is identified with 
the Republican party, to the principles of which he is a zealous advocate ; Mr. and 
Mrs. Jefferis are members of the Universalist Church at Palestine, and are living 
consistent lives. They are the parents of three children, viz., William Ellsworth 
Grant, born March 24, 1868 : Marvin Ravmond, November 5, 1877 ; Lona Alma. 
May 13, 1879. 

SAMUEL KERST (deceased), Mr. Kerst was one of the most promi- 
nent farmers of this township ; he was born in Berks Co., Penn.. November 
24, 1811, and was of German descent; he was the son of Samuel and Eliza- 
beth Kerst, both natives of Pennsylvania ; when quite a small boy. he suffered 
the loss of his parents by death, he then went to live with his uncle at Reading, 
Penn,; while here, he enjoyed the advantages of the schools of the place ; he was 
raised principally upon a farm, and early became acquainted with the art of 
farming, which he followed with signal success the remainder of his life. In 1837, 
December 26, he celebrated his marriage with Miss Ann M. Moj-er, the marriage 
ceremony being solemnized by Rev. William Pauli ; Mrs. Kerst was born in 
Pennsylvania, and is the daughter of Hemy and Sarah S. Moyer, both natives of 
Pennsylvania. Immediately after the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Kerst, they emmi- 
grated to Ohio, halting for a short time on a farm in Montgomery Co., near 



578 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

Germantown; in March, 1838, they resumed their westward journey till reaching 
German Township, where they located on Sec. 13 ; here Mr. Kerst purchased the 
farm consisting of 166 acres, on which Mrs. Kerst now resides, and where he 
passed the remnant of his days in agricultural pursuits ; he died honored by all 
who knew him, March 23, 1872, leaving a large circle of friends, an affectionate 
wife and loving children to mourn his departure and revere his memory. Mr. 
Kerst was a faithful member of the German Reformed Church for many years 
before his death, and died in the triumphs of his faith ; in his death, the com- 
munity lost a useful citizen, the church an exemplary member, and the family an 
affectionate husband and loving father. Mr. and Mrs. Kerst were the parents of 
seven children — two sons and five daughters, all of whom are living (1880); their 
names are as follows : Morgan V., Sarah Ann, Ackie E., Angeline, Evan M., 
Caudia C. and Hattie M. 

GEORGE KESTER, farmer and wagon-maker, P. 0. German. The subject o 
this memoir was born in Montgomery Co., Ohio, near Germantown, in 1809 ; he is of 
German descent and is the son of George Kester, Sr., who was born in Pennsylvania in 
1777, and emigrated to Ohio in the beginning of the present century. The older 
Kester remembered having seen George Washington at his father's private inn, in 
Pennsylvania. He celebrated his marriage with Miss Julia Ann AVolfe, a relative of the 
famous soldier, General James Wolfe. When he came to Ohio, he settled in Mont- 
gomery Co., near Da} T ton. The westward march of civilization had then just reached 
Montgomery Co., and he constituted one of its early settlers ; he served as a soldier in 
the warof 1*812 for a period of six months, and was atFt. Greenville when the Wilson 
children were murdered by the Indians ; he in company with one or two others 
gave the murderers chase ; a favorite dog of Mr. Kester, previously trained, lead- 
inc them on their track ; he would most probably soon have overtaken the villians 
and brought them to justice, but for the fear of the Captain of the garrison who ordered 
them back to the fort. In February, 1837 he came to this county and settled in 
German Township, on the southwest quarter of Sec. 14, on a part of which a por- 
tion of Palestine has since been built ; in March, 1838, he met with a severe and 
what afterward, through the negligence or rather ignorance of the attending physi- 
cian, proved a fatal accident ; he was a great lover of the chase, and, while out on 
a fox hunt with several more, he received a kick from the horse of David Ketring. 
which completely shattered the lower bone of his leg ; from the effects of this he 
died in the following May ; his wife died, when our subject was about 8 years old, 
with a rose cancer on her face ; she was a woman of more than ordinary intelli- 
gence in her day, having received a fine German education. Mr. and Mrs. Kester 
were the parents of fourteen children. Our subject's early life did not differ much from 
that of many other boys in the early period of the settlement of this county ; he 
remained at' home till 16 years of age, devoting his time with his father on the 
farm ; at this age, he worked three months on the Miami Canal, which was then in 
the process of construction, and th completion of which was looked to with great 
anxiety, some believing that it would prove an invaluable blessing to the country, 
and many others that it would prove equally as great an injury ; he was then ap- 
prenticed to the wagon-maker's trade, and served a term of two and a half years ; 
he then pursued this occupation for several years as a journeyman, setting up on 
his own responsibility, first at Sunbury, in 1833. May 1 0th, 1835, he was united in 
marriage with Miss Eve Frank, and on the 20th of the same month he. accompanied 
by his wife, started to this county to improve a piece of land which he had pre- 
viously entered ; the journey was made by team and required two days ; he began 
at once to erect a log house, but before completing it the privations necessarily 
connected with it proved too severe, and lie was prostrated with sickness; after he 
recovered, he returned to Montgomery Co. with his team, after some household goods 
which he could not bring on the first trip : while here, lie was again prostrated with 
sickness, and thus becoming somewhat discouraged with his new home in Parke 
County, he was easily persuaded by his friends to remain in his native place and 



GERMAN TOWNSHIP. 579 

resume his former occupation ; this he did till April, 1838, when he again moved 
to German Township, locating on the east half of his father's farm, which he subse- 
quently purchased for $2,000, the amount paid for the whole quarter a few years 
previous by his father ; at his father's death he administered on the estate, and 
then made the purchase above referred to ; he remained on the farm till about nine 
years ago, superintending it and at the same time carrying on his shop in Pales- 
tine ; he formerly dealt largely in fine blooded horses, his opinion being re- 
garded as that of an expert on such horses ; about nine years ago he moved to 
Palestine, where he still resides. Mr. and Mrs. Kester are the parents of six chil- 
dren, three of whom are deceased ; Mrs. Kester died in 1855, lamented by all who 
knew her ; Mr. Kester gave his second daughter a collegiate education, at Oxford, 
Ohio ; she subsequently engaged in teaching, and was united in marriage to Capt. 
Moore, of Greenville. Mr. Kester consummated his second marriage with Viola 
Mikesell ; two children, a son and daughter, have been born to this union ; the 
son is married and had two children, one of whom hae deceased ; he is much given 
to instrumental music, and is at present (1880) a member of the " Palestine 
Brass Band." 

DAVID KETBING, retired farmer ; P. 0. German ; another of the early pio- 
neers of the county, coming to German Township, with his parents, in 1818 ; he 
was born in Fairfield Co., Ohio, in 1808 ; he is of German descent, his father being 
a native of Germany and his mother of Pennsylvania ; his parents settled on land 
about one mile south of the present site of Palestine, in 1818 ; they then consti- 
tuted one among the first families of the township. Our subject was brought up 
to pioneer life, and was early inured to its hardships ; he assisted his father on 
the farm till his death, which' occurred in 1829 ; he then took charge of the home- 
stead and rendered support to his mother till her death, which occurred in 1845 ; 
he then inherited the home place, which he continued to farm till 1865, when he 
disposed of it and went to Bandolph Co., Ind. ; at the end of eleven years, he returned 
to the place where he now resides ; he celebrated his marriage with Miss Martha 
Brant June 3, 1830 ; she is a native of Preble Co., Ohio, and came to this county 
when only 6 months old, making her home with Jonathan Pearson, one of the first 
settlers in the township. Mr. Ketring has witnessed the changes wrought in this sec- 
tion of the count}" by the unflagging industry of man for upward of sixty years. He 
has seen the wilderness " blossom as the rose " and bring forth a hundred-fold. 
Mr. and Mrs. K. are the parents of nine children, seven of whom are living, viz., 
Elizabeth, Joseph, Mary, Ellen and Jonathan (twins, now deceased), Malinda, Phebe 
Jane, Benjamin F., Clarissa, Martha. ; they have all attained to majority and 
are all married but two. 

MICHAEL LINDAMOOD, farmer ; P. O. Weaver's Station. The subject of 
this memoir was born in Germantown, Montgomery County, Ohio, in 1806 ; he was 
the son of Jonathan Lindamood, who was a native of Pennsylvania ; he emigrated 
to Ohio in the beginning of the present century and located in Montgomery 
County. Our subject was reared a tiller of the soil, and, besides assisting in the 
duties of the farm, he gave some attention to the carpenter business. In 1828, he 
celebrated his marriage Avith Miss Sherick, in Montgomery County ; she was born 
in Perry County, in 1808, and at the age of 18 she accompanied a family to Mont- 
gomery County, with whom she made her home till her marriage, returning once 
in the mean time to her native place on a visit. Mr. Lindamood engaged in farm- 
ing for a few years after marriage, in Montgomery County, and then moved to this 
county, locating on the southeast quarter of Section 24, German Township ; the 
difficulties incident to frontier life at once confronted him ; his farm was, with the 
exception of a few acres, yet clothed in the habiliments of nature, and unflagging 
perseverance was demanded to prepare it for the plow and cultivator ; by dint of 
hard labor this was soon accomplished, and a fine farm was the reward. On Sept. 
5, 1869, death's messenger summoned Mr. Lindamood to " that undiscovered coun- 
try from whose bourn no traveler returns ; " he departed in peace, his life's work 



580 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES : 

being clone, leaving many friends, an affectionate wife and loving children to mourn 
his departure and revere his memory. Mr. and Mrs. Lindamood were the parents of 
children, one dying in infancy, the rest growing up to years of maturity ; three of ten 
the daughters died after their marriage, leaving families of children ; it will be 
seen that death has frequently broken into this family circle, taking away an 
affectionate father and husband and four children. Mr. Lindamood was a member 
of the Lutheran Church and lived an exemplary life. 

G. T. LOWDENSLAGER, farmer ; P. 0. Hollandsburg. This gentleman was 
born in Carroll Co.. Md., Jan. 30, 1830 ; he is of German descent and is the son 
of Jacob L., also a native of Maryland ; he was a shoemaker by trade, and engaged 
in this occupation about foi'ty} T ears ; he emigrated to Ohio with his family in 1837, 
and loeated in Harrison township ; here he combined with his trade, farming. He 
was united in marriage about 1826, with Miss Brown, also a native of Maryland, and 
sister of Loyd Brown, whose sketch appears in the biographies of this township. 
Mrs. L.'s death occurred Aug. 30, I860. Mr. L. is still living in Harrison Township at 
the ripe old age of 81 j'ears. Our subject was brought up to farm life, and assist- 
ed his father in farming till he grew up to mature years. In 1856, Sept. 7, he 
celebrated his nuptials with Miss Margaret A. Vore, who was born in Harrison Town- 
ship, Ma^- 3, 1838 ; her parents were natives of Pennsylvania, and emigrated to 
this State nearly half a century ago, locating in Harrison Township ; her parents 
were both spared to see a ripe old age, her father's demise occurring Oct. 31, 1865. 
at the age of 76 years, and her mother's, Jan. 26, 1880, at the age of 83 years. 
Thus we record the death of two more of the early settlers of this county, who 
departed, leaving a large circle of acquaintances and a family of children to mourn 
their loss. Our subject farmed the homestead for several years after marriage, and then 
after spending about six years on two other farms, purchased the place where he 
now resides, which he has placed under good improvement by his habits of in- 
dustry, assisted by his amiable wife. Mr. and Mrs. L. are the parents of twelve 
children, viz: Mary Emma, born July 7, 1857, married Jan. 14, 1877, to William 
F. Wolf; Thomas P., born Sept. 11, 1858; Jesse S., born June 8, 1860 ; Margaret 
C. C, born Oct. 17, 1861 ; John L., born Feb. 28, 1864 ; Andrew C, born Aug. 
6, 1865 ; Elva E., born July 20, 1867 ; Ina B., born Feb. 4. 1869 ; Annan M., born 
April 15, 1870 ; Florence M., born Dec. 19, 1871, deceased, Sept. 2, 1872 ; Rosa. 
E., born Nov. 7, 1873; Jacob E., born Sept, 30, 1875. 

JAMES McCABE, lumber manufacturer, P. O. German. The subject of this 
sketch was born in Warren Co., Ohio, the 14th day of October, 1826 ; his father, 
John was born in New Jersej 7 Aug. 30, 1798, and is yet living in Neave 
Township, with all his faculties well preserved ; he emigrated to Ohio, when he 
attained to his majorit} r , in September, 1818, making the journey almost entirely 
by foot ; he was accompanied to Wheeling, Va., b} T two young men of the names 
of Nutt and Helm ; here Nutt retraced his steps to New Jersey, after replenishing 
his exhausted purse out of McCabe's ; from Wheeling to Marietta, McCabe and 
Helm journeyed by skiff on the Ohio River ; becoming wearied of this mode of 
travel, they disposed of their skiff, and footed it to Chillicothe ; here the two com 
panions, bound together by the trials and triumphs Of their journey, made a final 
separation; McC. pushed his journey on to Franklin Co., where he engaged a year 
or two at the carpenter trade, which he had previously learned ; his marriage with 
Miss Ann Yantilbnrgh was celebrated .June 17. 1824; she was born in Middlesex 
Co., N. J., Oct. 6, 1798, and emigrated to this State with her parents when 
quite small, locating in Warren Co. Our subject then established himself in War- 
ren Co. and engaged at his trade till he came to this county in 1842. the L3th day 
of November ; he purchased a farm in Xeave Township, and abandoned his trade 
and turned his attention to fanning; he has continued to manage his farm up to 
the present time. Mrs. McC. deceased and was buried at Carlyle Station, Warren 
Co. Five children were born to this union as follows : Sarah, born May 27, 1825, 
deceased; James, Oct. 14, 1826 ; John V., Jan. 28, 1828, deceased July 16, 1855 ; 



GERMAN TOWNSHIP. 581 

William, born Jan. 29, 1829, deceased Oct. 14, 1851; Edith A., Feb. 28, 1830, 
deceased. Mr. McCabe's second marriage was consummated with Miss Nancy 
Woodward, in Warren Co.; she was born in that count}' the 14th day of May, 1808. 
and deceased Jan. 21, 1855. Nine children were the fruits of this union, to wit: 
George, Samuel, Ellen, Oscar and Malvina (twins), Elizabeth, Reuben, Wilson and 
Nancy ; the above are all married but three. Mr. McC. was united the third time 
in marriage with Mrs. Charlotte Heistand, a native of Pennsylvania. Our subject 
was brought up on a farm ; during the winter months, he applied himself assidu- 
ousl}* to the acquisition of the rudiments of book knowledge ; so well did he 
improve his time in this direction that he was early qualified to enter the profes- 
sion of teaching ; this he followed for eight } T ears ; he obtained his first certificate 
of John Briggs, one of the first school examiners of this county. He was married 
to Miss Wagoner Jan. 10, 1852; she was born in Neave Township Oct. 26. 
1823. Her father, George Wagoner, was born Oct. 24, 1788, and came to Neave 
Township March 12, 1817; he was a soldier in the war of 1812, and was taken 
prisoner at Hull's surrender at Detroit ; at the mention of this cowardly act of 
Hull to him, he would become enraged and stamp the ground, even up to his 
death, which occurred April 6, 1868 ; he was united in marriage to Miss Sarah 
Stevens, who was born Oct. 12, 1796, and died Feb. 16, 1864; they were the 
parents of eleven children, seven of whom still survive ; our subject, after his 
marriage located in Palestine, and for a time engaged in teaching and farming : 
he then purchased the Palestine Flouring-mill, to which he attached a saw-mill in 
about five 3 T ears ; he disposed of this property soon after this, and, with Mr. Kes- 
ter. purchased and erected in Palestine a large saw-mill, which he still runs, hav- 
ing some time ago purchased Kester's interest in it. Mr. and Mrs. McC. are the 
parents of four children, two sons and two daughters, to wit : Flora, born July 
7, 1855, now deceased; Orlando, Sept. 6, 1857, now engaged in teaching; Virgil. 
November, 1858 ; Ida M., Feb. 7, 1864. Mr. and Mrs. McCabe are members of the 
Universalist Church of Palestine. 

IRA McCLURE, miller : P. 0. German. The subject of this memoir is a 
native of this county, born in Washington Township in 1845 ; he is the son of 
Geo. McClure, a native of Pennsylvania, who emigrated to this county in 1836 
and located in Washington Township, near Nashville, a place then of considerable 
note ; here he engaged in milling, which he continued eight or ten years ; he then 
disposed of his mill property and purchased what was known as the John Clapp 
farm, near the same place, and engaged in farming ; after controlling this for four 
years, he sold out and bought the Chenoweth farm, in the same township, join- 
ing the Indiana line, five miles south of Union City ; here he continued till his 
death, which occurred in 1871 ; his wife survived him till 1879, when death's mes- 
senger summoned her to join him. Our subject was raised upon a farm, the sum- 
mers of his early life being spent in its duties, and his winter months devoted to 
the acquisition of knowledge in the common schools ; he remained at home till 
the year 1869, when he purchased the flonring-mill at Palestine, which he has since- 
been successfully managing ; he has in the mean time bought and sold grain to 
some extent; has never been a political aspirant, but in 1878 he was elected to 
the office of Justice of the Peace, the duties of which he still continues to dis- 
charge with commendable zeal, and satisfaction to his constituents. He has been 
married twice ; his first marriage he celebrated with Miss Sarah Skidmore. a na- 
tive of this county, in 1869 ; one child, now deceased, was born ; his second mar- 
riage was consummated in 1872, with Miss Rebecca Musselman, a native of this 
county ; three children are the fruits of this second union — Benjamin F.. Capitola. 
Henry Edmund. Mr. and Mrs. McClure are both consistent members of the Dis- 
ciples Church of Palestine. 

WILLIAM H. McCOUN, farmer ; P. 0. German ; Mr. McCoun is the son of 
James McCoun. and was born in Rush County. Intl.. Jan. 16, 1833 ; his father is a 
native of Virginia, and emigrated to Indiana with his parents in 1819 ; in September, 



582 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

1852, he disposed of his property in Indiana, which consisted of 160 acres of land, 
and emigrated to Ohio, locating in the " settlement " in German Township; here 
he purchased f)(i2 acres, and is still living at the ripe age of 82 years, looking as 
though his fourscore and two years had dealt gently with him. The early life of 
our subject was that of a farmer ; his winter months were devoted to the acquisi- 
tion of knowledge, and so well did he improve his time that he was early qualified 
for the profession of teaching ; this occupation he followed chiefly for twenty 
years, with success. He is a zealous advocate of the principles of the Republican 
party, and is one who assisted in crushing out the late rebellion and with it forever 
the cursed institution of slavery ; he was a member of the 45th Penn. C. T., and 
participated in the battles of Hatcher's Run, Petersburg, Richmond, etc., and was 
present at the surrender of General Lee ; from thence they were sent into Texas, 
where he was honorably discharged with his regiment ; from there he returned 
home, and has since been variously engaged in farming, teaching, brickmaking, 
contracting, etc. He is no political aspirant, but has been elected to the office of 
Justice of the Peace, and is now serving on his last year of a three-years' term ; 
he has discharged the duties of his office with the same marked zeal and ficlelity 
characteristic of his whole life ; he also holds a trusteeship in the Union Literary 
Institution, and is fund commissioner of the same ; he is a strong advocate of 
temperance, and both by precept and example opposes the evil of intemperance. 
His marriage with Miss Margaret Mason was celebrated Dec. 29, 1855 ; she was 
born in this county in 1835 ; nine children have been born to them, to wit : Laura 
B., deceased Oct. 8, 1879 ; her life, though short, was complete ; she was a school- 
teacher by occupation, at which she had been engaged from the age of 14 up to 
her death ; Alice A., now teaching at Seymour, Ind., a position Laura B. filled 
previous to her death ; William B. C, Essie J., Sidney R., Augustus L. deceased 
in infancy ; Julian Grant, Houston Colfax and Florence V. Mr. and Mrs. 
McCoun take a great interest in the cause of religion, both being identified with 
religious denominations, he with the Christian and she with the Methodist Epis- 
copal Church. 

GEORGE MILLER ; farmer ; P. 0. German. Mr. Miller is another of the 
early settlers and prominent citizens of German Township ; he is a native of Pennsyl- 
vania, born in York Co. in 1816 ; he descended from the Teutonic stock, and is the son 
of George Miller, Sr., who was also a native of Pennsylvania ; Mr. Miller, Sr., was a far- 
mer by occupation, and engaged to some extent in the manufacture of linseed oil. He 
united in marriage with Miss Petry, who is also a native of Pennsylvania ; she is still 
living in the enjo3'ment of good health in Preble Co., at the ripe old age of 90 years. 
Mr. Miller, Sr., died in Pennsylvania, when our subject was only 9 years old ; the sub- 
ject of this memoir emigrated to Ohio when 16 j'ears of age, and located first in 
Preble Co. ; he was reared on a farm, and as this country was comparatively new 
when he came to it he was early inured to the hardships and privations of frontier 
life ; he remained at home assisting in the duties of the farm till he grew up to 
mature years ; his educational advantages were necessarily limited, as the life of 
the early settler is one of constant exertion for subsistence ; however, what oppor- 
tunities offered in this direction were well improved ; in 1839. he moved to Ger- 
man Township and located on a piece of land owned by John Warner, land which 
he subsequently purchased and still owns ; here he embarked on the "course of 
life" on his own account. He now has his third wife ; his first marriage was con- 
summated with Miss Warner in 183!) ; death bereft him of this companion in 1842 ; 
two children were born, both dying in infancy; he celebrated his second marriage with 
Miss Boomershine, in 1845 ; in 1858 he was called upon to mourn her loss ; she died, 
leaving six children, one of whom has since died ; he was married for the third time, to 
.Miss Bolinger, in 1859 ; ten children were the fruits of the last union, nine of whom 
are still living. It will be noticed by the above that the messenger of death has made 
many and frequent visits to this father, taking from him two affectionate wives and 
four children. Mr. Miller is one of the self-made men of this county; beginning here 



GERMAN TOWNSHIP. 583 

nearly half a century ago almost entirely in the woods, with scarcely nothing but a 
strong con stitution, well-acquired habits of industry and economy, and an unyielding 
determination, he has struggled up through many difficulties to take a place among the 
foremost farmers of the county ; he has added to his small beginning by unflag- 
ging perseverance, till he now has a farm of 293 acres, well improved and under 
excellent cultivation ; he has taken a great interest in the cause of religion, being 
a member of the German Baptist Church upward of twenty years. 

I. D. PARENT, farmer; P. 0., German. This gentleman was born March 1. 
1830, on the place where he now resides ; he is a descendant of one of the early 
pioneers of this county, Samuel Parent, Sr. ; he was a native of New Jersey, and 
emigrated to Ohio in 1814 or 1815 and settled on a farm near Franklin, Butler 
Co. ; at the end of three years, he came to this county and settled on the farm 
where our subject now lives, in Sec. 13 ; here he passed the remnant of his days ; 
his family constituted one of the first in the township, and not an acre of his farm. 
was reduced to the uses of civilization when he moved on it ; the excellent turn- 
pike which now crosses the farm was then only an Indian trail, and the " feeble- 
sons of the bow and arrow " still lingered about ; a pioneer life, with all the pri- 
vations and hardships incident to it, was before him ; but, nothing daunted, he 
launched out, and by his indomitable will and energy soon carved for himself and 
for future generations a beautiful home and farm out of the dense wilderness. He 
was united" in marriage to Miss Hackey before coming to Ohio, and was the father 
of eleven children, two of whom died in infancy ; nine grew up to mature years., 
and five are still living ; the sketches of three of these appear in this work. The 
death of Mrs. Parent occurred in 1861. and that of Mr. P. one year later, in 1862. 
Our subject's life has been that of a farmer ; he assisted his father on the farm 
till he was 22 years of age, at which time he was married to Miss Lucinda Friar ;. 
he immediately moved on an adjoining farm, where he remained three years, when 
he returned to the homestead, which he purchased, and took care of his parents, 
till their death ; one child has been born to Mr. and Mrs. P. — Leander H., born 
September, 1857. By the appearance of Mr. Parent's buildings and the condition 
of his farm, he would be and is counted one of the thrifty, enterprising farmers of 
German Township. 

SAMUEL PARENT, farmer ; P. 0. German. Mr. Parent is another of the 
early settlers and prominent citizens of German Township ; he was born Oct. 23- 
1818, about one mile east of the present site of Palestine ; he is the son of Samuel 
Parent, Sr., whose biography is given under I. D. Parent's sketch. Our subject 
was raised a farmer, which has been his life occupation; he remained under the 
parental roof till his majority ; his early education, as concerned books, was 
about what the pioneer boys usually received. At the age of 21, he com- 
menced life on his own account ; he then moved on the farm, where he now 
resides, which he has placed under the best of modern improvements by his industry 
and good management. Mr. Parent was married to Miss Mary Coble in 1840 : 
she was a descendant of early pioneers of this county, and a native of German 
Township. Mrs. Parent departed this life Aug. 20, 1879 ; she was a noble, Chris- 
tian woman, an affectionate wife, a loving mother, and a useful citizen, and died 
lamented by all who knew her. Nine children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Parent, five of whom have been called to " that undiscovered country from whose 
bourn no traveler returns." Much mental anguish has fallen to the lot of Mr- 
Parent to endure ; six different times has the messenger of death knocked at his 
door and claimed a victim, having robbed him of a loving wife and five children. 
Mr. Parent has a benevolent heart, as his many acts of charity and humanity bear 
testimony ; he is an active member of the Christian (New Light) Church, and his 
life is an exemplary one. 

COLONEL DAVID PUTMAN , attorney: P. O. German ; we herewith present 
a sketch of Col. David Putman, whose portrait appears in this work, who is another of 
the early pioneers of this county ; he was born Aug. 4, 8121, on the present site of 



584 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

New Madison, within the stockade, which formerly constituted old Fort Black ; 
he is of Scotch descent ; his maternal grandfather — David Gray — emigrated to 
America in 1S02 from Tyrone Co., Ireland, whither his immediate ancestors had 
been driven from Scotland by the Catholic persecution ; he settled first in Shep- 
hardstown, Md., from which he emigrated in 1817 to Ohio, locating one mile west 
■of the present place of New Madison, then known as Ft. Black ; here he remained 
until his death, which occurred in 1822 ; he was one of the first settlers of the 
■county, and had for his only neighbors a family of the Rushes, of whom some of 
the more remote descendants are still living in the same locality. Our subject is 
the son of Ernestus Putman, a direct descendant of John Putnam, who came over 
in the Mayflower. Here we mention the two different manners — interchanging 
the m and n — of spelling the name, a diversity which still continues in the family 
and which most probably arose from the early association of the family with the 
Low Dutch. His paternal grandfather was a soldier in the Revolutionary War, 
and took an active part for a period of seven years and eight months in that great strug- 
gle for freedom. Ernestus Putman was born in 1776, soon after his father entered 
the service ; a brother of our subject's paternal grandfather was also a soldier in 
the Revolutionary war, and was sent south with Green's Division ; after the close 
of the war, he located in South Carolina and raised a family ; during our late civil 
war, our subject accidentally met a rebel prisoner at Camp Chase who was captured 
at Fort Donelson ; and learning his rank — Captain — and name, upon inquiry he 
found him to be a grandson of his paternal grand-uncle ; early in the present cen- 
tury, Ernestus Putman celebrated his first marriage, and in 1809 moved to Madi- 
son, Ind. ; here he erected the third log cabin built in the place ; while here, he 
was called to mourn the loss of his wife, who died leaving an infant son ; this son 
now resides in Richmond, Ind. ; Mr. E, Putman remained here till 1811, when he 
went to Harper's Ferry, and entered the Government employ as a gunsmith ; he 
remained at this till the close of the war of 1812, and then went to Washington 
City. We should mention here, that, while at Harper's Ferry, he celebrated his sec- 
ond marriage ; while at Washington, he was allotted the contract for the iron work 
of the Capitol and White House, which were then rebuilding ; in 1819, he with 
his family, emigrated to this count}', purchasing and settling on the land on which 
New Madison has since been built ; it was then known as Fort Black ; on coming 
to the above place, he brought with him a stock of goods and opened a store, com- 
bining with it the gunsmith trade, which was at that time a very lucrative busi- 
ness ; in 1831, he laid out the present town of New Madison, and the same year con- 
structed the first flouring mill in the southern part of the county, locating it near 
Weaver's Station, where the present mill, known as Otwell's, stands : in 1842, he 
retired from active business, having been for a number of years an eminently suc- 
cessful merchant ; he still remained at his old home in New Madison, until a few 
\ curs before his death, when he ceased housekeeping, and, with his wife, went to 
Winchester, Ind., where they spent the remnant of their days with their eldest 
daughter. He departed this life, in October. lS(>r>, surviving his devoted wife nearly 
two years, she having died in February, 1864. Thus two more of the early pio- 
neers passed peacefully away, their Life's work ended, their duties done, leaving a 
family of loving children to mourn their departure, and revere their memory. As 
showing the interest which Mr. Putman took in Christianity, we mention that in 
1847, he built on his own ground, and at his own expense — with the exception of 
$80 — the Presbyterian Church at New Madison ; this church, after he left the 
place, became disorganized, and the house was no longer occupied by them. A 
few years ago, the heirs of Mr. Putman, after discovering that the original deed. 
executed by their father in favor of the Presbyterian Church, was not to be 
found, and that the property was at their disposal, gratuitously turned it 
over to the German Reformed Church, giving it a quit-claim deed for the same. 
Mr. and Mrs. Putman were the parents of nine children, six of whom are still liv- 
ing, and all of whom grew up to mature years ; their names are as follows : Jane 



GERMAN TOWNSHIP. 585 

G., bom in 1816, married to Edward Edger, and now residing in Winchester, Ind.; 
John G., born January, 1818, now living in Denison, Tex.; Elizabeth S., born 
October, 1819, married Dr. Rufus Gillpatrick, lately deceased ; Col. D., our sub- 
ject ; Mary I, born 1824, married to Dr. Charles Jaqua ; Ernestus J., born 1826, 
now of Colorado Springs, Colo.; Thomas C, born 1828, and deceased in his 21st 
year ; James, born 1830, now residing in Burlington, Iowa ; Nancy C, born 1833, 
married to Gen. J. G. Blunt, and now residing at Leavenworth, Kan.; Mr. P. was 
a member of the F. & A. M. Our subject, at a very early age, was sent to Eaton, 
Ohio, to school, being placed under the instruction of Col. George D. Hendricks, 
and remained there about six months, this being his first school outside his pater- 
nal roof; at the age of 13, he was placed in the flouring-mill lately built by his 
father, and there remained for a period of two years ; then he was placed in his 
father's store in New Madison. The age of 13 closed his school days. He has a 
vivid recollection of going, with his father, when quite a snlall boy, about one mile 
east of New Madison, where, with the assistance of some of the neighbors, they 
erected a log schoolhouse, the house being completed in one day, with furniture 
thereto, the furniture being manufactured on the spot ; thus was planted the germ 
of our present efficient and invaluable school system. Shortly after our subject 
left the mill, and while in the store, Col. Hendricks, his former instructor, called at 
his father's, and, while at the supper-table, remarked that he was then organizing a 
surveying party to go to Texas, just then recognized as an independent State, and 
jocosely asked Mrs. Putman if David could accompany him ; to this she promised 
an answer next morning, which was rendered in the affirmative, and she at once 
set about to prepare him for his journe}*. Dr. Gillpatrick, who had lately located 
in New Madison, from Maine, undertook to instruct our subject in practical sur- 
veying prior to his setting out on the expedition. On Christmas Day, 1836, Col. 
Hendricks, with a party of nine, left Eaton, Ohio, for Texas, our subject being the 
youngest of the number ; they performed almost the entire journey to Cincinnati, 
Ohio, on foot, accompanying the teams of Mr. Putman, the father of our subject, 
which were loaded with butter, lard and pork, and were about four days on the 
way ; on the last day of the year, they embarked at Cincinnati, on the steamer 
George Washington, en route to New Orleans ; on the next day, just before passing- 
Louisville, the}* met the steamer on which Santa Anna was a passenger, on his 
way to Washington City ; they were about two weeks on their way to New Orleans, 
their progress having been much impeded in the early part of the journey by float- 
ing ice. The Colonel relates an incident which occurred on the way down, 
as follows : Wishing to practice economy, their party took lower-deck pas- 
sage, and among their number was one Parks, an excellent violinist and vocal- 
ist, who sang and played "Bill}' Barlow," much to the gratification of the 
passengers, who listened to it for the first time ; this so attracted the pas- 
sengers in the cabin that they made him up a purse of $25, and, after 
putting somewhat of an aristocratic finish on him, invited him up to the cabin 
to amuse them with his songs and plays the balance of the trip. As young as our 
subject was, he was intrusted by his father with a quantity of lard, butter and pork, 
to take to New Orleans, to be disposed of to the best advantage ; he made a satis- 
factory disposal of it to the firm of James Landis & Co., and left the proceeds 
thereof on deposit till his return. Here four of the company left them, the rest 
immediately embarking on the sail-vessel. William C. Byrant for Texas ; the party 
then consisted of the following persons, to wit : Col. George G. Hendricks, Lot 
Lee (who afterward became Sheriff of Preble County, and distinguished himself 
in the Mexican war), John Fall. William Maroney and our subject. They 
sailed out of New Orleans on a rough sea which had just been severely disturbed 
by a violent storm ; this was rather a severe initiation to sea-life for their party, as 
it soon produced the unpleasant sensation of seasickness ; after a period of eight 
days, they landed at Marion, the river station of Columbia, the capital of the 
State ; this was on the Brazos River ; they there learned that the land office was 



586 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

not open, and that there was no employment to be had in surveying ; thus disap- 
pointed, they concluded to go into camp in the outskirts of Columbia. Col. Hen- 
dricks, not obtaining work as expected, pushed on to San Antonio, leaving the 
remaining part of the company in camp. At this time, there was a large influx of 
emigrants to the State, and a great demand for carpenters sprung up. This Lot 
Lee, who was a carpenter by profession, availed himself of, took contracts and em- 
ployed Maroney and Fall to assist him ; this proved very remunerative, as the 
demand for such labor was large and supply meager. Our subject performed the 
part of cook for the company, receiving for it his board and $1 per day ; in ad- 
dition to this, he served as clerk in the grocery store of Capt. Ives, late of Texan 
War, for which he received $2 per day ; while here, he made the acquaintance of 
Samuel Houston, President of the Republic. After remaining here about three 
months. Fall, Maroney and our subject determined to return home, and concluded 
to foot it across the State to Red River; before the time for their departure 
arrived. Fall abandoned the pedestrian tour which the}' had planned, and took sail 
for New Orleans ; this, however, did not defeat the resolution of the other two. 
On the 24th day of March, 1837, they called at the office of the Secretary of State, 
and obtained a passport, which is now before the writer, and which was given under 
the hand of J. Pinckney Henderson, Secretaiy of State, at the town of Columbia, 
the 24th day of March, 1837. After disposing of the surplus articles on hand, and 
packing their knapsacks, they sallied forth on their journey, on the morning of the 
27th of March ; on the evening of the first day, finding themselves on the bank of 
Cow Creek, unable to cross, they spread down their overcoats, and, using their 
knapsacks for pillows, lay down and slept soundly and undisturbed till morning. 
Early next da} 7 , they stopped at a farmhouse, which proved to be the home of Dr. 
Parrott, formerly of Ohio, who was much delighted to see the boys, and minister 
unto them in such a manner as to give a new impetus to their journey. After 
fourteen daj's' traveling, they arrived at Natchitoches, having crossed the famous 
Gaines' Ferry, on Sabine River, the land route into Texas ; they took a steamer at 
Natchitoches, for New Orleans. Here our subject invested the proceeds of the 
g< x ids previously stored there, in molasses, sugar and coffee for his father's store. 
This investment exhibited great business sagacity, as it proved to be a very profit- 
al >le expenditure for his father. From here they took steamer direct to Cincin- 
nati, from which place they transferred the goods, by canal, to Hamilton, Ohio. 
taking packet themselves for same place ; next day, they walked to Eaton, Ohio, 
where our subject remained one day with his uncle and his companion 
Maroney ; on the subsequent day he walked home, a distance of eighteen 
miles ; thus ended the first eventful period of his life. We narrate thus fully 
ihis journey as being remarkable for one of such young years to venture. 
In about three months after arriving at home, he was employed as clerk in the 
dry-goods store of D. W. Skidmore, of Hamilton, Ohio; in the following spring, 
his father and uncle established a new store in New Madison, and gave him charge 
of it as clerk ; his uncle died in the fall of 1839, leaving the store entirely in his 
charge up to 1842 : his father retired from active business in the spring of 1812. 
leaving him and his brother in charge of the two stores, which they consolidated 
and jointly managed. On the 15th of the following November, he celebrated his 
nuptials witli Miss Sarah Mills, daughter of Col. Mark T. Mills, and grand-daughter 
of Col. daiucs Mills ; the latter gentleman was one of the early pioneers of this 
county, coming here in 181 »i and settling on land two miles north of New Madi- 
son ; he was a native of New Jersey, and emigrated to Hamilton, Butler Co., Ohio, 
in 1798, an* 1 was one of the first settlers in the county, and Colonel of the 1st Ohio 
.Militia, 3d Detachment, in the war of 1812 ; he left Hamilton, Ohio, Feb. 5, 1813, 
in command of the 1st 0. M.. and marched to Dayton; from there to Piqua, 
Loramie, St. Mary's, and finally, April 7, was ordered to Ft. Meigs, where his 
regiment remained on guard duty till discharged from service. We find the fol- 
lowing entry in his regimental book: 



GERMAN TOWNSHIP. 587 

GENERAL ORDERS. 

" Col. Mills, with a portion of his command, having honorably served out the 
period for which they were called into the service of their country, are hereby dis- 
charged and permitted to return to their respective homes. Events not within the 
control of the present Commander-in-chief of this army, or of our Government, 
have rendered it necessary that the militia of Western States should compose a 
considerable portion of the Northwest army. Ohio stands conspicuous for the great 
zeal and promptness with which her citizens have yielded the comforts of private 
life for the toils and privations of the camp. In the return of this detachment 
of Ohio troops to their families and homes, it is due to Ohio and her sons to re- 
cord their honorable service. 

" To Col. Mills and his staff, and his respective commissioned and non-com- 
missioned officers and privates, whose term of service has expired, and to whose 
promptness in the discharge of every duty he has been an e} r e-witness, the Com- 
manding General gives his sincere thanks. 

" By command of Gen. Greene Clay." 

Col. J. Mills served in both branches of the Ohio Legislature ; he died of 
cholera in 1833, at Ft. Jefferson, and is buried on the land he first settled ; his 
wife was a physician of much note in the early histoiy of this county. Col. Mark 
T. Mills, son of the former, was one of the early Sheriffs of this county, and while 
serving his second term w T as elected a member of the Legislature ; he was contin- 
ued a member of this body for four or five years by the suffrage of the people. 
He was married to Miss Lydia Burdge, March 29, 1821, who still survives him, he 
having died in March, 1843 ; she is the wife of Henry Hutton, one of the early 
pioneers of Butler Township. Our subject continued business in New Madison 
till June, 1815, when he sold out his interest in the store to his brother, purchased 
a stock of goods and residence in Palestine, where he moved and commenced bus- 
iness next day ; here he engaged with success for three years in dry goods, grain 
and pork ; in 1848, he suffered a heavy financial loss in the pork business, this 
being a disastrous year to pork merchants ; he then exchanged his stock of goods 
for a farm in Preble Co., Ohio, and lived on it two years, when he disposed of it, 
discharged all his financial obligations, and returned to Palestine ; in the two suc- 
ceeding years, engaged in the insurance business, and then was proprietor of a 
hotel for one year ; after the act of Congress granting land-warrants to the soldiers 
of the war of 1812, he turned his attention to this business ; in the fall of 1855, 
he, with his wife, went to Iowa and remained there till the following spring ; in 
the mean time, he entered about 1,000 acres of land with the land-warrants which 
he had purchased, traveling over the State extensively ; he returned to Palestine 
in the spring and engaged in the groceiy business, which he continued till the 
spring of 1861, when he closed out his stock ; in the mean time, he disposed of 
his Iowa lands and invested in real estate in this county. Soon after the com- 
mencement of the civil war, being an ardent supporter of Lincoln, he offered 
his services in defense of his country, and, on the 10th of October, 1861, was 
mustered into the United States Army ; he was commissioned as Second Lieuten- 
ant of the 69th 0. V. I., with authority to recruit a company. On the 
last day of the month, he reported to Col. Campbell, at Hamilton, Ohio, with 
thirty-one men ; on the next day, he returned in company with Col. Campbell to 
this county, to recruit more men for the company ; on the 19th of December, having 
completed the enlistment of the company, he was elected to office of Captain ; they 
remained at Hamilton till the 19th of February, when the regiment was ordered to 
Camp Chase (the 1st of March, Gen. Buckner, with entire staff of officers, was 
brought to camp as prisoner, from Ft. Donelson) ; his regiment remained here 
on guard duty till the 19th of April, when they received orders to report at once 
to Nashville, Tenn. ; they arrived there on the 22d of April, and were shortly put 
in charge of the railroad from Nashville to Columbia, where they remained till 



588 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

June 8 ; they then accompanied an expedition under Gen. Dumont to Pike- 
ville, by way of Nashville, Murfreesboro, McMinnville, and over the Cumberland 
.Mountains ; returning to Nashville, Col. Campbell was appointed Provost 
Marshal, and the regiment detained as Provost Guard of that city. About this time, 
the rebel General, .Morgan, made a raid upon Gallatin, capturing Col. Boone with 
4th Kentucky; the 69th 0. V. I., 11th Michigan and section of a battery, 

attacked Gen. Morgan and drove him out, the 69th losing one man killed 

the first killed of the regiment. When Gen. Bragg made his flank move- 
ment on Louisville, the 69th was left to guard the city of Nashville, which, owing 
to the scarcity of troops, was regarded as rather perilous ; while here, our subject 
was detailed as member of general court-martial, and remained on this duty 100 
days ; from this he was relieved on the 26th of December, and joined his regiment 
at Nolinsville, on its way to Murfreesboro ; the regiment participated in mostof the 
hard fighting which immediately followed at that place. On the morning of the 
31st of December, Col. Cassilly, having succeeded Col. Campbell in command, was 
dismissed for unbecoming conduct, when the regiment was left for a time without 
a commander, in the midst of a hard fight, which soon reduced it to confusion and 
disorder. Our subject being ranking Captain of the regiment on the field, dis- 
tinguished himself by taking command of the regiment, and bringing it into line 
again, which position they held, till ordered to fall back by Gen. Negley— the 
regiment suffered severely in killed and wounded during the day ; on next day 
they were not engaged, but on the 2d of January they took part in the brilliant 
charge across Stone River, our subject commanding the left wing of the regiment ; 
this was a desperate charge, and, with some slight" skirmishing, closed the battle. 
The 69th had the honor of capturing the famous Washington Battery of New 
Orleans, the finest in the army (Sergt. Wilson, of our subject's company, deserves 
meritorious notice for his bravery in this charge ; being disabled in the left arm. 
he was using a breech loading carbine, and with it succeeded in capturing a regi- 
mental flag of the Nashville Regiment, while crossing the river.) From exposure 
previous to and during this battle, our subject, after wading the river waist-deep, 
which was floating with ice, fell prostrate to the ground, and was carried to a 
house near by ; he remained here till the 10th of January, having been prostrated 
on the 5th, and then was taken to Nashville, remained here till the 6th of February, 
and then went to Murfreesboro, where he remained till the 20th of June, with the 
exception of thirty days, which time he spent at home on furlough. On the 20th, 
the army was examined, and all who were unfit for active duty were placed in the 
invalid corps ; our subject, being examined, was reported unfit for active duty, 
and was offered the command of Ft. Thomas, but, his health being poor, he thought 
best to resign and return home ; his resignation was accepted on the 21st of June, 
1863, and, after some delay, arrived home July 12. On the 24th of July, a com- 
pany of O. N. G. was organized in Palestine, and our subject elected Captain ; 
in the following August, the 28th O. N. G. was organized, and he was elected 
Colonel; he took an active part in the Brough-Vallandigham campaign. 
and also assisted Col. Browne in the recruiting service. May 2, 1864. the O. N. G. 
were called out. by order of the Governor, and, although his health was still much 
impaired, his unflagging interest for his county led him to take his place as Colonel 
of the 28th O. N. G. ; after arriving at CampDennison, their ten companies were 
consolidated into eight, and two were assigned them from Springfield ; they were 
then organized into the I52d < >. X. G.. and, on the 12th of May, they were sent 
to New Creek. W. Va., and from there, on the 30th. to Marthisburg ; they left 
there on the -1th of .June, with a supply-train of 20!) wagons, and orders to reach 
( i en. Hunter, who was then somewhere in the Shenandoah Valley, at all hazards ; they 
were joined by five companies of 161st O. N. G., 2d Md., and sixty men of 15th N. Y. 
Cavalry, all under the command of our subject ; they overtook the rear of Hunter's 
army <>n the 10th, at Staunton, and his army next day at Lexington ; here, under 
Hunter's command, the famous mills and military institutions of Lexington were 



GERMAN TOWNSHIP. 589 

destroyed by fire ; at the latter institution was found a statue of George Washing- 
ton, life size, erected in 1788, which was turned over to our subject with special 
instructions to deliver it to the Governor of West Virginia, at Wheeling ; these 
instructions he carried out ; the}' continued with Hunter's army till the 17th, when 
Gen. Hunter turned his prisoners, sick and wounded, and 200 wagons, over to the- 
Colonel and ordered him to u get out ; " they marched in advance of Hunter's 
retreating army, arriving at Beverly on the 27th, being under fire more or less every 
day ; arrived at Cumberland, Md., the 2d of Jul}', and remained there till the 25th 
of August, participating in several skirmishes in the vicinity ; they were then ordered 
to Camp Dennison where they were mustered out of service on the 2d of Septem- 
ber, and on the 5th received their pa} - and final discharge. After returning home 
the regiment resumed its old name, of 28th 0. N. G., and our subject continued its 
Colonel till the close of the war ; he received three honorable discharges from the 
United States service, one from the 69th 0. V. I., 1 52d 0. N. G., and 28th O. 
N. G. Immediately after the close of the war, he engaged in the study of law 
under the direction of A. 11. Calderwood of Greenville, and was admitted to prac- 
tice at the May term of the District Court of Ohio. 1866 ; since then he has been 
engaged in the practice of law, giving his attention for several years particularly 
to the collection of soldiers' pensions. He was elected to the office of Justice of the 
Peace in 1870 and served a term of three years ; he is a member of the F. and A. M. Lodge 
of New Madison. Mr. and Mrs. Putman, have no children of their own, but have 
raised from infancy a cousin's child, by the name of M. P. Simison ; his paternal 
grandfather was the first white settler at Ft. Recovery, then a part of Darke Co., 
and one of his aunts was the first settler of Jay Co., Hid.; he is now engaged in the 
drug business at Palestine, and is one of the promising young business men of the 
place. 

ELIAS ROSS, farmer; P. O. German. We herewith present the sketch of 
another of the earl}' pioneers of this township in the name of Elias Ross ; he was 
born in Pickaway Co., Ohio, Feb. 20, 1811 ; he is the son of Henry Ross, who was 
a native of Virginia ; early in his youth, he left his parental roof and embarked on 
the sea of life without guide or counselor ; he soon found his way to Pickaway 
Co., Ohio, where he entered into the occupation of farming ; after dwelling here for 
a short time he moved to Big Darby Creek, Franklin Co.; from there he came 
direct to this township and located on land in northwest part of Sec. 24 ; this was 
in October, 1817, and his family constituted one of the first in the township; noth- 
ing but a vast wilderness greeted him on every hand, not even a log cabin could 
be found to house his family in when he landed here ; in lieu of this he was obliged 
to improvise a temporary shed, which served as a very imperfect shelter until he 
could erect a more si?bstantial domicile ; this he set about at once to do ; gathering 
together what few settlers were to be found in the vicinity, the}' erected a " pio- 
neer's home," the log cabin, completing the structure ready for use in one day, the 
first house built in one day in the township ; before they got their cabin built, the 
weather became very rigorous, snow falling to the depth of several inches, which 
produced no little suffering to the family in their temporary shed ; the cabin 
erected and the family comfortably housed, the next thing to be done was to clear 
the land of its forests, preparatory to cultivation ; to have some land ready by 
spring, it was necessary to work through the winter, which was an unusually 
severe one ; this Mr. Ross did faithfully the whole winter through, although with 
much exposure ; thus began the sturdy pioneer, and, although these and many other 
difficulties confronted him, his indefatigable will conquered them all. Mr. Ross 
assisted in the erection of the first church built in the county. It was located in 
Washington Township on Sec. 36, and was built in 1819; it was a Methodist 
Church and is still (1880) standing, a relic of pioneer days, though not now used- 
Mr. Ross was the father of twelve children, one of whom met with a fatal accident 
at the age of 14, by a falling tree ; the rest grew up to mature years and ten are 
still living; he was a local minister of the M. E. Church and for almost a lifetime 



590 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

preached the Gospel and endeavored to tarn the erring ones from their way ; he 
lived to a ripe old age, his death occurring August, 1865 ; his wife had preceded 
him to her final rest. Our subject was only (i years old when he came to this 
township with his parents; pioneers :is they were, he grew up inured to the priva- 
tions and hardships incident to such a life ; he knows what hard work is, and what 
living '• under difficulties " means; he remained at home contributing his labor to 
the subsistence of the family and clearing of the farm till he was of age ; at this 
age,fhe entered the course of life on his own account ; he first hired to David Puter- 
baugh for six months as a farm laborer ; for the subsequent two years he was employed 
by Hezekiah Veitz, of Neave Township ; the first one and one-half months he received 
$8 per month ; for the next four and one-half months he got $6 per month ; for the 
next 3 T ear he received $100 ; at the end of eighteen months, he found that he had lost 
only one day. For the next three months, he received $10 per month. At the end 
of this time, September 4, 1834, he celebrated his first marriage with Miss Lucy 
■Chapman. He was only permitted to live with her sixteen years and two days. 
when death claimed her as his victim, September 6, 1850. After his marriage he 
moved on the place where he now lives, having previously purchased and erected 
a cabin on it. In this he set out on the course of life with his companion. His 
first household furniture he manufactured himself with an ax and auger. Wishing 
to go into the manufacture of maple sugar, he pui'chased an auger on credit, with 
which to tap the trees, and paid for it b}* an entire uight's work over his kettles, 
making sugar. This illustrates the extreme poverty of the early pioneers. In 
front of Mr. Ross' house stands an apple orchard of twenty-two trees, thrifty and 
productive, which he planted with his own hands, forty-five years ago. He was 
united in marriage the second time, October 16, 1851, to Mrs. Rebecca Furrow. 
Seven children were the fruits of the first union, three of whom are deceased, and 
six of the second union, three of whom are also deceased. He has been a con- 
sistent member of the U. B. Church for more than half a century, and lives 
an exemplary life. His first wife was also a member, and died in the triumphs 
of her faith. His present wife is also a faithful member of the same church. 

ISAAC M. ROSS, farmer ; P. 0. German. Ohio. Mr. Ross is one of the 
promising young farmers of German Township ; he was born on the place where 
he now resides, in 1841 ; his early life was that of a farmer-boy, his summers 
being given to farm duties, and his winter months spent in the common school ; 
in the summer of 1861, he gave his services for the preservation of the Union, 
enlisting in the 44th 0„ V. I.; he remained in this service until the close of the 
war, and participated in the following hard-fought battles, besides numerous skir- 
mishes : Lewisburg, Va., under command of Gen. Crook ; Chariest* >wn. W. Va.; 
surrender of Cumberland Gap, where 1,400 regulars, with about as many militia, 
accomplished the remarkable feat of capturing 2,600 rebels ; he next participated 
in the thirty days' siege of Knoxville, Term., and then at the battle of Rutledge ; 
at Strawberry Plains, Tenn., he re-enlisted, and was transferred to the 8th O. V. 
C, under Hunter's command : he w r as then in Hunter's campaign in the Shenan- 
doah ; participated in the two days' fight at Lynchburg, the 17 th and 18th of June, 
1864. This regiment covered Hunter's retreat from Lynchburg to Liberty, at 
which place they were used as a "forlorn hope for Hunter's army.'' In this cam- 
paign his regiment suffered severely, leaving about one-fourth of their men on the 
field of battle, and the rest, with the exception of about fifty, being wounded 
more or less severely. He received two slight wounds, one In the face and one in 
the head ; retreated to Beverly, where they remained during the winter, partici- 
pating in a severe engagement on the 29th of November ; on the 11th of January , 
his brigade was captured, he being taken and retaken five times dining the con- 
flict, and finally escaping: he scouted around in West Virginia until August. L865, 
when he was honorably discharged with his regiment, having served over four 
years ; he returned to his present place, where he has since been successfully 
engaged in farming ; he has a fine farm, well improved, and everything indicates 



GERMAN TOWNSHIP. 591 

thrift and industry. He celebrated his marriage March, 1867, with Miss Ida 
Peden, of Hollandsburg. Mr. and Mrs. Ross are the parents of two children a^ed 
8 and 10, respectively. 

A. B. RUSH, physician ; P. 0. German. Dr. Rush descended from a distin- 
guished family of early pioneers in this country ; was born in Harrison Township, 
on the 19th of January, 1842 ; his paternal ancestors were German, and his 
maternal, English. His father, John R., was born in Bath Co., Va., near Hot 
Springs, the 3d of June, 1798 ; his paternal grandfather, Dr. John Rush, was also 
a native of Virginia, and a near relative of the celebrated Dr. Benjamin Rush 
under whom he received his first medical instructions, and to whose valuable 
library he had access. Dr. Rush emigrated to Ohio on or about the year 1800. 
and settled in Pickaway Co., on Big Darby Creek, where he followed successfullv 
his profession ; in 1816, he came to this county and located in Harrison Township. 
just west of the present site of New Madison ; an injury received from a fallino 
limb, soon after coming here, prevented the discharge of his professional duties 
ever after ; his first wife deceased in Pickaway Co.; he was married to his second 
wife after coming here. John R., father of our subject, was 18 years old when he 
came to this county, and knew what pioneer life was ; his early life was that of a 
'prentice boy, passed upon the farm ; he was united in marriage, April 13 1824 to 
Miss Elizabeth W. Hill ; she was born in York District, South Carolina, November, 
1788 ; she emigrated to the count} r with her parents in 1817 ; Mr. Rush's life was 
spent upon a farm ; his death occurred the 28th of January, 1863 ; his devoted 
wife survived him till April 4, 1871 ; thus we chronicle the departure of two more 
of the advance couriers of civilization, who pioneered their way into the untrodden 
wilds of this country, near the beginning of the present century. Dr. Rush, our 
subject, passed his early life on a farm ; his early education was somewhat limited, 
but later he devoted himself assiduously to the acquisition of knowledge, oivincr 
his attention chiefly to the study of medicine ; he quite soon in life became pro- 
ficient in this department of knowledge and entered upon the duties of his 
profession ; in the year 1878 he graduated from the Eclectic Medical Institute of 
Cincinnati ; he located where he now resides in 1871, and by careful attention to 
business has a lai'ge and lucrative practice ; his marriage with Miss Smelker was 
celebrated Dec. 7, 1866 ; she is a daughter of Jacob H. and Christina Smelker. 
both natives of Germany ; Jacob H. Smelker was born in Eppingen, State of Baden 
Germany, Aug, 9, 1800 ; he emigrated to America in 1819, leaving Germany the 
13th of May, and landing in Baltimore, Md., the 1st da} r of the following August ; 
on arriving in Baltimore, he found himself in possession of 5 cents in Low Dutch 
money, and no demand for labor in his line of work ; his penury would not per- 
mit him to waste much time in search of emploj-ment, so he took at once to the 
country and engaged himself to George Fank, a farmer, as a farm laborer ; at the 
end of one year, he found his way to Fredericksburg, where he halted for a period 
of three years, engaging, in the meantime, with various parties as a farm laborer ; 
his marriage with Miss Christina Denner was celebi-ated at this latter place ; he 
soon took up his journey westward, landing in Cincinnati May 21, 1824, from 
where he plied his way direct to Germantown, Montgomery Co. ; from there he 
moved on a farm just south of Louisburg, Preble Co.; after some years, he moved 
to this township and has resided here since ; Mrs. Smelker's decease occurred the 
15th clay of February, 1850 ; fourteen children, forty grandchildren and ten 
great-grandchildren have been born to them ; his children are as follows : Born 
in Preble Co., George, July 17, 1824 ; Jacob, July 20, 1825 ; Sophia, April 22 
1827 ; William, Sept. 14, 1828 ; Eli, Jan. 9. 1830 ; John. Jan. 15. 1831 ; Henry', 
Jan. 21, 1832 ; David, Nov. 21, 1834 ; born in Darke Co., Daniel, Sept. 11. 1836 ; 
Sarah, April 13, 1838 ; Elizabeth, Aug. 22, 1841 ; Catherine, May 10, 1844 ; Anna! 
Feb. 14, 1846 ; one deceased in Infancy; Dr. and Mrs. Rush are the parents of 
three children. 

C. C. SATKR, physician ; P. O. German ; the subject of this memoir is a 



592 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

native of Indiana, and was born October, 1843, near Brookville ; he is a son of 
Ephraiin S., who emigrated to Indiana in 1840 ; here he remained till his death, 
which occurred in 1854 ; his wife still survives him, and is in the enjoyment of 
good health. Our subject's early life was spent on a farm, his summer months 
devoted to the duties of farm life, and his winter months to the acquisition of 
knowledge in the common school ; he thus obtained a good common-school educa- 
tion ; in the spring of 1861, having accumulated, by his industry and economy, 
some money, he entered Liber College, Indiana, as a student ; after spending 
about three months at this place, he returned home, and volunteered his services 
for the defense of his country. On the 25th of July, he enlisted in the 19th I. V. I. 
at Richmond, Ind., Col. Solomon Meredith commandant, and on the 29th was mus- 
tered into service at Indianapolis ; the regiment was soon ordered to Washington, 
D. O, where it remained till the following spring, engaged in guard duty, constructing 
forts, etc. ; the spring and summer of 1862 were spent between Washington and 
Richmond, under command of Gen. McDowell ; in the fall, he participated in Pope's 
campaign, which terminated in the second Bull Run battle ; the regiment was now 
transferred to the command of Gen. McClellan, and engaged in the hard-fought battles 
of South Mountain and Antietam ; the next battle he participated in was at 
Fredericksburg, Va., Gen. Burnside, commander ; at the beginning of this engage- 
ment, his regiment made a brilliant and successful charge in open position across 
the Rappahannock to dislodge the enemies on the opposite side ; dating from this 
he was promoted to Sergeant's rank ; he next participated in the hard-fought 
battle of Chancellorsville, under command of Gen. Joseph Hooker ; on the 1st of 
July, 1863, he was engaged in the decisive battle of Gettysburg, Penn., and while 
at his post of duty was severely wounded in right arm and shoulder ; this disabled 
him from any more active service, and he was placed in the hospital at Ports- 
mouth Grove, R. I. ; here he remained till the expiration of his term of service, 
which occurred on the 29th of July, 1864, when he was honorably discharged from 
the service of the United States. He then came to Darke County, and was soon 
engaged as clerk in dry-goods store at Wiley's Station , he remained here two 
years, and then turned his attention to the art of telegraphing ; not liking this 
occupation, he next gave his time to the study of medicine, receiving his instruc- 
tions under the directions of the Drs. Matchett ; he attended lectures at the Miami 
Medical College, Cincinnati, graduating in the spring of 1872. He first located 
and engaged in the practice of his profession in Sandusky County ; he next formed 
a partnership with Dr. Ballard, of Arcanum, which lasted one year, when he formed 
a partnership with Dr. Matchett, of Greenville ; he was subsequently located for 
two years at New Paris, Preble County, from which place he came to Palestine 
Oct. 1, 1877, where he has been engaged in practice since, discharging his pro- 
fessional duties with commendable zeal and success. In 1872, he was united in 
marriage with Miss Helen McCaughy, then engaged in teaching in Greenville. Dr. 
Sater identified himself with the Presbyterian Church of Greenville in 1878, and 
is a member of the Greenville Lodge, P. & A. M. Mr. and Mrs. Sater are the 
parents of two children, one deceased. 

I. Q. SINKS, farmer; P. 0. German. The subject of this memoir was 
born in April, 1829, about twelve miles northwest of Dayton, in Montgomery Co.; 
he is the son of Andrew Sinks, a native of North Carolina, who emigrated to Ohio 
with his parents previous to the beginning of the present century, and settled 
north of Dayton, on the Stillwater ; this was then on the frontier of civilization, 
and his family constituted one of the first in the neighborhood ; he was about two 
years old when he arrived there ; he was raised on a farm and accustomed to its 
duties ; this occupation he followed all his life, living upon the same farm where 
he first located until his death, which occurred at the ripe old age of 87 vears. 
He was married to Miss Yount, who was also a native of North Carolina, and emi- 
grated to Ohio in about 1806 ; she survived her husband about three years, when 
her death occurred at the ripe old age of 84 years. Mr. and Mrs. Sinks were the 



GERMAN TOWNSHIP. 593 

parents of twelve children, ten sons and two daughters, nine of whom are still 
living. Our subject is next to the youngest of the family ; he was brought up on 
a farm, and remained at home until he attained his majority ; at this period he 
celebrated his marriage with Miss Williamson, who was also born in Montgomery 
Co.; her father was a native of Virginia, and her mother a native of Warren Co., 
Ohio. Soon after the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Sinks, the}- moved to their present 
place, and have resided here ever since, a period of twenty-seven years ; they are 
the parents of seven children — Sarah S., born Dec. 1, 1851 ; Oliver P., born April 
29, 1853 ; Noah W., born April 3, 1855 ; Emma J., born Jan. 28, 1857, deceased 
Nov. 11, 1858 ; Leora, born March 20, 1858, deceased Oct. 6, 1879 ; Clarrissa, 
born May 13, 1860 ; Loretta, born April 16, 1862. 

WILLIAM H. SETTLE, farmer, P. 0. German. Mr. Settle is a native of 
North Carolina, was born in Rockingham Co., Feb. 5, 1840 ; he is the son of 
Josiah and Nanc}- Settle, both natives of North Carolina ; Mr. Settle was princi- 
pally raised upon a farm ; at the age of 6 he was taken to Mississippi by his 
parents ; in 1855, he emigrated to Ohio with his parents, settling first in Hamilton, 
Butler Co. During the late civil war, he was engaged most of the time on a boat 
on the rivers Mississippi, Missouri and White, principally as a Government em- 
pkye ; in 1866, he returned to Butler Co., and engaged in farming, which occu- 
pation he has followed with marked success ever since. He was united in mar- 
riage, in Cincinnati, March 15, 1869, to Miss Josie Triplet ; she was born and 
raised in that city. Immediately after his marriage, he moved to his present 
place, having previously purchased the farm, which consists of 160 acres. He is a 
self-made man ; beginning with almost nothing, he has, b} r his own exertions, put 
himself in possession of a large fertile and well-improved farm, They are the 
parents of six children, two of whom have been removed from the famil}* circle by 
death. 

WILLIAM SPENCER, farmer ; P. O. Hollandsburg. Mr. Spencer is 
another of the early pioneers of this county ; he was born in Greene Co., Ohio, 
Oct. 12, 1812 ; he is of English descent, and is the son of Francis Spencer, who 
was a native of Kentucky ; he emigrated to Ohio when quite young, and located 
in Greene Co., previous to the war of 1812 ; he served in this struggle for a short 
period as a soldier ; his father was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and was 
severely wounded by a shot fired by an Indian ; Francis Spencer emigrated to this 
county in the spring of 1817, and located in the southwest quarter of Sec. 3, in 
Harrison Township. But few civilized men had then penetrated the untrodden 
wilds of our country, and Mr. Spencer constituted one of the van couriers of civili- 
zation ; he moved with his family, first into a log cabin, mother earth constituting 
the floor ; here he began carving for himself a home in the dense forests, which 
was soon accomplished by his unflagging industry. He celebrated his marriage 
with Miss Sarah Spencer, about the beginning of the present century ; she was 
also a native of Kentucky ; the}' were the parents of eleven children, to wit : Eliza- 
beth, born Nov. 23, 1802. now deceased ; Delilah, born Feb. 26, 1804, now deceased ; 
Anderson, born Jan. 28, 1806 ; Ludlow, born Dec. 3, 1808, now deceased ; Eliza, Dec. 
3, 1810 ; William, born Oct. 12, 1812 ; Clark, born May 31, 1814, now deceased ; 
Anna, born Aug. 14, 1816 ; Jackson, born Nov. 22, 1818 ; Sarah, born April 17, 1822; 
Mark T., Dec. 31, 1827, now deceased. Mrs. Spencer departed her life at the age of 
72 years ; Mr. Spencer lived to the ripe old age of 90 years, his death occurring 
Aug. 14, 1874 ; thus departed from their privations below, two more of the pio- 
neers of this county. Our subject was only 5 years old when he came with his 
parents to this county ; his early days were devoted to such work as the frontiers- 
man usually finds to do ; he thus became early inured to pioneer life ; he remained 
at home on the farm till he grew up to mature years. He was united in marriage 
with Miss Margaret Irwin, in 1831 ; she was born in Pennsylvania, and emigrated 
to this State with her parents when quite small, locating first in Greene Co. ; after 
the marriage of Mr. Spencer, he moved to the place where he now lives, and 



594 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

engaged in agricultural pursuits ; Mr. and Mrs. Spencer are the parents of eleven 
children, lour of whom have deceased ; his son, Irwin, engages during the winter 
months in the profession of teaching. 

BARNEY TEAFORD, farmer ; P. 0. German. The subject of this sketch 
was born February 3, 1825, near the place where he now resides. He is the son 
of George Teaford, a history of whose life appears in Jonathan Teaford's sketch. 
He remained on the homestead with his parents until he was 33 years of 
a^e. He was engaged in agricultural pursuits up to this time, and after he arrived 
at maturity with his twin brother Jonathan. Beginning when the country was 
comparatively new, he knows what hard work is. He celebrated his marriage 
March 20, 1859, with Miss Margaret Stapleton. She is a native of Indiana, born 
in Wayne Co., November 13, 1838. At the age of about 6 years, she came to 
this count}- with her parents. Her paternal grandfather was an early pioneer of 
the county. He settled four miles below Hollandsburg, in Harrison Township, 
in an early day. Mr. Teaford, after his marriage, moved to the place where he 
now resides, and where he has ever since lived. We see, in his large, well-improved 
farms and fine residence, industry and frugality richly rewarded. Mr. and Mrs. 
Teaford are the parents of seven children, four of whom death's messenger has 
visited and consigned to the silent tomb. Their names are as follows : Jonathan, 
born March 8, 1860 ; departed this life October 29, 1862. Norman, born 
March 24, 1861. Infant son. born April 15, 1862, died the same day. Oscar, 
born June 30, 1864, departed this life, Sept. 25, 1866 ; Samuel, born July 
20, 1867 ; Charles born Nov. 18, 1870, departed this life June 25, 1871 ; Flora, 
Alice, born May 10, 1874. 

JONATHAN TEAFORD, farmer; P. O. German. The gentleman whose 
name heads this sketch is one of the large farmers of German Township ; he was 
born Feb. 3, 1825, near the place where he now resides ; is the son of George Tea- 
ford, one of the early pioneers of this township. Mr. Teaford, Sr., was born in 
Augusta Co., Va., and when quite young emigrated to Fairfield Co., Ohio ; here he 
remained several years, engaged as a laborer upon a farm ; he emigrated to Ger- 
man Township with the Ketrings, who constituted one of the first families in the 
township ; he found this country then almost untouched by the hand of civiliza- 
tion ; the " sons of the bow and arrow " still lingered around, and wild game was 
abundant. April 6, 1820, he celebrated his marriage with Miss Magdalena Ket- 
ring ; she was also one of the early pioneers of the township, and a native of Penn- 
sylvania. Shortly after his marriage, he moved to the place where the subject of 
tnis sketch now resides, his father-in-law having previously bequeathed him the 
land, then all in the woods ; here he erected a cabin and resided till a few years 
before his death, when he took up his abode with his son Barney. Mr. and Mrs. 
George Teaford were the parents of twelve children, as follows : Jacob, born Feb. 
10, 1821, deceased September, 1826 ; Rebecca, born Feb. 1, 1822, deceased, Octo- 
ber, 1825 ; George, born Sept. 24, 1823 ; Jonathan and Barney, twins, Feb. 3. 
1825 ; Hester, July 26, 1827 ; Elizabeth, Oct. 23, 1828 ; Amelia, March 28, 1830 ; 
Sarah, Feb. 18, 1832 ; Susannah, born March 12, 1835, deceased, December, 1838 ; 
David, born Sept. 28, 1836, deceased Aug. 5, 1838; Aaron, born June 16, 1838, 
deceased June 24, 1839. Mrs. Teaford departed this life Feb. 13, 1861 ; her hus- 
band survived her till Jan. 29, 1874, when his death occurred. Thus we record 
the death of two more of the early pioneers of German Township, who passed 
away leaving a large circle of acquaintances and a large family to mourn their 
loss. Mr. Jonathan Teaford was raised a farmer, and early became accustomed to 
its arduous duties ; he remained at home assisting on the farm till he grew up to 
years of maturity; he then, with his twin brother, engaged in farming on rented 
land ; they formed a partnership thus earl}' in life, which existed till a few }'ears 
ago, when the property, consisting of several large farms, which were jointly held 
and managed by them, was divided. Our subject was united in marriage with 
Miss Sophia Smelker March 8, 1848; she was born in Preble Co., Ohio, and at the 



GERMAN TOWNSHIP. 595 

age of about 6 years she came to this county with her parents. (Her parents 
receive notice under the sketch of A. B. Rush.) After the marriage of Mr. Tea- 
ford, he rented a farm about one mile east of where he now lives, and farmed it 
about six years. He then, in connection with his brother, purchased 80 acres of 
land just west of his present place ; by their habits of industry, they added farm 
after farm to their possessions, till the}' owned a half-section of land in one body ; 
they then made a division, each taking a quarter-section ; since then, he has added 
other farms to his possessions, and has them all well improved ; he has one of 
the finest brick residences in the township. Mr. and Mrs. Teaford are the parents 
of ten children, seven of whom are living. 

J. B. TENNELL, physician, German ; was born near the city of Lexington, 
Ky., Nov. 20, 1833 ; his paternal and maternal grandparents came from 
Scotland in an early day and settled in Virginia ; remaining there a few years, they 
removed to Jessamine Count}', Ky., where Joseph Tennell, the Doctor's father, was 
born in the year 1796. Our subject, Buford, as he was called when a boy, was the 
youngest of a family of ten children. His mother died when he was 2 years old, 
and a step-mother died some eight years later. From that time on, he lived among 
strangers, strugged with poverty and fought the battle of life on his own hook — 
working on a farm for 25 cents a day during the summer and fall, and at- 
tending school through the winter. When 15 years of age, he came to Frank- 
lin, Lid., and attended a select school for one year ; then entered the Franklin 
College, and continued his studies there for about four years, teaching a district 
school three terms to secure means to pay his board and expenses. He then com- 
menced and read medicine for three years as a pupil under old Dr. Mackey. At- 
tended medical lectures in the Allopathic Department of Ann Arbor, Mich., in 
1855-56. After practicing some three years, he was persuaded to abandon medi- 
cine and enter the ministry, which he did, and spent three years as a traveling 
minister in the U. B. Church. Not being fully satisfied, he decided to return to the 
business which he had spent so much of his time in order to qualify himself to 
follow. Before resuming practice, he attended another course of medical lectures 
at Cincinnati, Ohio, receiving therefrom the degree of M. D. Since then he has 
been actively engaged in his profession in the counties of Union, Randolph and 
Howard, Ind. Five years ago, on account of good roads, he located at Palestine, 
in this county, where he has a nice residence, and has a large and lucrative 
practice. The Doctor is a large, portly man, weighing two hundred pounds, is well 
preserved, and has never used tobacco in any form, nor ardent spirits as a bever- 
age. His life is a practical demonstration that any young man of mind and energy 
can succeed, if they determine to do so. 

S. S. THOMAS, farmer ; P. 0. Hollandsburg, Ohio. The subject of this 
memoir is an early settler and prominent citizen of this township ; he was born 
July 30, 1828, near the place where he now resides ; he is of Welsh descent, and 
the son of Charles W. Thomas, one of the pioneers of this township ; he was born 
in Maryland, and emigrated to Ohio when quite young (notice last of sketch) ; he 
settled first in Greene Co., where he celebrated his marriage with Miss Mercy 
Sackett ; she was born in North Carolina and emigrated to Greene Co. with her 
parents about the beginning of the present century ; her father, Cyrus Sackett, 
was a soldier in the great struggle for American independence ; he celebrated his 
marriage with Mrs. Sackett in 1792. Mr. Charles Thomas came to this county 
about 1826 and located on land previously entered by his father, Daniel Thomas, 
Sec. 31, in German Township ; he found it then covered with the mantle of nature, 
and the country a vast wilderness ; at that time it required nerve and courage to 
begin life there ; this, however, was not wanting with Mr. Thomas, and the wilder- 
ness was soon made to u blossom as the rose ; " he lived on this place till 1864, 
when he disposed of it and moved into Hollandsburg ; while on a visit to Greene 
Co., he was taken sick with fever from which he never recovered ; his death 
occurred Sept. 1, 1872, at the age of 74 years 8 months and 4 days ; his devoted 



596 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

wife preceded him to her final rest several years, her death occurring June 29, 
1859. Mr. and Mrs. T. were faithful members of the M. E. Church, and their lives 
were examples of Christian piety and virtue ; nine children, four sons and five 
daughters were born to them, all of whom are still living. Our subject's youthful 
days were passed upon the farm ; at the age of 18, he was apprenticed to the 
cabinet trade," and served a term of two years ; he then engaged at journey-work 
in Richmond, Ind., for a period of five years ; at the end of this time, he purchased 
a cabinet-shop in Palestine, which he controlled about one } r ear and disposed of 
it, moving to the place where he now resides. He was united in marriage with 
Miss Caroline Berry April 29, 1855 ; she was born in Hamilton, Butler Co., Jan. 
15, 1837, and came to this county with her parents in 1838, locating where she now 
lives, in Sec. 32 ; her father, Thomas Berry, was a native of Virginia, and emi- 
grated to this State when a young man ; he was married to Betse} r Randolph, a 
native of Butler Co., Ohio ; his death occurred Sept. 8, 1839 ; his wife survived 
him till Aug. 4, 1851, when her death occurred ; she had previously united in 
marriage with Mr. William Freeman ; Mr. and Mrs. Berry were both zealous mem- 
bers of the M. E. Church, and passed peacefully to rest when their life's work was 
ended, lamented by all who knew them. Mr. Thomas is one of those who left the 
comforts of home and endured the perils of the battle-field for the preservation of 
the Union ; he enlisted in the Eighth Ohio Battery earl}' in the spring of 186-1, 
and participated in the battles of Black River Bridge and Yazoo City ; he was 
honorably discharged with the regiment at Camp Dennison, Aug. 5, 1865 ; in 
politics, Mr. Thomas is a Republican. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas are the parents of ten 
children, three of whom died when quite } r oung ; two sons and five daughters are 
still living ; one daughter, Ellen, was united in marriage, Nov. 8, 1877, with Gr. W. 
Hill, son of H. L. Hill. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas are consistent members of the M. 
E. Church. Charles W. Thomas was a soldier in the war of 1812, and was 
stationed at Fort Meigs most of the time during the period of his service. 

WILLIAM WADE, farmer ; P. 0. German, Ohio. William Wade, one of the 
few remaining early pioneers of this county, was born Nov. 9, 1818, on the south- 
east quarter of Sec. 13, in Harrison Township, where the south part of New Mad- 
ison now stands ; he is of English descent, and the son of William Wade, Sr., who 
was born in Maryland ; he emigrated to Ohio previous to the war of 1812, and 
located first in Preble Co., and from there he went to Harrison Township in 
1818, settling on the place on which our subject was born ; he then constituted 
one of the fii-st settlers in that township ; he departed this life at the age of 61 
years, his wife surviving him several } r ears, when her death occurred in Wayne 
Co., Ind. Both were buried in the cemetery at New Madison. Our subject's boy- 
hood days did not differ much from those of most of the pioneer boys ; he shared 
in the trials and difficulties incident to frontier life ; his father being an invalid, 
the management of the farm early fell to his charge ; this duty he discharged suc- 
cessfully until he reached the age of 24. The meagerness of educational advanta- 
ges at that day, together with the duties of the farm, which early devolved upon 
him. rendered his education, so far as books were concerned, much limited ; just 
previous to leaving the homestead, July 23, 1842, he celebrated his marriage with 
Miss Susannah Ross ; she is the daughter of Nathaniel Ross, one of the early pio- 
neers of the township ; he settled here February, 1819, and in the following 
August, Mrs. Wade was born ; she has witnessed all the changes in this section of 
country, from the thickets of the forest to the waving grain-fields of to-day. Soon 
after Mr. Ward's marriage, he moved to Neave Township, locating on a farm which 
he had previously purchased of Reuben Lowry : at the end of four years, he dis- 
posed of this farm and purchased and moved on the one on which he now resides ; 
he has resided here ever since, a period of thirty years. Mr. Wade has risen by 
his own exertions to a place among the foremost farmers of his section of couniry. 
Mr. and Mrs. Wade are the parents of one child, a daughter, Mary, born Oct. 15, 
1843; she was united in marriage to Charles W. Sentmen July 19, 1867; she 



GERMAN TOWNSHIP. 597 

departed her life Nov. 18, 1874 ; her life was short, though complete ; her work 
was finished and she passed peacefully away, leaving a large circle of acquaint- 
ances, a kind father and mother, a husband and two loving daughters, to mourn 
her departure and revere her memory ; she was a consistent member of the Meth- 
odist Episcopal Church until death, and lived in the discharge of her Christian 
duties ; in her death, society lost a useful member. Mr. and Mrs. Wade take a 
great interest in the cause of religion, both being consistent members of the 
United Brethren Church, and living exemplary lives. 

JACOB F. WARE, farmer ; P. 0. German. Mr. Ware is another of the early set- 
tlers and prominent citizens of German Township ; he is paternally of German and 
maternally of English descent, and comes of Revolutionary stock ; he was born Dec. 
13, 1819, in Preble Co., Ohio, and is the son of John Ware, who was a native of Ten- 
nessee, being born there Feb. 11, 1785 ; he emigrated to Ohio in 1810 and located in 
Montgomery County, on Stillwater ; from there he shortly moved to Preble County, 
locating near West Alexandria, in the vicinity of which he remained till his death, 
a period of sixty-two years ; he was a soldier of the war of 1812, and shared in 
the privations and hardships of that struggle ; he was under Gen. Harrison's com- 
mand, and was present at the celebrated treaty of Ft. Greenville, in 1814 ; his 
father was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, and served for seven years in that 
great struggle for freedom. John Ware, by his services in the war of 1812, was 
entitled to a land-warrant of 160 acres, which he located where our subject now 
resides ; this warrant was given under James Monroe. Mr. Ware, the subject of 
this sketch, was reared a farmer boy, and remained at home assisting in duties of 
the farm till he was 21 years of age ; at this time, he engaged at the carpenter 
trade, which he followed about six j*ears, when he moved to the place where he 
now resides and turned his attention to farming ; he celebrated his marriage in 
1844, with Miss M. Catherine Rittenour ; she was born in Virginia, and emigrated 
to Ohio with her parents when only 7 years old, settling near New Madison, Har- 
rison Township ; on the 16th of February, 1879, the messenger of death entered 
Mr. Ware's home and took from it his devoted wife ; her life's work ended, her 
duties done, she passed peacefully away, leaving a kind and affectionate husband 
and four loving children to mourn her departure and revere her memory ; Mrs. 
Ware was a faithful member of the church for twenty-two years before she died, 
and in her death the church lost a useful member and the community a valuable 
citizen. Mr. Ware is one of the self-made men of this county ; when he moved 
to the place where he now resides, in 1848, he found it all in the woods, the under- 
brush so thick that he had to grub a place for the horses to lie down the first 
night ; here he began in a log cabin, surrounded on every side b} r dense forests, 
on a small piece of land bequeathed him by his father ; the outlook was by no 
means flattering, but with that indomitable energy which served him well then, 
and has been his guiding genius ever since, being ably assisted by his noble wife, 
he soon carved for himself a farm and beautiful home out of the wilderness ; by 
habits of industry and economy he has added to the first possession till he now 
has a fine fertile farm of 244 acres under excellent improvement ; he made and 
used perhaps the first jumping-shovel plow anywhere in that vicinity ; with this 
plow he has prepared ground in the green upon which he has raised sixty bushels 
of corn per acre. Mr. and Mrs. Ware are the parents of five children, one of 
whom has died ; three of the others are married, and one, a son, still remains 
at home. Mr. Ware is no aspirant for office ; having been repeatedly tendered 
important offices of trust, he has always refused to accept ; he lives an exemplary 
life, and formerly held his connections with the United Brethren denomination. 

WILLIAM" H. WARNER, farmer ; P. 0. German. The subject of this memoir 
was born in Neave Township March 8, 1849 ; he is of English descent, and the 
son of Henry W., who was born in Montgomery Co., November 1819 ; he was a 
farmer by occupation from his boyhood days till his death : he was united in 
marriage to Miss Lotta Williamson, in 1846; she was also a native of Montgomer}' 



fj98 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

County ; after their marriage, Mr. W. engaged in farming in above county till 
1857, with the exception of one year, when they lived in Neave township, in this 
county ; at above date he came to German Township and located on land in Sec. 
13; here he lived until his death, which occurred in April, 1874; his wife 
preceded him to her final rest about six years, her decease occurring in February, 
1808; they had seven children born to them, to wit: Amanda, deceased in 
infancy : Almira, "William H., George (deceased), Lorenzo, Franklin and Emma. 
Our subject was brought up on a farm, and remained at home till he grew to 
maturity. He celebrated his nuptials with Miss Sarah Flory in October 1873 ; she 
was the daughter of Emanuel Flory, whose biography we subtend to this ; after 
the marriage of Mr. Warner he moved on his father-in-law's place, which he has 
since been farming. April 8, 1878, he was called upon to mourn the loss of his 
devoted wife. Her life was short, but full of usefulness, and her death was 
lamented by all who knew her. Two children, sons, were born to them, Andrew 
J. and Horatio. Mr. Warner is in politics a Democrat. Emanuel Flory was an 
early settler of this township ; he was born in Montgomery County, Jan. 12, 1810, 
and is the son of Emanuel F., Sr., a native of Pennsylvania, born in 1776 ; he 
emigrated to Ohio in July, 1806, locating on Wolf Creek, Montgomery County ; he was 
a farmer b} r occupation. He was married to Miss Sarah Kaga some years before 
coming to Ohio ; the 17th of March, 1834, he came with his family to Darke 
County, locating on Sec. 12, where Emanuel F., Jr., now resides ; some three or 
four years previous to this he came out and erected a water-power saw-mill, on 
West Branch, the first in that locality. Mrs. Flory died in 1822. Nine children 
were born to this union, onby three of whom are yet living. Mr. F. consummated 
his second marriage with Mrs. Royer, who died in September, 1853, she 
having survived her husband about four years, his death occurring March 9, 1849. 
Emannel P., Jr., was reared on a farm, after coming to this county with his parents, 
he engaged on his father's saw-mill for a period of about five years ; since then he 
has lived on and farmed, till a few years ago, the homestead which he purchased ; 
he was married to Miss Waggerman in 1852, who was born near Brookville, 
Montgomery County, in 1816 ; she departed this life Jan. 15, 1872 ; during life 
she was a faithful member of the German Baptist Church. Mr. Flory has been a 
consistent member of the same church for nearly half a century, and is living an 
exemplary life. 

JAMES WILLCOX, farmer ; P. 0. German ; the subject of this memoir was 
born in Germantown, Montgomery Co., Ohio, in 1817 ; he is the son of James 
VYillcox, Sr., and Elizabeth (Kester) Willcox ; James Willcox, Sr., was born in 
the State of New York, on the Mohawk River, near the site of " Stillwater " battle- 
field ; his father was a soldier in the great struggle for American independence 
and participated in the above battle ; James Willcox was a shoemaker by occu- 
pation, and at one time worked in Stephen Girard's shop, in Philadelphia ; while 
lure he made for Henry Clay the pair of boots which he wore to the " Treaty of 
(Ihent," the boots costing $40 ; he emigrated to Ohio in 1815, landing at Cincin- 
nati with 50 cents in his pocket, and all his earthly possessions tied up m a silk hand- 
kerchief ; from there he pushed his way northward, and finally came to a halt in 
(ierniantown. Montgomery County ; here he engaged at his occupation for five or 
six years, and then moved to Preble County, where he added to his trade farming : 
from there he came to this county, March 18, 1839, and located in German 
Township, on land which he had previously purchased near the present town of 
Palestine ; here he engaged in farming and sawmilling. He was married soon 
after coming to this State, to Miss Elizabeth Kester, a native of Lancaster County, 
I'enn. ; she came to Ohio with her parents when quite small. Mr. and Mrs. 
Willcox were the parents of thirteen children, five of whom have deceased ; the 
living are as follows : James (our subject). John, Charles, David, Phebe 
A.. William, Elizabeth and Elijah ; the deceased are Lavina, Memlius, Levi, 
Jeremiah and .Mary J. Mrs. Willcox departed this life October, 1855, and 



GERMAN TOWNSHIP. 599 

Mr. Willcox the 4th of February, 1856 ; by their deaths the community lost useful 
citizens and the family affectionate parents. Our subject was raised to farm labor, 
assisting his father in farming till he attained his majority, attending the com- 
mon schools during winter months ; he emigrated to this county with his parents 
in 1839 ; at the end of one year he went to Butler County, and engaged for a time 
at wood-chopping ; while here he accidentally discovered that he could put up a 
barrel about as good as an experienced cooper, and accepted a proposition from a 
professional cooper to engage in the business ; he made 430 barrels, averaging 
eight barrels per da}' as his first work ; he remained in Butler County alto- 
gether about three years, and then returned to this county, engaging in saw -milling 
for the next eighteen years continuously and successfully ; he then purchased and 
moved to the place where he now resides, which consists of 160 acres, the most of 
which he has cleared and placed in its present highty improved condition. He 
has been married twice : his first marriage was consummated with Miss Sarah J- 
Clendenine in June, 1841 ; she died five months after their marriage ; his 
second marriage was celebrated, June 8, 1848, with Miss Elizabeth Ketring, a 
sketch of whose parents occurs in the biographies of this township ; she was born 
in this township. Mr. and Mrs. Willcox are the parents of nine children, three of 
whom are married : Signorette L., born Feb. 28, 1849 ; Alice E., Jan. 8, 1851 ; 
Marquis L., Aug. 7, 1853 ; Mary F., April 5, 1855, deceased Feb. 25, 1856 ; Per- 
cival F., May 5, 1857 ; Isaac N., May 3, 1859 ; David M., June 15, 1862 ; Joseph 
S., Dec. 27, 1864; Charles Sumner, April 12, 1861 ; Martha E., June 16, 1870. 
Mr. and Mrs. Willcox take a great interest in the cause of religion, both being 
consistent members of the Christian Church of Palestine. 

JESSE WOODS, farmer ; P. 0. German. The subject of this sketch is one 
of the prominent citizens of Darke County, and a pioneer of German Township ; he- 
was born in Virginia in 1818, and was only 2 years old when he came to this 
township with his parents in 1821 ; he is of English descent, his father, James 
Woods, was born in St. James' Park, London, May 25, 1767, and died at his 
son's, near Palestine, on the 21st day of August, 1869, aged 102 years 2 months 
and 26 days ; his remains were laid to rest in the beautiful Palestine Cemetery, and 
a marble monument is reared over his grave. At the time of his birth St. James r 
Park was three miles out of the city, but since then the city has grown around it ; 
he followed sea life as a sailor for about twenty years ; he emigrated to America 
somewhere about the beginning of the present century, and settled in Virginia ; in 
1821, he took up his journey westward, with his family, and settled in this county, 
in German Township, where his son Jesse now lives ; on this place he spent the 
remainder of his eventful life ; his marriage was celebrated in Virginia ; he was 
the father of eight children. Jesse Woods, our subject, knows what pioneer life 
is ; he has shared in the trials and triumphs incident to such a life : he has wit- 
nessed the changes wrought in this country for over one-half century, and has 
applied himself persistentby and vigorously to develop its present vast resources ; 
his duties in his youth were those of a pioneer farmer boy ; his early education, so 
far as book knowledge is concerned, was necessarily limited, as opportunities in 
this direction were meager, and his time and labor principally demanded on the 
farm; vivid to his recollection is the appearance of the first schoolhouse which he 
attended ; it was a " fac-simile " of the pioneer schoolhouse — the progeny of 
necessity, not the sound of a nail was heard in its construction, nor a glass window 
seen in it after its completion ; his first teacher was William R. Jones, the first 
pedagogue in the township ; he kept the characteristic " land school " of the back- 
woods, and his plans of punishing unruly scholars would appear as odd to-day as 
his methods of teaching. Mr. Woods was married in 1844, to Miss Anna Stevens : 
she is the daughter of David Stevens ; he was born in Pennsylvania Oct. 31, 1792. 
and died Jan. 8, 1879 ; he was a soldier in the war of 1812, and was one of a 
number who were detailed to carry provisions from Ft. Nesbit to the Kentucky 
soldiers, who were on the retreat from Muncie to Ft. Greenville ; they proceeded 



600 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

under a forced march through the wilderness, and snow knee-deep, to the relief of 
the brave Kentuckians. After the marriage of our subject, he remained upon the 
place where he was reared, and continued agricultural pursuits ; through his energy 
and good business habits, he has been eminently successful in life ; he is no politi- 
cal aspirant, but a few years ago was elected to the office of County Commissioner, 
in which capacity he served three years, discharging its duties with fidelity and 
satisfaction to his constituents ; he positively abhors political trickery and official 
corruption of all kinds, and is a strong advocate of and adherent to honesty and 
integrity. Mr. and Mrs. Woods are the parents of thirteen children, eight of whom 
are still living. 



WAYNE TOWNSHIP. 

J. W. APPLE, retired farmer, Versailles, Ohio ; was born in Montgomery 
Count}-, Ohio, April 22, 1825. John Apple, the father of J. W., was one of the old 
pioneers of Montgomery County, born in the year 1800 — emigrated from Pennsyl- 
vania. J. W. lived with his parents on the farm, attending school during the 
winter season, and, working on the farm during the summer, obtained a good com- 
mon-school education, and at the age of 20 was united in marriage to Miss Elvina 
Miller, in Montgomery County, April 10, 1845. Left his parental roof, and, with 
his good wife, moved into the woods, built a log cabin, and commenced to clear 
a farm — did not have a cent of mone} 7 , and was in debt $100 — has by his hard la- 
bor, economy, strict temperate habits, and the help of his industrious wife, accum- 
ulated a handsome fortune. Mr. Apple has passed through the many struggles, 
incidents and dangers so common to the pioneer of the great West, has many warm 
friends, and is beloved by all who know him, has taken an active part in religion, 
and is, with his amiable wife a member of the Lutheran Church — has had his full 
share of township offices, viz., Township Trustee one year, Land Appraiser one 
year, and served one term as Assessor, School Director, etc. Mr. Apple followed 
farming for a period of about thirty years, after which he moved to Versailles, 
where he now resides. Ten children were the fruits of their union, viz., Sarah A., 
born July 4. 1846 (deceased) ; John W., born April 28, 1848 ; Jacob A., born 
Oct. 31, 1850 ; Maria D., born Oct. 25, 1852 ; Mary L., born Aug. 20, 1854 ; 
Leroy C, born Dec. 5, 1856: Uriah V., born April 12, 1859 (deceased); Henrv 
J., Feb. 16, 1862 (deceased) ; Ida E., born June 3, 1865 ; Martha J., born Oct. 13. 
1867 (deceased). 

JACOB G. BASHOR, farmer and stock raiser ; P. O. Webster, Ohio. Jacob, 
his father, was a native of Pennsylvania, born in Schu3 T lkill Co., on the 19th of Janu- 
ary, 1801 ; was a carpenter by trade, and at the age of 25 he celebrated his marriage with 
Sarah Nauftsinger, who was a native of Penns3'lvania, born in Berks Co.. on the 
2d of April, 1805; in the spring of 1828, he moved to Rockingham Co., Va., 
where they remained about six years, and in the fall of 1834, he emigrated to 
Ohio, locating one mile west of Covington, Miami Co., where he purchased 80 
acres of land, for which he paid $800, and in 1840, he sold out for $1,800, and pur- 
chased 160 acres in the same township, paying $1,600 ; he remained here till his 
death, which occurred on the 3d of September, 1879 ; Sarah, his widow, is living on 
the old home place, with her daughter Fanny (Mote) ; they were the parents of 
seven children, of whom all are living, viz.. Jacob Gr., Sarah, Benjamin, John. 
Anna, Catherine and Fanny. Jacob G-., the subject of this sketch, is a native of 
Pennsylvania, horn in Herks Co., on the 25th of January, 1827 ; came with his 
parents to Ohio, when he was about 7 years old ; spending his iKryhood's days on his 
lather's farm, assisting him on the farm and at the carpentering trade ; he obtained 
his education in the subscription schools ; when he arrived at his majority, he hired 



WAYNE TOWNSHIP. 601 

with his father to work at the carpentering trade for two years, receiving a com- 
pensation of $180 for the first }"ear, and $200 for the second. On the 15th of Aug- 
ust, 1847, he celebrated his marriage with Sarah Miller, daughter of Jacob and 
Polly Miller, who was a native of Darke Co., Ohio, born on the 17th of January. 
1827 ; in 1850, he moved on his father-in-law's farm (Darke Co., Adams Town- 
ship), when he farmed one year, after which he removed to Wayne Township, Sec. 
31, where he had purchased 100 acres of land, for which he paid $2,000, and here 
is where he applied the $380 which he had earned in the two years in which he 
worked for his father ; he has resided here ever since, making farming his busi- 
ness ; he has added 85 acres, but sold 5 acres for town lots, leaving 180 in the 
farm ; he also owned 80 acres in Marshall Co., Did., his present place of residence, 
which is well improved, on which is a bank-barn, 70x36, a large two-story brick 
house, with basement story, and a large tobacco shed, all of which he has accumu- 
lated by his hard labor, assisted by his good and amiable wife ; he is strictly tem- 
perate in all his habits. Mr. and Mrs. Bashor are members of the German Bap- 
tist Church, being connected with that church for upward of thirty years ; he has 
had his full share of township offices since his residence in the county, viz. : 
served as Trustee of Wayne Township, three years ; Supervisor four consecutive 
years ; member of School Board twelve years. They are the parents of nine chil- 
dren, of whom six are living, viz. : Jacob M.,born Sept. 9, 1848 ; Susan, born May 
6, 1851 ; Sarah, Dec. 19, 1853; John N., Nov. 17, 1858; Mary, Aug. 3, 1861 ; 
Anna, May 14, 1864. John N. has been teaching school since he was 17 years 
old, and is meeting with good success ; he is a live, energetic teacher. 

DANIEL BOYER, farmer, grain and stock raiser, Sec. 35 ; P. O. Webster. 
Daniel, his father, was a native of Pennsylvania, born in York Co., in about the 
year 1800. He married Elizabeth Hoff, who is a native of the same State and 
county, born in 1799. Mr. Boyer followed farming in Pennsylvania, where he 
resided till his death, which occurred in 1847. Elizabeth, his widow, remained on 
the old home farm till 1867, when she came to Darke Co., and at present resides 
with her daughter Barbara, who married Peter Moul, Adams Township. They 
were the parents of eleven children, viz., Jonas, Maria, Barbara, Mannassa, Cath- 
arine, Henry, John, Samuel, Elizabeth, Aaron and Daniel. The subject of this 
sketch, who is a native of Pennsylvania, born in York Co., on the 25th of Septem- 
ber, 1834, lived at home till he was about 14 3 T ears old, when he went to work for 
his Uncle Peter Blaser, on the farm, where he worked during the summer and 
autumn, and then returned home and attended school during the winter. In the 
spring, he hired out with a neighbor for $5 per month, where he remained till the 
next fall, attending the district school in the winter. He then went to York and 
drove team for Sultzbaugh & Quickie, drawing lumber, coal and iron, for which he 
received $11 per month, being the highest wages paid at that time : as he was 
always at his post ready for duty, being active, quick and willing, he never lacked 
for employment and alwaj's commanded the highest wages ; he followed this busi- 
ness till he was 21 years old, when he became infatuated with the Western fever, 
thinking that he could better his condition, and, true to his nature, he started for 
the State of Ohio, arriving at Yersailles in April. 1856, at about 3 o'clock on a 
dark and foggy morning, and Avhen the conductor called out " Yersailles " he 
grasped his carpet-bag and made for the door, and when the train came to a halt 
he walked out on the platform of the car. and. thinking that he was at the station, 
made a leap for the platform of the depot, but. alas ! he missed it and landed in 
the ditch, with his carpet-bag on his head and his legs driven into the mud up to 
his knees, murmuring to himself, ' ; Is this Darke Co., and if so. where am I ? and 
how will I get out alive ? " However, he managed to find his way out and made 
for a hotel, which he found and went to bed, where he slept sweetly till about 8 
o'clock in the morning, when he awoke, donned his clothing, ate his breakfast, paid 
his bill, placed his carpet-bag on his back and started on foot for his brother 
Hemy , who resided about four and a half miles south, in Adams Township, where 



602 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

he remained for three months ; he worked for his brother at the carpenter's trade, 
after which he farmed Benjamin Bashore's farm on shares, receiving one-third of 
the grain. He only remained one season, when he engaged with George Hetzler to 
farm his land on the same terms for one season, and met with good success. On 
the 17th of October, 1858, he celebrated his marriage with Elizabeth Cable, daugh- 
ter of John and Susana Cable ; she is a native of Darke Co., Ohio, born on the 6th 
of October, 1841. He remained on the Hetzler farm for about five years, during 
which time Mr. Hetzler died, and at the sale of the personal property he purchased 
most of the stock and farm implements and moved on his little farm of 55 acres, 
in Sec. 36, Wayne Township, for which he paid $860, and in a short time he pur- 
chased 48 acres which joined him, making in all 103 acres, which he improved, 
residing on the same till 1872. He then rented a farm of Levi Huddle, in the 
same township, containing between 500 and 600 acres, which he has under his 
management, and at present is the largest grain and stock raiser in the county ; he 
now has ten head of horses and mules, forty head of cattle, one hundred head of 
sheep and fifty head of hogs ; he grew over 3,000 bushels of small grain last year, 
and about 4,000 bushels of corn. In 1879, he purchased 55 acres more, for which 
he paid $2,000 ; he now owns 158 acres, valued at $7,900; he erected a frame 
barn, 48x78 feet, on his farm, at a cost of about $1,000. Mr. Boyer commenced 
life with but little of this world's goods, but by hard labor and correct business 
habits has accumulated a handsome little fortune, in which he has been nobly 
assisted by his good and industrious wife. When he married Miss Cable, her 
father gave her one horse, "Jack," which is still living, being 24 years old. Mr. 
Boyer has had his full share of township offices since his residence in the county ; 
has served as Trustee of Wayne Township two years, Supervisor, School Director, 
and was a member of the School Board for a period of nine years. Mr. and Mrs. 
Boyer are members of the " River Brethren," a Baptist body. Ten children have 
been born to them, of whom nine are living, viz.: Ellen, John, Sarah, Milton, 
David, Maggie, Emma, Daniel, Mary. 

THOMAS A. BURNS, attorney at law ; Versailles, Ohio ; is a native of Ohio, 
born in Champaign Co. on the 18th day of October, 1836 ; his father, H. Z. Burns, 
and his mother Anna, emigrated from Loudoun Co., Va., in 1830 ; they were well 
educated and sought no other fortune for themselves and children thanedueation , 
his father died early in life, leaving the widow with the care of four small children ; 
Thomas being the oldest boy, the care of the family fell heavily upon the mother 
and him ; he struggled on through circumstances that were anything but genial to 
his aspiring nature ; in the common schools he obtained the rudiments of an 
English education, and from his mother a little knowledge of German and Latin ; 
farming and teaching school were his occupations until the sound of the war trum- 
pet in 1861 ; and on the 9th clay of May, he with others was assigned to the 13th O. 
V. I. which regiment was then over-full, and they at once reinlisted in Co. A, 66th 
O. V. I., of righting fame ; having held the various non-commissioned offices, he was 
then commissioned First Lieutenant, and in a short time he was commissioned a 
Captain, and took command of Co. E, 194th O. V. I., where he served till he was 
mustered out with his regiment on the 4th day of November, 1865, having served 
four years six months and twenty-five days ; he at once commenced the study of 
law with Horn Charles Morris, of Troy, Ohio, and was admitted to f he Bar March 
8, 1868. On the 26th day of December, 1867, he celebrated his marriage with Miss 
R. L., daughter of Hon. George Anderson, of Piqua, Ohio, and in March, 1870, he 
moved to Versailles, Daxke Co:; he has acquired a good practice in law ; he has 
traveled throughout the United States, been a close observer of human nature, 
strictly temperate in all his habits, giving much study and attention to his profes- 
sional and other scientific books, and has made the most of limited opportunities. 
A loving wife and four bright ehildren make up his happy home at Versailles, 
Ohio. 

JAMES R. CALDERWOOD, farmer, Sec. 33 ; P. O. Versailles, Ohio. 



WAYNE TOWNSHIP. 603 

George Calderwood, the father of James R., was born in Huntingdon Co., Penn., 
on the 15th day of December, 1783 ; Margaret, his wife, was born in Adams Co., 
Penn., on the 28th day of May, 1792 ; they emigrated to Montgomery Co., Ohio, 
in the 3 r ear 1818, remaining there about fourteen years, after which he moved to 
Darke Co.; this was in the spring (April), 1832 ; they drove through to Greenville, 
the distance being only thirty-five miles, but were three days in making the 
journey, as the roads were very heavj', making it almost an impossibility to travel ; 
settled in Butler Township, where he remained until his death, which occurred on 
the 7th day of November, 1849. Margaret, his wife, died on the 12th day of 
October, 1874. James R., the subject of this sketch, was born in Montgomery 
Co., Ohio, on the 6th day of October, 1821 ; came with his parents to Darke Co. 
when he was 10 years old ; he assisted his father in clearing and cultivating the 
soil, and, when the opportunity presented itself, he would attend the district school, 
which at that time was not of a very high order, being held in an old log cabin, 
covered with clapboards, puncheon floor, split slabs for seats, writing desks, etc.; 
greased paper for window-lights, one end of the house being the fire-place ; lived 
with his parents until he was about 21 years of age, when he commenced to learn 
the carpenter and millwright trade with Mr. Moses Harriman ; worked at his trade 
for a period of about twent} T -six years, and, at the same time, carried on the farm, 
occasionally working on the farm himself, his boys doing most of the work ; would 
work hard all daj T at his trade ; coming home late, he would go out on the farm 
and gather brush, piling it on log-heaps, after which he would burn them, working 
sometimes until a very late hour in the night ; he bought a farm of 160 acres in 
Neave Township, in the year 1845, paying $800 for the tract ; moved on the farm, 
but remained only about one month, after which he sold out at a gain of about 
$50 ; moved on his father's farm, which contained 160 acres, buying out the heirs, 
paying $1,200 ; lived on and cultivated this faxin for a period of about five years, 
after which he sold the farm for $3,100, and bought the old Weaver farm, contain- 
ing 100 acres, but could not get possession at the time, so he bought another farm 
of 70 acres, on which he moved, remaining about six months, after which he sold 
the farm at a gain of about $50 ; he then moved on the old Weaver farm in the 
fall of 1854, where he remained until the year 1869, when he sold out, receiving 
$60 per acre ; this farm cost him, in the first place, only $17 per acre ; he had, 
however, made some improvements thereon, having built a house and barn, and 
cleared about twenty acres ; in 1869, he bought the John Hughes farm, in Wayne 
Township, Sec. 23, paying $7,400 ; he moved on the farm in the same year, where 
he has resided ever since. Mr. Calderwood has had his full share of township 
offices ; served as Trustee for three years, School Director, Supervisor, etc. ; is a firm 
Republican ; his religion is to do right, and he aims to live in harmony with nature's 
laws, and might be called a child of nature ; is kind, courteous and obliging, and 
has a host of friends. Was united in marriage to Miss Jemima Otwell, in Green- 
ville, Ohio, on the 8th day of May, 1845 ; she was born in North Carolina, near the 
Gilbert Court House, on the 13th day of April, 1825 ; six children were the fruits 
of this union, of whom four are living, viz.: Clinton, was born on the 20th day of 
September, 1846 ; George, was born on the 11th day of September, 1849 ; Man- 
was born on the 25th day of Januaiy, 1853 ; Albertis, was born on the 
4th day of March, 1855; Curtis, died on the 5th day of April,1854; John, 
died on the 5th day of April, 1870. Mr. and Mrs. Calderwood have passed 
through the many struggles, trials and incidents so common to the old pion- 
eers of the West ; have, b}^ their industry and strict temperate habits, com- 
bined with economy, accumuluted enough of this world's goods to live at their 
ease the balance of their days while in earth-life. 

AARON G. CARSON, farmer, Sec. 8; P. O. Versailles, Ohio. Aaron, the father 
of Aaron G., was born in Maine, about thirty miles from Augusta ; Milly, his 
wife, whose maiden name was McDonald, was born in South Carolina, Edgefield 
District ; they came to Ohio in 1830. locating in Darke Co., where the}' spent the 



604 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

remainder of their days. Aaron Gr., the subject of this sketch, was born in Darke 
Co., Wayne Township, on the 27th of November, 1837 ; he lived with his parents 
till their death, assisting his father on the farm during the summer months and in 
the winter attended the district school, which was held in an old log cabin, with 
slab benches and puncheon floor ; but by diligence, he obtained a good common- 
school education. On the 24th of November, 1859, he celebrated his marriage 
with Miss Mary B. L}'ons ; eight children have been born to this union, of whom 
five are living, viz., Millie C, Anna L., Aaron L., Mary Avis, Idona, William R. 
Mr. Carson has 95 acres in good cultivation, and has accumulated a considerable 
amount of property by hard labor, in which he has been nobly assisted by 
his good and amiable wife ; in 1 879, he made a visit to the East — Maine, — and he has 
traveled over sixteen different States. Mr. and Mrs. Carson are members of the 
Christian Church, and are living zealous and consistent Christians. 

DAVID CHRISTIAN, farmer, Sec. 21; Versailles. Lewis Christian, the father 
of David, was born in Pennsylvania, in the year 1775, and emigrated to Ohio. 
Montgomery Count}', in or about the year 1800 ; he was married to Maty Layer, 
in Montgomery Count}', she was also born in Pennsylvania ; they came to Darke 
County in 1809, residing in Adams Township until their death. David Christian, 
the subject of this sketeh, was born in Darke Co., Adams Township,' March 23, 1819 ; 
he lived with his parents till their death, being only 13 years old at that time, after 
which he lived with his brother till he was about 15 years old, working on the 
farm during summer, and attending school during the winter, where he obtained a 
fair common-school education ; at 15 years of age, he went to live with his brother- 
in-law, remaining about two years, after which he went to Indiana, where he made 
the acquaintance of a young man by the name of John Collins, who was a brick- 
mason ; Mr. Christian worked for and with him in various places, for about six 
months ; he then went to work in a saw-mill fifteen miles from La Porte, where he 
remained a short time, then returning home to his brother-in-law's, having been 
gone altogether about twelve months ; he cut and hauled a load of hoop-poles to 
Dayton, which he sold ; he then hauled a load of freight, consisting of dry goods 
and groceries, through to Huntington ; this was in the winter season, and, the 
ground being frozen, he was about two weeks making the trip ; he then com- 
menced farming, and worked at it for about two years, buying in the mean time a 
tract of land in Wayne Township, Sec., 21, containing 95 acres, paying $3 per acre ; 
it was all a dense forest. At the age of 22 years, Mr. Christian was united in 
marriage to Catherine Woods, in llB41, in Darke Co. He then erected a log cabin, 
and moved into it, and commenced clearing up a farm, and, with the help of his 
good wife, connected with industry and hard labor, is now reaping his reward in 
the possession of a handsome fortune. He now owns from 400 to 500 hundred acres, 
divided into four farms, all well improved ; he has on his home place a good one and 
a half-story brick residence, with good cellar and all improvements. Mr. Christian 
is not a church member, but at the same time, is a good, honest man, and believes 
in living in harmony with all, and obeying the golden rule. When he commenced life, 
he did not have much of this world's goods, and, when he and his wife came to this 
place, there was no clearing it was all under heavy timber. He says they did not 
move, as they had nothing but one horse, a sled, maul and wedge, and an 
ax. Mr. and Mrs. Christian are the parents of fourteen children, of whom twelve 
are now living — Joseph, born in 1841 ; Henry, born in 1842 ; Samuel, born 
in 1844 ; Caroline, born in 1847; Catherine, born in 1849; Elizabeth, born in 
1852 ; Lewis, born in 1854 ; Lavina, born in 1850 ; Minerva, born in 1858 ; Lydia, 
born in 18G0 ; David, born in 18G2 ; Hannah E., born in 1865. 

PROSPER DABE, grain-merchant and file-manufacturer, Versailles. Peter 
EL, the father of Prosper, was a native of Belgium, born in 1793 ; he married 
Jane R. Fumer, who was born in France in 1790 ; they emigrated to America in 
1840, landing in the city of New York, thence to Buffalo, from there to Canton, 
Stark Co., Ohio, where they remained two years, after which they came to Darke 



WAYNE TOWNSHIP. 605 

Co., locating near Versailles, where they spent the remainder of their days ; he 
departed this life in 1853, and his wife in 1869. Prosper, the subject of this 
sketch, was born in France, on the 12th day of August, 1833 ; he, with his parents, 
came to Darke Co., in 1847, locating in Patterson Township, where he received his 
education in the common schools. He celebrated his marriage on the 2d of Octo- 
ber, 1856, with Miss Adaline Trion, who was born in France in 1840 ; in 1869, he 
moved to Versailles, where he has resided ever since ; he engaged in the manu- 
facture of tile, which business he still carries on, and, in 1879, he added the grain 
business, operating the Commercial Elevator— he handled, last year, about 22,000 
bushels of wheat, 10,000 bushels of oats, and about 2,000 bushels of corn, and, at 
present, is prepared to handle all kinds of grain. Mr. Dabe has had his full share 
of township offices since his residence in the county — served as Trustee of Pat- 
terson two years, Assessor one year, Treasurer two years, and Trustee of Wayne 
two years. Mr. and Mrs. Dabe are active workers in the cause of religion, being 
members of the Christian Church. They are the parents of fourteen children, of 
whom twelve are living, viz., Peter, Lewis, Edmond, Jennie M., Charles, Anna, 
Mary, Lawrence, Harry, Clara, Franklin and Lucy. Mr. Dabe has accumulated 
a considerable amount of property by his hard labor, in which he has been nobly 
assisted by his good and industrious wife. 

A. M. DUNKEL, meat market and butcher, Versailles ; is a son of David 
and Anna Dunkel, and was born in Cumberland Co., Penn., on the 28th of 
August, 1844. David, his father, is a native of Pennsylvania, born in Lancaster 
County in 1803 , he was united in marriage with Anna Frealich in 1832 ; she is a 
native of the same State and county, born in 1814 ; they came to Ohio in 1851 7 
locating in Springfield, Clark Co., where he carried on a butcher-shop for several 
years, when he sold out and moved to Dayton, Ohio, where he kept a boarding- 
house ; in 1870, he removed to Darke County, locating in Versailles, where he re- 
sides at present ; they are the parents of ten children, seven of whom are living, 
viz., Joseph, David, John, Simon, Aaron M., Benjamin, Anna ; Mr. Dunkel is an 
upright and honest man, a fearless and uncompromising patriot, giving five of his 
somTto the service of his country during the great rebellion, four of whom re- 
turned safe at its close, viz., Joseph, David, Aaron M. and Simon ; Mr. Dunkels 
father served as a private soldier in the Revolutionary war, and three of David s 
brothers served in the War of 1812, viz., John, George, Paul. Aaron M., the sub- 
ject of this sketch, is a native of Pennsylvania, born in Cumberland County on 
the 28th day of August, 1 844 ; came to Ohio with his parents when he was 7 
vears old ■ he received a good common-school education ; he celebrated his 
marriage in Dayton, Ohio, on the 3d of December, 1867, with Miss Frances 
A. Pottle, who was born on the 6th of January, 1848 ; five children have 
been born of this union, of whom four are living, viz., D. W. Dunkel, F. 
J. Dunkel, A. J. E. Dunkel, M. E. Dunkel. He came to Versailles in 1870, 
and is now' the leading butcher in the town, having the most complete meat mar- 
ket in Versailles. 

HOR VTIO DYE, farmer, Sec. 12; P. O. Versailles. F. L. Dye, the father 
of Horatio, was born in Miami Co., Ohio, in the year 1808 ; Sarah Lafevere, his 
wife was born in Miami Co., Ohio, in the year 1810 ; he came to Darke Co. in the 
year 1855, where he continued to reside till the death of his wife, which occurred 
in September, 1866, after which he sold out and moved to Sydney, Ohio, where he 
married Ann Easty in the year 1868, and at present resides there. Horatio, the 
subject of this sketch, was born in Miami Co., Ohio, on the 7th day of April, 1834 ; 
lived with his parents till he was 23 years old, working on the farm during the 
summer season and attending the district school in the winter ; obtained a good 
common-school education. When he was about 23 years old, he bought a farm of 
82 acres in the same county, and engaged in the cultivation of the soil on his own 
responsibility, and on the 2d day of December, 1858, was united in marriage to 
Miss Lucinda Perry, in Miami Co.; she was born in Miami Co. on the 16th day of 



606 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

January. 1835 ; he remained on his farm about eight years, meeting with good 
success, after which he traded his farm for the Zolinger farm, consisting of 72 acres in 
Miami Co., two miles west of Piqua. Ohio, on the Clayton pike ; remained for two 
years, after which he sold out for $5,000 ; this was the most successful trade of 
his life ; he bought 74 acres in the same county, northeast of Tippecanoe, where 
he moved, remaining there for four j-ears ; sold out for $4,600, and moved to Ver- 
sailles, Ohio, and engaged in the tanning business for a period of three years, 
losing about $1,800 ; he then traded the tanyard for a farm of 82 acres, in Wayne 
Township, Sec. 12, where he has resided ever since. Mr. Dye has, in no sense of 
the term, been an office-seeker, }-et he has had his full share of township offices ; 
was elected to the office of Supervisor four or five times ; School Director for three 
years ; he has taken a very active part in religion, being a member of the Presby- 
terian Church for a period of twenty-three years ; he and his good and amiable wife 
have been active members of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church for about four 
years, living devoted and consistent Christians ; he has held very important offices in 
the church ; while in Piqua he was elected Elder in the First Presbyterian Church, 
serving three years ; was elected President of the " Union Sabbath School Conven- 
tion "of Darke Co. for one year, and is at present holding the office of Elder in the Cum- 
berland Presbyterian Church ; Mr. Dye is strictly a temperate man ; he neither chews 
nor smokes tobacco ; he has, by the help of his industrious wife, accumulated a 
considerable amount of property ; the}- have no children. Amoses Perry, the 
father of Lucinda, was born in South Carolina in the year 1781 ; emigrated to 
Miami Co., Ohio, when he was 21 years old, where he resided until his death, which 
occurred in the year 1860 ; Rachel Long, his wife, was bom in Kentuck}' in the 
year 1795 ; she came with her parents to Miami Co., Ohio, when she was about 
1 year old ; she departed this life in the fall of 1865 ; Mr. Peny followed school 
teaching, and was elected to the State Legislature in the year 1833 ; Lucinda is 
an active worker in the cause of religion, as well as a strong advocate of temper- 
ance ; also a life member of the American Bible Society. 

JOHN E. FACKLER, physician and surgeon, Versailles, Ohio. George 
F., the father of John E., was a native of Pennsylvania, born in Lancaster Co. in 
1800; he emigrated to Ohio, locating in Miami Co. in 1818; removed to Mont- 
gomery Co. where he resided till his death, which occurred in 1864 ; he was united 
in marriage with Elizabeth Christian in 1825 ; she was a native of Pennsylvania, 
born in Lancaster Co. in 1803 ; she came to Ohio in 1817, locating in Montgomery 
Co. John E., the subject of this sketch, is a native of Ohio, born in Miami Co. on 
the 30th of September, 1836 ; he lived with his parents till he was 22 years of age, 
assisting his father on the farm during the summer, and attending school during 
the winter, thereby obtaining a good common-school education ; he then taught 
school during the winter and farmed in the summer ; at the age of 22, he entered 
the office of Dr. Gr. V. Dorsey and commenced the study of medicine, and in 1863 
he graduated at the Ohio Medical College ; he then opened an office in El Dorado, 
Preble Co., but only remained there a few months, when he went to Webster, Darke 
Co., where he remained until 1869, when he removed to Dayton, Ohio, remaining 
till 1870, after which he removed to Versailles, Ohio, where he now resides, having a 
large and lucrative practice. He celebrated his first marriage with B. Lizzie Rogers, 
in 1866, in Miami Co.; two children were born to this union, viz.: Susan Edith, 
born in 1867 ; Georgiana Henriette, born inl868. On the 20th of June, 1870, the 
messenger of death entered this peaceful and interesting little family, removing from 
earth to heaven Lizzie, his wife, who was a good wife and a loving mother ; in 
1871, he celebrated his second marriage, with Pernina Beny, in Greenville, Ohio ; 
three children have been born to them, viz.: Volncy N., born in 1872 ; Clement I., 
in 1874 ; Jane C, in 1877. The Doctor is strictly temperate in all his habits ; the 
writer in looking over his diary came across the following language: " Feb. 12, 1863. 
From this da}- forth and forever, I will not smoke nor use tobacco in any form." 
" Oct. 26, 1864. This evening I cast my eyes on the top of this page ; I now have 



WAYNE TOWNSHIP. 607 

to remark that it was almost one year subsequent to the estate that I succeeded in 
and entirety overcame the habit of using tobacco." 

GEORGE E. FLETCHER, farmer, Sec. 21 ; P. 0. Versailles. John Fletcher, 
the father of George E., was born in Pennsylvania in the year 1785 ; Catharine, 
his wife, was born in Virginia ; he emigrated to Greene Co., Ohio, in the year 1835, 
remaining there but a short time, after which he bought a farm of 160 acres in 
Darke Co., Ohio, Wayne Township, remaining there till his death, which occurred 
in the year 1840 ; Catharine, his wife, died in Virginia in the year 1826. George 
E., the subject of this sketch, was born in Virginia in Henrico Co., on the 18th 
day of October, 1818 ; he came with his grandfather to Ohio in the year 1833, 
being only 15 years old ; he lived with his grandparents, working on the farm and 
attending school during the winter, obtaining a good common-school education ; 
he worked for his grandparents till he was 25 years old, after which he married 
[Miss Margret Kinney, Nov. 24, 1842, in Greene Co., Ohio ; he rented a farm and com- 
menced life on his own responsibility ; this farm was in Greene Co.; he remained 
there for a period of about two years, meeting with good success, after which he 
moved to Darke Co., on the banks of the Stillwater, near Webster, where he 
remained about nineteen months, moving on the Huddle farm, one-half mile north- 
west of Webster, where he remained for a period of six years, paying $2.50 per 
acre rent ; he then bought 95 acres in Wayne Township, Sec. 21, where he has 
continued to reside ever since ; when he came, there were 20 acres cleared ; Mr. 
Fletcher commenced life with but little of this world's goods, but by hard labor, 
frugality, temperate habits and the assistance of his good wife, has accumulated a 
considerable amount of propert}', and is now enjoying the comforts of his earnings ; 
Mr. Fletcher was left an orphan, hence has passed through the trials and hard- 
ships so common to the orphan ; he has held the office of Township Trustee one 
year, School Director and Supervisor one year. Mr. and Mrs. Fletcher are mem- 
bers of the German Reformed Church, devoted and consistent Christians, 
being highly respected by those who know them ; nine children were the fruits of 
this union, of which four are living, viz.: Mary A., born Oct. 10, 1844; Martha, 
Nov. 6, 1848 ; Peter F., Aug. 27, 1853 ; Alivilda, Sept. 30, 1855. 

J. P. GORDON, physician and surgeon, Versailles. The subject of this 
sketch is a native of Ohio, born in Warren, Trumbull Co., on the 1st da} T of April, 
1822 ; is of Scotch-Irish parentage on the paternal side, and French on the mater- 
nal side ; his grandfather Gordon was one of the pioneers of the Northwestern 
Territory, settling in what is known as Mahoning Co. in 1792 and in 1812, he 
and the father of J. P. Gordon were the only ones out of nineteen men that could 
be spared from Ashtabula Co., where he had removed, to go as volunteers in 
defense of the country. J. P. was raised in the lap of adversity, and from 16 
years of age, when he went to Marion Co., he had to shift for himself ; sometimes 
the cold winds of adversity would almost chill him, and bend him to the earth, but 
on the passing away of the storm he would take courage and try to forget the 
past ; he acquired such an education as the common schools afforded ; at the time 
graduating from the same cabin, and in the same class with the Rev. S. P. Carleton. 
the great linguist — said to be — in Mr. Gordon's own words, speaking of this period. 
" We commenced at crucifix and ended at stofix and bramble, each term, with an 
occasional touch of Daboll and Murray, and every Saturday special reading from 
the ' American Preceptor.' " In 1842, he went to Delaware, Ohio, where he attended 
the academy, and the Ohio Wesleyan University, where he remained twenty months, 
paying his tuition by cutting wood Saturdays, and hunting coons at night, which 
was fine sport, yet a slow way to obtain tuition money ; he then went to what is 
now known as Spring Valley, Greene Co., Ohio, with George Barrett, father of the 
Hon. J. M. Barrett, now of that place, and for six years he had no fixed home : 
studied medicine the best he could till 1847 ; he taught school during the winter, 
and shoved the trowel in the summer, and at very low wages — taught seventy-two 
days for a quarter, and boarded around for $12 per month ; finished the study of 



608 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

medicine with Drs. Hams and Hartman, of Spring Valley, and received his license 
as a practicing physician from the County Medical Society in 1849. On the 
13th day of April, 1848, he celebrated his marriage with Elizabeth Herr, of Greene 
Co., moved to Webster. Darke Co., Ohio, Feb. 2, 1852, and commenced the prac- 
tice of medicine, where he had even' old woman, and every old granny of a man 
that ever heard tell of Sam Thompson or lobelia, as competitors, and as there was 
no prospect of Webster becoming a city for some time, he pulled up stakes, and 
anchored at his present place of business in a cabin Jan. 1, 1857, on the lot for- 
merly owned by the " Hardshell Baptist.*' the third church built in the county ; the 
corner-stone still remains as a landmark, on which he in his pious moments sits 
in silent meditation for better or for worse, cracking hickory nuts. The Doctor has 
been married twice ; his second marriage was celebrated on the 5th of January, 1876, 
with Miss Vina Jester, of Miami Co., Ohio. The Doctor has practiced medicine 
for thirty years, and has accumulated some property, but is happy in the thought 
that he has never squeezed the last dollar out of the poor ; has gone many miles 
through the storm and mud for which he has not received his reward unless it be 
in gratitude. 

JOHN HESS, Agent C, C, C. & I. R. R, and Manager of Western Union 
Telegraph Company. Versailles, Ohio. Mathias, the father of John, is a native 
of Pennsylvania, born in Fa} 7 ette Co. in about 1818. Hesther, his wife, whose 
maiden name was Stevenson, is a native of Pennsylvania, born in Fayette Co. in 
about 1828 ; they reside near Brownsville, Penn.. and are the parents of fourteen 
children, of whom thirteen are living, viz., Elizabeth, William. John, Nancy J., 
Rosanah, Enoch, Caroline, Aaron, Freeman, Eliza, George, Mary and Isabell. 
John, the subject of this memoir, is a native of Pennsylvania, born in Fayette Co. 
on the 12th of November, 1848 ; lived at home till he was 21 j'ears old, assisting 
his father in the cultivation of the soil during the summer, and attending the dis- 
trict school in the winter months, thereby obtaining a good common-school educa- 
tion. In February, 1869, he came to Darke Co., Ohio, locating in Greenville, 
where he obtained a position as clerk in the post office, where he remained about 
sixteen months, after which he entered the office of the D. & U. R R, at Union 
City, Ind.. with R T. Johnson, but only remained there three months, when he 
obtained a position as night-operator in Versailles. Ohio, which office he filled for 
two and a half months, when he was appointed ticket and freight agent, also 
manager of the Western Union Telegraph, which gave him control of the station. 
Mr. Hess is a young man, and is well qualified for the position he fills, and is held 
in high esteem by the officials of the C, C, C. & I. R} T . Co. He celebrated his 
marriage on the 14th of October, 1873, with Miss Laura A. Wentworth. daughter 
of Egbert N. and Cynthia A. Wentworth, who was born in Darke Co. March 3, 
1854. Three children have been born to this union, viz. : Emma Pearle, born 
Aug. 3, 1874 ; Earry Gordon, Nov. 15. 1875 ; Bessie L., Jan. 5. 1880. 

"DANIEL HOLE, farmer; P. 0. Versailles. William, the father of Daniel, 
was a native of Virginia, born on the 28th of April. 1759 ; he married Miss Ruth 
Crane, who was born in New Jersey on the 23d of March, 17U7 ; they emigrated 
to Kentucky in 1787. locating near Lexington, Fayette County, traveling 
the entire distance from New Jersey on horseback ; while in Kentucky, they were 
annoyed a great deal by the Indians, and upon one occasion Mr. Hole came very 
near having his scalp taken by them : while out one day. gathering wild plums. 
he was attacked by one of the "redskins.'' who shot at him. giving him a tlesh 
wound in the arm, and us Mr. Hole did not have any firearms with him, he con- 
cluded it would he 1 letter for him to make his way back to the fort ; so. dropping 
his basket of plums, he started at lightning speed through the w r oods, the Indian 
pursuing him with tomahawk upraised ready to fell him whenever the opportu- 
nity presented itself: but William ran for life, making his way to the fort in 
safety, while the Indian skulked ofFin dismay to think that the "pale-face" could 
outwind him : Mr. Hole resided in Kentucky for about two years, after which he 



WAYNE TOWNSHIP. 609 

removed to Ft. Washington, now Cincinnati, Ohio, where he obtained a lot by 
selling and improving the same, where he resided for a period of about five years, 
when he removed to Montgomery County, locating one mile east of the present 
Miamisburg, which at that time was a trading-post or station ; he remained there 
till his death, which occurred on the 25th of February, 1830 ; Ruth, his wife, 
departed this life in Fountain City, Ind., in the year 1852, at the advanced age of 
85. Daniel, the subject of this memoir, is a native of Ohio, born in Montgomery 
County on the 11th of December, 1805 ; lived with his parents till he was 22 years 
of age, assisting his father in the great task of clearing and opening up a farm ; 
he did not have the advantage of schools, as in those days there was not even a 
subscription school in the whole county. On the 24th of Jul}', 1827, he cele- 
brated his marriage with Miss Hannah Bartlett, and during the fall of the same 
year they moved on his father's farm, their household furniture consisting of two 
beds, one set of pot-metal knives and forks, one stew-kettle and skillet, one set 
cups and saucers, and one big iron kettle, using a box for a table ; he resided on 
his father's farm for about three years, after which he moved to Miami County, 
locating near Clayton in an old log cabin which was situated in the woods ; he 
now commenced the herculean task of clearing and opening up a farm ; he only 
remained there about eighteen months, when he removed to Darke Count}', locat- 
ing in Wayne Township, Sec. 24, where he has resided ever since ; when he moved 
to his present place of residence, he found it all under heavy timber ; this was in 
1831 ; he erected a cabin in the woods, and began the task of opening up a farm • 
the tract of land consisted of 80 acres, for which he paid $1.25 per acre. Mr. 
Hole has, with the help of his good and industrious wife, accumulated a consider- 
able amount of property ; they hold to the Universalist faith, knowing that 
God is a God of love, and will finally gather all his children home, not to a secta- 
rian heaven, but a heaven for all ; nine children have been born to them, of whom 
six are living, viz. : Huldah, born May 17, 1828; David, June 11, 1829; Jay 
Oct. 23, 1832 ; Catharine, June 11, 1838 ; John B., Feb. 25, 1842 ; Mary E., Sept' 
9, 1844. Mrs. Hole was born in Montgomery County, Ohio, one mile west of 
Miamisburg, on the 23d of November, 1810. 

L. C. KLIPSTINE, teacher, Sec. 32 ; P. O. Webster. William, his father, is a 
native Prussian, born near Leipsic in 1828; he came to America with his parents 
when he was about 6 years old, landing in New York, and in 1835 he came to Darke 
County, locating in Wayne Township, near Webster, Sec. 29, where he has resided 
ever since. In 1849 he, with several others, crossed the Plains to California in 
search of gold, being six months in crossing ; he remained there about thirteen 
months, meeting with fair success, after which he returned by the Isthmus of 
Panama. He married Miss L. Haack, who is a native of Prussia ; the}' are the 
parents of six children, viz., John, William, Amos, Callie, Clara and Lewis C. 
The subject of this sketch was born in Darke County on the 6th of May, 1854 ; 
he spent his boyhood days on the farm, assisting his father in the cultivation of 
the soil ; he received his preparatory education in the district schools, after which 
he attended the Versailles High School, where he received a good academic educa- 
tion. On the 26th of September, 1878, he celebrated his marriage with Rosa B. 
Kinney, daughter of Robert M. and Mary Kinney ; she was born on the 17th of 
August, 1854 ; after his marriage, he moved on his farm, where he had erected a 
beautiful two-story brick house. Mr. Klipstine taught his first school when he 
was only 16 years old, in Shelby County, in the swamps, the schoolhouse beino- 
nearly surrounded by water ; he labored faithfully for six months, giving universal 
satisfaction, and at the close of the term the patrons insisted that he should con- 
tinue, but on account of the gloomy sui-roundings, he declined their liberal offer ; 
he has taught sixty months altogether, the field of labor being the counties of 
Shelby, Miami and Darke, and at present is teaching the Webster school ; he 
teaches during the winter and farms in the summer ; is a member of the Lutheran 
Church, his wife being a member of the German Reform Church ; they have a 



610 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

host of friends and are held in high esteem by all who know them ; is strictly 
temperate in all his habits. Mr. Klipstine has traveled over nine different States 
and a part of Canada ; he has also visited all the largest cities in the United 
States. 

I' 1 \\ ANCIS KUSNICK, banker, druggist and lumber dealer, Versailles, Ohio ; 
was born in Porentry, Switzerland, Dec. 16, 1837 ; left his native country when 
but 20 years of age and came to America, an entire stranger, in a strange, vet 
hospitable land ; had but little of this world's goods, hut being in possession of a 
classical education and an indomitable will to fight the battles of this life manly, 
has by his industry and strict temperance habits accumulated a huge fortune ; Mr. 
Kusnick first located in Chicago. 111., where he practiced medicine for two years, after 
which he moved to Versailles, in the spring of 1861, where he has continued to 
reside ever since ; practiced medicine here for seven years with good success ; giving 
up the practice of medicine he engaged in the drug business and lumber trade, to 
which he added an exchange bank, doing a business of about $300,000 a year. 
Was united in marriage to Miss Josephine Royon, in Russia, Shelby Co., Ohio, in 
the year 1861 ; seven children were the fruits of this union, viz.: Leopold F.. born 
Aug. 10, 1862 ; Louis E., Oct. 1, 1863 ; Frank J., Feb. 11, 1865 ; Mary C. (de- 
ceased), Feb. 7, 1870 ; Adolphine F., Sept. 30, 1872 ; Sidonie J., Sept. 24, 1874 ; 
Joseph J., June 11, 1878 ; Mr. Kusnick takes a very active part in religion, being 
one of the leading members of the Roman Catholic Church, to whom all look 
for advice ; contributes largely to charitable institutions, and shows his sympathy 
to the poor by donating liberally ; served as Township Treasurer for several terms. 

LAWRENCE L. LEHMAN, teacher, Versailles, ( )hio. Jacob, his father, is 
a native of Ohio, born in Covington, Miami Co., on the 1st of January, 1825 ; he 
received a good common-school education ; celebrated his marriage with Jemima 
Sullenberger, on the 25th day of November, 1851 ; he came to Darke Co. in 1856, 
and at present resides in Versailles ; they are the parents of thirteen children, 
of whom nine are living, viz., Maggie A., Eugene, Columbus, Oliver H., Luella, 
Morrie, Addie L., Mary and Lawrence L., the subject of our sketch, who was born 
in Miami Co., Ohio, in 1852 ; received his preparatory education in the common 
schools, after which he entered the Ohio Central Normal School, in Worthington, 
Ohio, from which he graduated in 1874, receiving a good academic education ; he 
taught school when he was only 16 years old, thereby helping to support the 
family, it being very large ; he is at present reading law with T. A. Burns, of 
Versa i 1 les 

WASHINGTON LONG; farmer, Sec. 17; P. O.Versailles. Stephen Long, 
the father of Washington, was born in Kentucky, on the 8th day of August, 1798, 
and emigrated to Miami Co., Ohio, in the year 1806, where he farmed for a period 
of about twenty-eight years ; moved to Darke Co., Wayne Township, Sec. 17, where 
he resided till his death, which occurred on the 29th day of December, 1854. 
Sarah, his wife, died on the 27th day of December, 1871, on the old home farm. 
Washington hong, the subject of this sketch, was born in Miami Co., Ohio, on the 
15th day of October, .1823 ; came with his parents to Darke Co. in the year 1834, 
where he has continued to reside ever since ; he worked on the farm till he 
arrived at the years of his majority ; however, in the mean time attending the dis- 
trict school, obtaining a good common-school education ; went before the Board 
of Examiners, obtained a certificate, and taught his first school when only 22 years 
of age, now thirty-four years ago, receiving for his labor the enormous salary of 
$10 per month; continued to teach during the winter months, working on the farm 
in the summer, for a period of about eleven years, with good success, giving entire 
satisfaction wherever he taught. Mr. Long is quite an active worker in the cause 
of religion and temperance, being a member of the Christian Church for a period 
of about twenty years ; his religious impressions were mainly due to his mother, 
who was a pious, thrifty and hard-working woman, given to saving, and devoted 
to her family. His father was a minister of the Gospel, being a regular ordained 



WAYNE TOWNSHIP. 611 

minister of the Christian Church. Versailles, at that time, contained only about 
three families ; the settlement was then called Jacksonville. Mr. Long is not in 
any sense of the term an office-seeker, yet he has held various offices much of the 
time during his residence in Darke Co., viz. Township Trustee, Assessor, and m 
the fall of 1879, was a candidate on the Democratic ticket for Representative of 
the Twelfth Congressional District to the State Legislature, and was elected by an 
overwhelming majority ; has many warm friends, and is beloved by all who know 
him • has by his industry, and the help of his good and amiable wife, accumulated 
a considerable amount of property. Mr. Long has been married twice ; first, to 
Miss Susan M. Lyons, on the 1st day of May, 1862 ; one child was born to them, 
viz Joseph N., born on the 19th day of December, 1862 ; Susan M. Long 
departed this life on the 27th day of December, 1 862. After a period of four years 
he married Miss Polly Brewer, the nuptials being celebrated on the 16th day ot 
October 1866 ; she was born in Darke Co., Ohio, on the 6th day of December, 1832. 
Elizabeth Brewer, her mother, was born on the 24th day of August, 1806 ; she 
departed this life on the 24th day of July, 1864 ; two children were the result of 
his second marriage, viz. : Ellen J. was born on the 23d day of July, 186 7; the 
other was not named— died in infancy. When Mr. Long came to Wayne Town- 
ship there were but three families living in Jacksonville, now Versailles, there 
being only about ten acres of cleared land on the tract ; he now has 200 acres, 
valued at $50 per acre. 

LEONARD MARKER, furniture dealer and undertaker, Versailles. Kay- 
mon J the father of Leonard, was a native of Ohio, born in Montgomery Co. on 
the 29th of \uo-ust 1824. He was united in marriage with Miss Elizabeth Back- 
man in Dayton, Ohio, in April, 1845 ; in 1850, he with his little family, moved to 
Darke Co locating on the west bank of Swamp Creek, opposite Bower s old mill, 
where he resided till his death, which occurred in 1855, being only 31 years old ; 
his wife preceded him about ten months, being only 29 years of age ; Mr. Marker 
althouoh a young man when he died, had accumulated considerable amount ot 
property and was known as being strictly honest, industrious and a square-dealing 
citizen, filling several offices of trust, being Justice of the Peace of the township 
in which he lived ; he was one of a little band of about twenty who organized 
Versailles Lodge, No. 286, I. 0. 0. E., being a charter member and one of the prin- 
cipal officers of the lodge when he died ; he was buried by the order m the oeau- 
tiful little cemetery just south of Brock, in this county, where a handsome monu- 
ment marks the resting-place of himself and wife ; he sank peacefully to rest 
beloved and honored by all who knew him. Leonard, the subject of this sketch, 
is a native of Ohio, born in Montgomery Co. on the 9th of June, 1846. and at the 
age of 4 years was taken with his parents to Darke Co., and at the age ot 9 
he with two brothers and a sister, all younger than himself, were left orphans 
thrust upon the cold charities of the world ; but here the fraternity which had 
watched over and cared for their father was at hand, and good homes were pro- 
vided for them all, and Leonard was taken by an uncle to Montgomery Co., with 
whom he lived until he was 19 years old, when he commenced the furniture trade 
in Versailles, Ohio, as an apprentice boy, and at the age of 21, in 1868, launched 
out in the furniture and undertaking business on his own resources ; tor several 
years adversity stared him in the face, but with an indomitable will and that stern, 
"never <nve up" which characterizes him, he pressed on and surmounted many 
difficulties, and is now doing a good, lucrative business ; in connection with his 
increasing furniture trade, he has a fine hearse, and, with all the modern appliances 
he is continually coming in possession of for the taking care and putting away the 
dead, he is becoming the leading undertaker of northern Darke Co.: he is comfort- 
ably located in his new and commodious rooms on East Mam street ; m the 
spring of 1869, he celebrated his marriage with Miss E. Gertie Reed, daughter ot 
James H. Reed, of Versailles ; they have a family of three children, viz., Eugenie 
Grace James Reed. Maud. Mr. Marker has filled several offices of trust in his 



612 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 

community ; he is a member of the Masonic Fraternity, also of Versailles Lodge, 
No. 286, I. O. 0. P., of which his father was a charter member ; he has taken 
all the higher degrees of the encampment, and has several times filled the honor- 
able office of the D. D. Grand Patriarch of the Encampment. 

MARTIN MARKER, farmer and stock-raiser ; Sec. 13 ; P. 0. Versailles, 
Ohio. George, his father, was a native of Maryland, horn in Frederick Co., on the 
19th of June, 1782 ; he emigrated to Montgomery Co., Ohio, in 1823, where he 
resided till his death, which occurred on the 29th of November, 1850. Margaret, 
his wife, died in Preble Co., Ohio, at the advanced age of 84 years. Martin, the 
subject of this sketch, is one of the old settlers of Darke Co., being a native of 
Maryland, born in Frederick Co.. on the 15th of June, 1815 ; came with his parents 
to Montgomery Co., Ohio, when he was about 7 years old, where he spent his boy- 
hood days on his father's farm ; he received his education in the subscription 
schools of Montgomery Co. On the 30th of May, 1837, he celebrated his mar- 
riage, in Montgomery Co., with Margaret Weaver, who is a native of Ohio, born 
in Montgomery Co., on the 18th of January. 1818 ; shortly after his marriage, he 
rented a farm, on which he remained about two years, when he took a lease in 
Butler Township, Darke Co., but only remained six months, when he moved on a 
tract of land in York Township, consisting of 94 acres, which his father-in-law 
gave him in lieu of $100 ; he erected a log cabin and began the laborious task of 
opening up a farm ; he cleared and put under cultivation about 40 acres. He 
traded his farm for a saw and flouring mill, known as the " John Hole Mill," 
which he operated about ten years, but, accidentally, was forced into a law-suit, 
in which he lost almost the entire property. He then leased 70 acres in York 
Township for three years, and, in a short time, he purchased the tract for $600, 
paying $10 down, which was every cent that he possessed ; but, at the expiration 
of the three years, he had paid out. He then purchased 80 acres more, paying 
$400, and, in a few 3'ears, he erected a brick house and cleared 60 acres. In 1850, 
he sold out to his brother Raymond for $1,700 ; he then purchased 164 acres, 
where he now resides. In 1863, he sold out, and purchased 240 acres in Cedar 
Co., Iowa, where he moved, and, in a short time, he added 280 acres more, making 
in all 520 acres, 120 of which was timber land. In 1866, he sold the entire body, 
at a gain of nearly $6,000 ; he then removed to Darke Co., on the old farm, the 
party failing to pay for it, where he has continued to reside ever since ; he 
erected a bank-barn, 70x40 feet, at a cost of $2,500, also a very large two-story 
brick house, and raised an orchard of 300 bearing fruit-trees ; the farm contains 
164 acres, valued at $16,000. He has given his children, in lands and money, 
about $11,000, all of which he and his good and amiable wife have accumulated 
by their hard labor, having passed through the many struggles, trials and dangers 
so common to the pioneer of the West. They have been members of the Luth- 
eran Church for upward of forty-five years. Mr. Marker has had his full share 
of township offices since his residence in the county, viz. : In 1851, he was elected 
District Assessor, he platted and appraised the lands in five townships, viz., 
Wayne, Richland, York, Wabash and Patterson, which lie performed in 102 
days, receiving a compensation of $204 ; his work was received with universal 
satisfaction by the people ; he is also known as the best and most successful auc- 
tioneer in the county. He relates many thrilling incidents of his early life in 
Darke Co., which the writer would have been pleased to mention, but, for 
the want of space, had to omit. Margaret, his wife, should have special mention 
for her heroic deeds, as she has shared the storms as well as the calms, the joys 
as well as the sorrows ; she is the mother of eleven children, of whom nine are 
living, viz. : Lovina S., born Feb. 12, 1838 ; Martin V. June 27, 1841 ; Mary, 
March 27.1843; Emanuel, Sept. 12,1845; Martha J., May 25, 1851; Luciuda 
and Malinda (twins), March 12, 1855 ; Josiah, March 28, 1858; Amanda, Nov. 9, 1872. 

WILLIAM H. MURPHY, banker and lumber dealer, of the firm of Kusnick, 
Murphy & Co., Versailles, Ohio ; was born in Montgomery Co., Ohio, on the 6th 



WAYNE TOWNSHIP. 



613 



dav Of September, 1818 ; he lived with his grandmother until her death which 
occurred in the year 1831 ; worked on the farm by the month and day for different 
persons performing all kinds of labor until he was about 17 years old, when he 
commenced to learn the carpenter's trade, continuing at the same for a period ot 
about eio-ht years, meeting with good success, after which he sold out, and engaged in 
farming till the year 1862, when he sold his farm, and moved to Covington, Ohio, 
and eno-ao-ed in the grocery and provision trade, which he followed for about one- 
year • heathen removed to Wayne Township, where he purchased a farm, in Sec. 
19 near the corporation of Versailles ; farmed, and carried on the hardware busi- 
ness in Versailles ; sold his farm and continued the hardware business for a period 
of about six years, with fair success ; sold out his store and connected himself 
with the bank on the 1st of January, 1878, with Francis Kusnick ; since having 
added the lumber business— which is the only lumber-yard in Versailles ; Mr. 
Murphy was left an orphan, being thrust out in the cold world to fight the battles 
of life alone which he has braved through with unflinching nerve, gaining the victory, 
and is now reaping the reward of a handsome fortune, which he has accumulated 
by his own hard labor ; he obtained a good common-school education. He has in 
no sense of the word been a political aspirant, although he has had his full share 
of township offices ; while living in Miami Co., he served one term as Justice of 
the Peace ; also served as Township Trustee two years ; and in Wayne Township, 
where he now resides, has held the office of Justice of the Peace for a period of nine 
years, and is now serving his fourth term ; and two years as Township Trustee, and 
Township Treasurer one year ; he is a live, energetic, thorough business man, and is 
beloved by all who know him. The Squire has passed the many struggles, inci- 
dents and dangers so common to the early pioneers of the great West, and is to-day 
hardy and robust at the ripe old age of 62 ; was an active member of the Chris- 
tian Church at the breaking out of the great rebellion, when he withdrew from the 
church. Was united in marriage to Miss Mary Sipe on the 7th day of January. 
1838 • thirteen children were the fruits of this union, viz.: Catharine, born Oct. 
3 1838 ; Leander, March 12, 1840 ; Sarah, April 19, 1841 ; Simon, Sept. 15. 1842 ; 
Angeline, April 1, 1844 ; John, May 10, 1845 ; William H.. June 19 1847 ; Mary 
M Nov 20 1849 ; Ellen, Aug. 4, 1851 ; Esther, March 27, 1853 ; Elizabeth, Sept. 
26' 1855 ; Susan, Aug. 21, 1857 ; Joseph, Aug. 6, 1860. Mary, his wife, died Sept, 
30' 1862 • was united in marriage to Mrs. Mary Arnold (whose maiden name was 
Thompson), on the 8th day of February, 1864 ; she was born in Montgomery Co., 
Ohio on the 8th day of July, 1823. Leander, his eldest son, who lived four miles 
southeast of Columbia City, Ind., went to see a neighbor, on some business, who 
lived about three-quarters of a mile off, and has never been heard of since ; this 
was on the night of the 4th of December, 1866 ; it seems that he had some diffi- 
culty with the gentleman, the facts of which could not be obtained ; it is supposed 
that he was murdered ; his father received a letter from him on the same day. 
stating that he was well, and getting along very well, and, in three or four days 
after, Mr. Murphy received a letter from Leander s cousin, conveying the sad news 
that 'his son had very suddenly disappeared, and could not be found ; he left all 
his effects at home, or the place where he was working. 

WILLIAM H. RIKE, physician, Versailles. Henry, his father, was born 
in Montgomery Co., Ohio, in 1822 ; he married Rebecca Dowler, who was born 
in Miami Co., Ohio, in 1824. William H., the subject of this sketch, was born 
in Miami Co., Ohio, on a farm, Dec. 3, 1850; he assisted his father on the 
farm during the summer months^ and attended the district school in the winter, 
obtaining a good common-school education, and at the age of 19 he entered the 
Piqua school, where he finished his literary education ; he then taught school for a 
period of four years, in the mean time studying medicine under the instructions 
of Dr. J. Harrison, of Covington, Ohio ; he graduated at the Ohio Medical College. 
March, 2, 1876. and immediatelv thereafter, took up his residence in Versailles, for 



614 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

the purpose of following his profession; he now has a good, lucrative practice. 
He celebrated his marriage, in 1876, with Emma V. Fetter, in Miami Co., Ohio, 
who was horn Sep). 9, 1851 ; one child has been born to this union, viz., Venus 
Blanche, born August 15, 1878. 

ADO LI Ml SEIBT, merchant, Webster. F. T. Seibt, the father of Adolph, 
was born in Bautzen, Saxony, Germany, in the year 1804 ; he emigrated to Amer- 
ica, landing in New York, in the year 1830 ; went to Cincinnati, Ohio, and enlisted 
in a company of traders, known as the " Hudson Bay Company," whose business 
was to obtain furs from the Indians ; served about eighteen months ; this was in the 
year 1832. Mr. Seibt, while a single man, and after he was mustered out of the 
company, traveled through the country fixing watches and clocks, and it was while 
he was engaged in this business, that he met Miss Erdmute Schmidt, at a farmer's 
house ; it was then that the law of affinity asserted her divine right, and they were 
united in marriage in a short time ; he moved to Darke Co., Ohio, where Webster 
now stands, but at that time a wilderness ; this was in the year 1836 ; erected a 
storeroom in the course of time, and engaged in the dry-goods business, etc., which 
he followed till his death, which occurred on the 14th day of October, 1874 ; was mar- 
ried in the year 1836. Mr. Seibt was Postmaster in Webster for a period of twenty 
years. Adolph, the subject of this sketch, was born in Webster, on the 18th day 
of August, 1847 ; he lived with his parents, working on the farm during the sum- 
mer season, and attended the district school in the winter months, till he was about 
20 years old, when he attended the Commercial College of Dayton, Ohio, for 
three months. Mr. Seibt has made one trip to Germany, remaining two years, dur- 
ing which time he attended the grammar school of the city of Bautzen, obtaining a 
g< i' id education ; returned home, and at the death of his father, he took charge of the 
store, and stocked it throughout with an entire new stock, and commenced busi- 
ness on his own responsibility, where he has continued to operate ever since, with 
a full line of dry goods, groceries, boots and shoes, etc. ; was united in marriage to 
Miss Maggie E. Battie, in Darke Co., Ohio, on the 25th day of May. 1871 ; she 
was born in Darke Co. on the 20th da}^ of October, 1844 ; they have had five children, 
viz.: Christiana, born March 17, 1872; Loranda, Oct. 25, 1874; Ida, Aug. 6. 
1878 ; Willie F., Aug. 10, 1879. Mr. Seibt has a great many friends, and is 
beloved by all who know him ; his mother, Christiana, was born in Bautzen. 
Saxony. Germany, on the 24th day of December 1810; she lives with her son, Adolph ; 
is 69 years old, and is enjoying good health. 

JOHN S. SIMON, merchant, Versailles. George S. Simon, the father of John 
S., came to this country at a very early day, and settled at Versailles in the year 
1839, where he has continued to reside ever since. John S.. the subject of this 
sketch, was born in Versailles. Ohio, July 27, 1847 ; assisted his father in the 
store when but a very small boy. in fact, was brought up behind the counter: 
attended the village school during the winter season, in which he obtained a good 
common-school education ; clerked for his father in the store for seventeen j*ears, 
applying himself very closely to business. After this the entire stock was trans- 
ferred to him. when he commenced business for himself, continuing up to the pre.-- 
<".:• time, and he lias, by his strictly temperate habits and industry, accumulated 
quite a huge fortune. He carries a very large stock of gents' furnishing goods 
and ready-made clothing, lie was united in marriage to Miss Amanda J. Brush, 
in Versailles, April 15. 1867, who was horn in Lockington, Shelby Co., Ohio. July 
2,1850. Two children are the fruits of this union, viz. : <i.\Y. Harry, born <)c T 
14, 1867 : Maggie P., Jan. •'!!. 1875- Mr. Simon has never been a political aspirant 
although he has held many offices of trust : he was elected Township Clerk when 
only 22 years of age, serving three years with much credit to himself: was elected 
Justice of the Peace October, 1874, re-elected in 1877, being the youngest Justice 
of the Peace ever elected in Versailles : was elected Mayor in the spring (^f 1879, 
which office he now holds : he has also been a member of the School Board for six 
years. Mr. Simon has many warm friends, and is esteemed by all who know him. 



WAYNE TOWNSHIP. 615 

L. M. STEVENSON, teacher, Versailles, Ohio. Samuel W. Stevenson, the 
father of L. M., was born in the city of Belfast, Ireland, Oct., 24, 1809 ; his father. 
Anthony, was keeper of the King's Cheque on Duties and Customs. His mother, 
Sarah, was a descendant of Sir John Cornwall, whose daughter married a French 
exile, named La Waie, a Huguenot, who had to fly for his life during the religious 
revolts in his native country, and crossed the channel, landing in Ireland, where 
he made his home for the remainder of his life. He made the acquaintance of Sir 
John Cornwall, while shooting birds in a small strip of timber belonging to the 
estate, known as Edendork, about one mile northwest of the town of Dungamour. 
County Tyrone, Ireland, and about eigbt miles south of that beautiful body of 
water, Lough Neagh) ; his parents being all Protestants, he received his early relig- 
ious instructions in the creed of the established Church of England, and, in his early 
training, had inculcated the hereditary hatred of the Papists so common on the 
Island, where but two parties are known, the Papists and the Protestants, the latter 
»eing generally known as the " Orangemen," from William, Prince of Orange. 
Samuel W., like so mam T boys brought up in such close relationship with marine 
life, formed a great desire to be a sailor, and have his home on the mighty deep ; so 
strong did the desire become, that, at the early age of 14, he left school and appren- 
ticed himself to a sea-captain, for the purpose of becoming a sailor and navigator. 
The choice of office had been veiy suitable, and so well did he conduct him- 
self, that he gained the confidence of the commander, and, before the first voyage 
was completed, he was promoted to second mate, which office he filled with 
credit to himself, and was promoted to first mate. His first voyage was 
made to Cronstadt, Stockholm, thence up the Baltic Sea to St. Petersburg, Russia. 
The second was to cross the Atlantic with a miscellaneous cargo to the United States, 
in which branch of the service he remained until October, 1829, having landed 
first at Pictora, Nova Scotia, on the 9th of July ; during the night between October 
31 and November 1, he was shipwrecked near Eastport, Me., from where he 
arrived at Quebec, July 2, 1830 ; at this time he was engaged in the shipment of 
timber, and on the 10th of July, while loading his vessel, he fell from the rigging 
to the deck, receiving such severe injuries as to prevent him going to sea after- 
ward ; he was placed in the Marine hospital at Quebec, known as the Sailors' Hos- 
pital, where he remained until he so far recovered from his injuries as to be able 
to again earn a livelihood ; during the time of his illness he heard from home, but. 
as an estrangement had arisen between him and his father, he determined not to 
return home until he could own and command a vessel of his own ; being, however, 
prevented from going on in his chosen vocation, he never accomplished his purpose : 
immediately after leaving the hospital he went witli a party to the <; front," as it 
was called, to cut and prepare ship-timber, with a contractor named Raney. in 
whose employ he remained one year ; thinking he could now improve his condition 
he quit with "the contractor who tried to defraud him of his year's earnings ; from 
this a vexatious lawsuit arose, which lasted for three years, but was finally 
decided in his favor, and the contractor was compelled to pay the amount due : 
having obtained his money, he started again, but was prostrated at Roches- 
ter, N. Y., for nearly a year by sickness, and was able to go to work with 
only 50 cents in his pocket ; his determination never wavered ; he started 
in search of something to do, and found it with a civil engineer named Col. 
Hovey. with whom he remained for some time, and left his employer with 
mutual regret, the Colonel saying. " You think the great El Dorado is Ohio ; " 
this remark at once decided him that, be his fortune what it might, he never would 
come back in a worse condition financially than he then was, and if his condition 
was better he did not wish to return : putting his purpose into execution, he 
arrived at Oswego. N. Y. Sept. 5. Is:;."), where he remained for some time, obtain- 
ing and finishing several contracts of a canal then being contracted for ; his desire 
to go to Ohio being paramount to all else, he left New York, and arrived in Shelby 
County, Ohio, some time in 1838 or 1839 ; the canal extending from Cincinnati to 



616 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

Toledo being in process of construction, he obtained a contract from Jesse 
yfcClure ; he again went to ditching, in the prosecution of which he so injured his 
health by exposure that he could work no longer physically ; he then, by the 
solicitation of his friends, began to teach school ; having full}' determined to make 
the United States his home, he filed his intentions in the Court of Shelby County. 
Ohio, on the !>th of November, 1839, and in 1842 received his certificate of citizen- 
ship ; having once entered upon the vocation of teaching, he was so successful 
that he could not withdraw, and his services were in continual demand ; he 
became somewhat engaged in local politics, serving for several terms as Clerk 
of Cynthiaua Township, and was finally brought out as a candidate for the 
office of Auditor of Shelby Count}' ; in this he was defeated by only six votes. 
On the 24th day of December, 1841, he married Mary Ann McClelland, 
by whom he had two sons ; the elder, Alexander Finley, was born Sept 
4, 1842 ; and the younger, Leander Montgomery, April 12, 1845. After his 
marriage, he tried farming, but could not make it a success, and finally 
abandoned it altogether. On the 27th of July, 1847, his wife died, and he 
was again cast out upon the world. Leaving his two children with their grand- 
father, he opened a school in Sidney, Shelby Co.. which he taught with his usual 
success, and at the close of the term he engaged with Mr. McGrew to run his line 
of boats from Sidney to Cincinnati until the freezing up of the canal, but trade 
became so depressed and freight so light that he released Mr. McGrew from the 
contract after making two trips to Cincinnati. Again becoming a pedagogue, he 
opened and taught a school in Wapakoneta. the present county seat of Auglaize 
Co., closing his school in September, 1849. He was then called to Houston, Shelby 
Co., to take charge of the school there, and in the spring of 1850 he entered a piece 
of land in Shelby Co., lying about four miles east of Berlin. He now resumed 
teaching during the winter, and in the summer he cleared his land. May 15, 1851, 
he married Mary Ellen, the second and only living daughter of Mr. William 
English, of Wayne Township, Dai-ke Co. He now began to keep house a second 
time, and during the winter he taught the school near Speer's landing, on the Lar- 
amie, about two miles east of Houston, removing in May, 1852, to his " home in 
the woods," where he remained until September, when he was again called to take 
charge of the school at Wapakoneta and to act as County Examiner. To his great 
surprise, he found the same figures on the blackboard that he had placed there in 
1849. He now gave up the project of clearing his farm and gave his whole atten- 
tion to teaching, serving in this capacity at Hardin, Shelby Co.; Morant, Jefferson 
Co., and Versailles, Darke Co., Ohio, from which place he removed May 1, 1856, to 
Covington, Miami Co., where he had purchased a small property. There he 
remained seven years, and began to accumulate some wealth, purchasing property 
in the town, now owned and occupied by D. C. Shellabarger. This, with his little 
farm, he exchanged for what was known as the " Two Mile House," on the Coving- 
ton and Gettysburg Pike, two miles west of Covington. In March, 1864, he sold 
out and removed to Versailles, Darke Co., purchasing a farm about two miles 
northwest of the town, where he resided until Nov. 7, 1872, when he again removed 
to Hill Grove, near Union City, Ind., where he took charge of the flouring 
mill, for which he had exchanged his farm. He remained here until June 
7, 1873, when he again returned to Versailles and lived with his younger 
son until his death. May 31, 1876. During life, he was always an upright 
and honest man, a fearless and uncompromising patriot, giving both his sons 
to the service of his country during the war. both of whom returned safe at its 
close. He finally sank peacefully to rest, sincerely mourned by many ; loved, 
honored and respected by all. Leander M. Stevenson, whose name heads this 
sketch, is a young man of fine address, and possesses rare abilities as an educator 
and instructor, and merits more than a passing notice. As will be seen in his 
lather's sketch, he was left an orphan while he was quite young, having passed 
through the man}' struggles and trials so common to those that have been left 



WAYNE TOWNSHIP. 



617 



without the instructions of a loving mother ; but being of the same turn of mind 
as his father, to dispel the dark clouds that would gather around him, and keeping 
the motto steadily in view, "No excellence without labor," he has come oft 
more than conqueror, acquiring a good academic education by his own exertion ; 
the writer of this article can truthfully say that he is strictly a self-made man, and 
deserves a wider notice than the writer can possibly give on account of space and 
ability. When he was 18 years old, he enlisted in the army and went forth in de- 
fense of his country, giving two years of his life in hard-fought battles and long 
and dreary marches ; when he returned home he entered the " Iron City College, " 
from which he graduated in April, 1866 ; he also took a course in telegraphy ; 
in April, 1879, he made a visit to Ireland and England. On the 1st of May, 1873, 
he celebrated his marriage with Mary McKnight, who is a native of Ohio, born in 
Darke County, on the 24th day of September, 1855 ; in September, 1873, he was 
called and appointed Superintendent of the High School of Versailles, Ohio, where 
he taught two years with good success, during which time he wrote out an entire 
course & of study for the school, which injured his health so that he was compelled 
to relinquish teaching for two years. Three children have been born to this union, 
viz. : Sir Harcourt Lee, born Jan. 30, 1874 (he was named in honor of the editor 
and publisher of the Brunswick Club, the only Protestant paper in Belfast at that 
time ) ; Edith J., born 2d of October, 1875 ; Susannah, died Dec. 5, 1878. 

G. W. HOLLIS, Postmaster, Versailles ; son of J. J. and Sarah Hollis ; was 
born in Virginia, 1824; settled in this county, 1857. Was married to Lucinda 
Osgood of Frankfort, Hampshire Co., Va., 1850 ; one child, Charles J. 

ALFERD MONGEVILLE ; P. 0. Versailles ; son of Gerard and Mary Mar- 
garet Mongeville ; was born in Darke County, 1850. Was united in marriage 
with Ella Yates, of Versailles. 

W. H. STOVER, merchant, Versailles ; son of William and Elizabeth 
Stover ; was born in Montgomery County, Ohio, in 1849 ; settled in this township, 
1875. Was united in marriage with Lucinda Hole, in Versailles, in 1874 ; three 
children— Maggie Belle, Harvey Gary, Isaiah. _ 

G. W. STUDABAKER, attorney-at-law, Versailles. The subject of this 
memoir is a native of Ohio, born in Darke County, three miles south of 
Greenville, on the 23d day of September, 1840 ; spent his boyhood days on the 
farm, assisting his father in the cultivation of the soil; the plow, spade and 
ax were implements to which he was no stranger ; he spent the winter months 
in attending the district school, where he obtained a good common-school educa- 
tion. On the 8th day of Mav, 1854, unfortunately his father died, leaving a 
widowed mother and five children to survive the storms of life, without the 
parental instructions of a father. In 1857, he became infatuated with what was 
then known as the " Kansas fever "—to " go West and grow up with the country ; ' 
he in company with Jacob Rees, E. Calkins and Allen Jaqua, left on the 2d day 
of March for the " Far West," and upon their arrival found the people divided on 
the subject of slavery, and during the Kansas trouble he became strongly opposed 
to the extension of slavery, and embraced the principles then advocated by 
the Republican party, and became a Radical in the true sense of the term, always 
found advocating the abolition of slavery, until the great rebellion put an end to 
the controversy In 1865, he commenced the study of law, under the instructions 
of A R Calderwood, at Greenville, Ohio, and in October, 1871. passed an exam- 
ination before the Supreme Court of Columbus, Ohio, after which he was regu- 
larly admitted as an attorney and counselor at law ; he then opened a law office 
in Versailles, Ohio, where he has since lived and practiced his profession ; and 
by his close application to his office, and strict attention to business consigned 
to his management, he has gained a large and lucrative practice throughout the 
county in which he resides, as well as abroad ; and, as an advocate before a 
jury, in presenting his side of the case, he has no equal ; his natural ability 
seems to be adapted for the profession of his own solicitation ; it can truly be 



618 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

said of him that he is a self-made man, being strictly temperate in all his habits. 
On the 11th day of May, 1875, he assisted A. R. Calderwood in the establishment 
of the Greenville Sunday Courier, a weekly newspaper which has a wide circula- 
tion. Mr. Studabaker has been identified with the county and township offices 
since his residence ; in the spring of 1873, he was elected to the office of Mayor 
in Versailles, which office he held for six consecutive years, during which time the 
village grew and prospered ; he is also the President of the School Board ; in the 
fall of 1875. he was chosen by the Republican party as a candidate for State Sen- 
ator, the district being composed of the counties of Darke, Shelby and Miami ; 
the district gives about 1,800 Democratic majority, but he was only defeated by 
about 1,000. which shows his popularity throughout the district ; in April, 1861, 
he enlisted in Co. K. 11th O. V. I., Col. J. W. Fraizell commanding the regiment. 

DAVID W. TAYLOR, farmer, Sec. 17 ; P. 0. Versailles, Ohio. Joseph Tay- 
lor, his father, was born in Virginia on the 2d clay of May, 1783 ; Elizabeth, his 
wife, was born in Virginia, on the 5th of November, 1789 ; they emigrated to 
Washington Co., Ohio ; thence to Darke Co., Ohio, in the fall of 1833. and in the 
following spring located in Wayne Township on Sec. 17, where they resided until 
his death, which occurred on the 27th day of July, 1842, by falling from a load 
of hay, breaking his neck, causing instant death. Elizabeth, his wife, departed 
this life on the old home farm, on the 23d day of February, 1867, at the advanced 
age of 78 years. David W., the subject of this sketch, was born in Washington 
Co., Ohio, on the 12th day of January, 1825 ; lived with his parents until their 
death, working on the farm during the summer season, and attending the district 
school in the winter months, in an old log cabin, with puncheon floor and poles for 
seats ; obtained a fair common-school education. Mr. Taylor was a kind and 
obedient son, taking the best of care of his parents, receiving the old home farm 
for his services rendered, which contained 100 acres, to which he has added 50 
acres, making in all, 150, of which 120 are being under a good state of cultivation, 
and 30 acres of timber land : he has, by his industry and frugality, accumulated 
a considerable amount of property ; he has passed through the many struggles, 
dangers, trials and incidents so common to the early settlers of Darke Count}' ; 
is a member of the Christian Church, living a devoted and consistent Christian for 
a period of about fifteen years ; is a firm Republican. Mr. Taylor has been mar- 
ried twice ; first, to Miss Hannah Brandon, Feb. 8, 184G-; three children by this 
union, of whom two are living, viz.: Lydia E. (now Mrs. Christian), born Nov. 17. 
lS4ti : Mary A., born April 28, 1848. His second marriage was to Miss Elizabeth 
Ward, on the 15th day of April, 1852 ; she was born in Versailles, Ohio, on the 
21st day of November, 1832. Eleven children by this union, of whom nine arc 
living, viz.: Hannah, born Dee, 21, 1854; Joseph, April 10, 185(3 ; Hester, Nov. 
30, 1857 ; Joseph II., Nov. 27. L859 ; Margaret, Nov. 11, 1862; William C, Dec. 
19, 1863; Thomas J., died in infancy; David K„ born Nov. 5, 1869 ; John T.. 
Aug. 25, 1S72 : Olive E., Jan. 31, 1 S78 ; George W. deceased. Hannah Creviston 
(her maiden name), the mother of Elizabeth Taylor, was born in Ohio, on the 5th 
day of October, 1811. Mrs. David Taylor is a member of the Christian Church, 
is a good and kind mother, devoted to her family. 

JOHN C TILLMA'N, physician and surgeon, Versailles, Ohio. Joshua. 
the father of John ('.. is a native of Ohio, horn in Preble Co. in IS2I ; Cynthia M.. 
his wife, whose maiden name was Estabrook, is a native of .Massachusetts, born in 
1822; they resided in Preble Co., Ohio, on a farm and are the parents of ei 
children, of whom three are living, viz.: Mollie, Lizzie and John ('.: the subject of 
this sketch. who is a native of Ohio, horn in Preble Co. on the 17th day of Septem- 
ber 1850; he received his preparatory education in the districl schools of Preble 
Co., and completed his course of study in Dayton, Ohio, where he obtained a good 
academic education : the Doctor is no stranger to the use of all farming implements 
e was raised on the farm, hut being of a scientific turn of mind he concluded 
to enter another field of labor, and luckily for him he chose the study and practice 



WAYNE TOWNSHIP. 



619 



of medicine, which is the most comprehensive branch of the whole curriculum of 
nature ; and at the age of 23 he entered the office of Drs. D. Robison and John 
Ford of Arcanum, Ohio, and commenced the study of medicine, and in the spring 
of 1877 he graduated at the Ohio Medical College ; during the same spring he 
opened an office in Dawn, Darke Co., where he remained till fall, and on the 5th of 
August, 1877, he moved to Versailles, where he formed a partnership with Dr. J. P. 
Gordon', whose sketch appears in another place in this work ; the Doctor has quite 
an extensive practice, and is highly esteemed by his many friends and acquaintances. 
On the 25th of November, 1879, he celebrated his marriage with Estella Sweigart, 
an accomplished daughter of Henry and Mary A. Sweigart, who is a native of 
Ohio born in December, 1858 ; the Doctor is strictly temperate in all his habits. 

GEORGE H. TURPEN; merchant, Versailles. Henry, the father of George 
H. was born in Dutchess Co., N. Y., on the 16th of November, 1775 ; he married 
Mary Hubbard, a native of Connecticut, born in Middletown, on the 16th of April, 
1780 ; they resided in New York City for a period of eleven years, and in 1819, 
came to Ohio, locating in Warren Co., near Lebanon, where he remained till 1828, 
when he moved to Darke Co., locating in what was then called Hunter's Settle- 
ment, four miles north of Greenville, which at that time was almost an entire 
wilderness ■ by perseverance, economy, integrity and hard labor, he opened out a 
nice farm ; he raised a large family, and on the 10th of May, 1839, he departed 
this life, being 64 years old. Mary, his wife, died on the 13th of September, 1838. 
Georo-e H, the subject of this sketch, is a native of York State, born in the city 
of New York, on the 7th of October, 1813 ; came with his parents to Ohio, when 
he was only 6 years old ; received his education in the common schools ; Mr. 
Turpen is one of Darke Co.'s old pioneers, and has passed through the many 
struo-o-les trials, clangers and incidents so common to the pioneer of the West. 
He married Margaret White, who was born May 1, 1819 ; she died on the 26th of 
March 1835 ; he celebrated his second marriage with Anna Pugh, who is a native 
of Ohio born Sept. 26, 1816 ; he is the father of ten children, of whom five are 
living viz ■ John Henry, born Dec. 14, 1838 ; Mary Ann, born Sept. 30, 1840 ; 
Joseph Connel, born May 5, 1849 ; Ancel Hubbard, born Feb. 8, 1851 ; Lucy 
Bell, born Dec. 25, 1858; deceased— Sarah Amanda, William M., Cordelia C, 
Margaret, George Alonzo. 

J T WARD, grocer, Versailles ; son of George and Hannah \\ ard ; was 
born in Versailles' Darke Co., Sept. 28, 1847. Was married in Versailles to 
P V Simons, 1871 ; children— Marvin, Mary and Louis Oliver. 

J. C. WILLIAMSON, physician, Versailles ; son of David and Elizabeth 
(McGrew) Williamson ; was born in Greenville Township, Darke Co. ; parents 
settled here in 1816. Was united in marriage with Rachel Reed, of Versailles, in 
1872 ; one child. Olive Addrela Ella. 

J J. WINBIGLER, teacher, Versailles, Ohio. Samuel Winbigler, the father of 
J J was born in Maryland, near Frederick City, January, 1817 ; emigrated to Mont- 
gomery Co., Ohio, in the year 1831 ; remaining there till the year 1844, when he 
moved to Darke Co., where he resided till his death, which occurred May 4, 1875 ; 
Anna M. Weaver, his wife, was born in Montgomery Co., near Miamisburg, Feb. 13, 
1821 • is still living, beina; 68 years old ; her mother, Susan Weaver, whose maiden 
name 'was Gephart°was born in Berks Co., Penn., October, 1795 ; and is still living 
at the advanced age of 84. Elizabeth, her mother, who departed this life in 1864, 
was 95 years and 7 days old ; had at the time of her death, 90 grandchildren liv- 
ing, 310 great grandchildren, and 28 of the fourth generation. J. J. Wmbigler, 
the' subject of this sketch was born in Montgomery Co., Ohio, on the 25th day of 
May, 1839 ; lived with his parents till he was 21 years old, working on the farm 
during the summer season, and attending the district school in the winter. He also 
attended a select school six months at Jaysville, and three months at Beamsville, 
obtaining a good common-school education. In 1862, he enlisted in the S8th O. V. 
I. Co. D,°for & three years, performing garrison duty was mustered out of duty on 



620 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

the 3d day of July. 1 805 ; returned home and taught school for a period of two years, 
after which he bought an interest in a saw-mill, which he operated for about 3 
years ; sold out and has since followed his profession, teaching during the fall and 
winter months, and canvassing in the summer. Mr. Winbigler has many warm 
friends, and is highly esteemed by all who know him ; has never been a political 
aspirant, although he has had his full share of township offices ; was Township 
( Jlerk of York for two terms, and one term as Assessor ; was elected Assessor of 
Wayne Township in the spring of 1879 ; is a firm Democrat. Was united in mar- 
riage to Miss Susan A. Lyons on the 2d day of October, 1865 ; four children were 
the fruits of this union, of whom three are living, viz. : John S., was born on the 29th 
day of May, 1867 ; Armenia J., born on the 9th day of December, 1868 ; Harry F.. 
born on the 21st day of November, 1873 ; Willie L., born on the 19th day of Sep- 
tember, 1869 ; died on the 17th day of September 1870. 

SAMUEL M.WOODS, retired farmer; Sec. 21 ; P. 0. Versailles. Henry Woods, 
the father of Samuel M., was born in Virginia in the year 1789 ; Jane, his wife, 
was born in Virginia in the year 1790 ; Mr. Woods emigrated to Hamilton, Co., 
( Hrio. in the year 1814, remaining there but three years, after which he moved to 
Preble Co., only remaining there a short time, moving to Darke Co., Harrison 
Township, in the year 1825, remained there eight years, after which he came to 
Wayne Township, where he remained till his death, which occurred on the 3d day 
of December, 1853 ; Jane, his wife, departed this life on the 13th day of May, 1841. 
Samuel M. Woods, the subject of this sketch, was born in Hamilton Co., Ohio, on 
the 9th day of June, 1817 ; lived with his parents and attended the district school 
till he was about 12 years old, after which he went with his parents to Darke Co.. 
Wayne Township, on the banks of Stillwater, where he only attended school about 
six months, there being no public schools in reach, and not a sufficient number of 
pupils in the settlement to support a subscription school, and a hard difficulty to 
obtain a building suitable for the purpose ; but by his own exertions has obtained 
a fair education. Wayne Township, at that time, being almost an entire wilder- 
ness ; lived there with his parents, helping to clear and open up a farm till the 
year 1846, after which he moved northwest of Webster, on the Huddle tract, in 
the same township, living there for about two years ; moving on the Mio farm in 
the same township, remaining there about three years, and in the fall of 1851. 
he moved on a tract of land containing 95 acres, which he bought the year pre- 
vious, where he has continued to reside ever since ; there was only about 2 acres 
cleared, but by his strict temperate habits and hard labor, connected with the help 
of his good and amiable wife, he now has under a good state of cultivation about 
80 acres. Mr. and .Mrs. Woods, have passed through the many struggles, dangers 
and incidents so common to the pioneer of the West, but with an iron will, and 
unflinching nerve, have gained the victory, and are now reaping the reward of a 
hard-earned fortune; Mr. Woods has had his full share of township offices, viz.. 
Trustee for a period of about fifteen years ; Supervisor. School Director, and served 
a term of six years as one of the' Directors of the County Infirmary : is a firm 
Democrat. Was united in marriage to Miss Harriet Harrison, on the* 10th day of 
October. 1844 ; she was born in Tennessee on the 17th day of September, L824 ; 
twelve children were the fruits of this union, nine of whom are living, viz.: Lewis, 
born Oct. 1. 1848; James, Dec. 26, 1849; Julia A.. -Jan. 10, 1852; Franklin, 
March 2, L854 ; Maw. April 10, 1855 ; Richard, Feb. 1."). 1857 ; Hannah. Nov. 21. 
1858 : Martha, Nov. 13, 1860 ; William. Jan. 12. L863 ; Clara. May 4, 1865 : Eenry 
J. and Sarah .J., deceased. 

C. BASTINE WORCH, of the Brandon House, Versailles, Ohio, was born 
in Grermany, May 17. L833 ; received a German education, after which he learned 
the bakery trade ; emigrated to America with his brother George, when but 
20 years old; landed in New Fork Aug. 20. 1853; remained but two days in 
the city : went to Dayton, Ohio; took sick immediately after arriving and lay 
nine months ; did not have any money and could not speak a word of English ; 



MONROE TOWNSHIP. 621 

worked on a farm in Montgomery Co., Ohio, for about three years, receiving 
$12.50 a month. On the 24th of December, 1857, he was united in marriage with 
Mary Thomas ; she was born in Germany Aug. 19, 1836 ; moved to New Mad- 
ison, Darke Co., where he worked at coopering about eight years ; sold out and 
engaged in the mercantile and hotel business, in the same place, for about twelve 
years ; sold out, and moved to Greenville March 1, 1877 ; kept a boarding-house 
about fourteen months, with good success ; after which, he moved to Versailles, 
where he took charge of the "Brandon House," May 1, 1879, and is doing the 
largest business of any hotel in the village. Four children were the fruits of 
their marriage, viz.: Mary L., born March 20, 1859 ; Emma L., Jan. 14, 1861 : 
George H., March 16, 1863 ; R. E., May 1, 1869. 

JOSEPH YODER, farmer, Sec. 5; P. 0. Versailles, Ohio ; was born in 
France June 5, 1807 ; lived with his parents, working on the farm during the 
summer and attending school during the winter months, obtaining a good common- 
school education ; after arriving at his majority, commenced framing on his own 
responsibility, paying $400 rent per annum for 100 acres of land, and meeting 
with fair success; embarked for America March 19, 1833, and after a long 
and tedious voyage of three months — being lost at one time — landed in New York 
in May ; moved near Utica, N. Y., bought a farm of 20 acres, where he continued 
to farm for about two years, sold out and moved to Stark Co., where he resided for a 
period of nine years on a farm ; and, in 1844, he moved to Darke Co., Wayne 
Township, Sec. 5, where he has resided ever since ; he bought 80 acres first, after 
which he added 92 acres, but has since sold 35 acres, leaving 137 acres in a good 
state of cultivation ; when Mr. Yoder moved on his land, it was almost covered 
with water, and not an acre cleared ; he built a log cabin, covered it with clap- 
boards and used a puncheon floor, which he split with maul and wedge out of 
white-oak timber : he has. by his industry, and the help of his amiable wife, accu- 
mulated a sufficient amount of this world's goods to keep them the rest of their 
days. Mr. Yoder has taken a very active part in politics, and has always voted 
the Republican ticket ; his religious impressions are mainly due to his mother, 
who was a pious, thrifty and hard-working woman, given to saving and devoted to 
her family. Was united in marriage to Miss Anna Klopenstine, in France, Oct. 5, 
1829 ; she was born in France Oct. 9, 1810 ; eight children were born to them, of 
whom four are living, viz.: Catharine, born March 7, 1832 ; Christopher, March 
1, 1835 ; John, Feb. 10, 1847 ; Mary M., July 7, 1849 ; Joseph, died Feb. 13, 1848 ; 
Barbria, May 18, 1852 ; Eli, Feb.*26, 1861 ; Anna, June 9, 1862. Mr. and Mrs. 
Yoder have passed through the many struggles, incidents and dangers so common 
to the pioneers of the Great West, and are to-day hardy and robust, at the ad- 
vanced ages of 72 and 69, an aggregate of 141 years — having shared the joys of 
connubial life for more than 50 years. 



MONROE TOWNSHIP. 

ABRAHAM ARNETT, farmer ; P. 0. Arcanum ; one of the settlers ot Darke 
Co., was born in Montgomery Co., Ohio, Sept. 17, 1825, and is the son of Henr}- 
and Mary Arnett, natives of Pennsylvania, and removed to Montgomery Co.. 
when there were but three houses where the city of Dayton now stands, and 
resided here till 1827, when he removed to Miami Co., and settled on 160 acres of 
land in the green woods ; our subject assisted his father in clearing and other 
farm labor till his 19th year, when he began life for himself, and engaged in farming, 
and removed to Darke Co., at an early day and settled on a leased farm, and man- 
aged to clear up 50 acres, which he had previously purchased which he 
sold, and immediately bought 80 acres adjoining, cleared and improved, 



622 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

and again selling out he purchased 116 acres where he now lives, which 
is in a high state of cultivation at the present time, and has first-class 
buildings erected thereon. Mr Arnctt went out into the world with 
no capital save a resolution and determination to win, and by great 
industry and perseverance, in which he has been generously assisted by 
his industrious wife. He was united in marriage with Leah, daughter of Jacob 
and Susanna Friend, Sept. 12, 1844 ; her parents were natives of Maryland and 
afterward residents of Miami Co.; three children were given to this union, viz.; 
Tobias, born Jan. 27, 1846 ; Sarah A., Jan. 8, 184.*). died Dec. 5, 1860 ; Margaret, May 
8, 1848, departed this life April 8, 1854. Mr. Arnett's father still lives at the advanced 
age of 93 years, and resides in Whitley Co., Ind. Our subject has filled the office 
of School Director for nine years in succession, and has been elected Clerk of the 
Board. Mr. and Mrs. Arnett are members of the German Baptist Church of twenty- 
five years' standing, and are consistent Christian people. 

SAMUEL M. BAKER, farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 1 ; P. 0. Arcanum. The 
subject of this sketch was born in Montgomery Co. in 1829, and is a son of Jacob 
and Sarah Baker, old residents of Montgomery Co., but natives of Somerset Co., 
Penn. When they removed to Montgomery Co., there .was only one little cabin in 
Dayton. Our subject assisted his father in the duties of the farm till his 19th 
year, when he began life for himself and engaged in farming. He was united in 
marriage with Mary, daughter of John and Elizabeth Niswonger, in July, 1849 ; 
nine children have been given to this union, viz.: Hollis, born April 22, 1850; 
Sarah lv. May 31, 1851 ; Hamilton, Oct. 25, 1853 ; Pharis, Sept. 16, 1855 ; Marv 
C., Jan. 23, 1858; Ezra, Feb. 23, 1860 ; Susanna, July 10, 1862; Lydia A., Jan. 
28, 1865 ; Aldie M., July 1, 1867. Mr. Baker has 162 acres of as fine land as is 
to be found in the county, all in a good state of cultivation, with good, comfortable 
buildings erected thereon. 

BENJAMIN BLACKBURN, deceased. The subject of this memoir is a 
martyr of his country. He was a son of Moses and Lydia Blackburn, and a 
brother of Moses and John Blackburn, whose sketches appear in this work. At 
his country's call, when the first wild notes of war were echoing and re-echoing 
over the land, young Benjamin was among the first to respond to his country's call, 
and volunteered in Company B, 110th 0. V. I.; he went bravely and resolutely 
forth to do his duty. Our informant, Mr. D. W. Niswonger, who was a member of 
the same regiment, speaks in glowing terms of the bravery and stability of the 
deceased. To the best of his recollection, he says he was in every engagement 
the regiment participated in, which was not a few, for the 110th bore the scars of 
many a well-fought and nobly contested battle, and we can fearlessly say none bore 
the brunt of battle or the fatigue of march better than this gallant band. In the 
battle of Cumberland Gap he was taken prisoner, but his fearlessness and pres- 
ence of mind enabled him to make his escape. At Monocacy, on the 9th of July, 
1864. he was again taken, and imprisoned at Danville, Ya., and afterward in the 
pens of torture and suffering at xVndersonville. He was a very robust young man, 
naturally cheerful, and bore up nobly under the brutish treatment he received, but 
hunger broke his iron will ; the filth and dirt in the prison made his quarters 
worse than a living tomb. He had not clothing to cover his body, nor blankets to 
keep him warm during the night, and not a crumb to satisfy his hunger ; for six 
months he withstood this terrible treatment, and during January, 1865, death came 
to his relief; his sufferings were ended, and the angels of mercy carried the soul 
of a martyr without the prison walls, but the mortal part was left and received 
interment where he had suffered so intensely. 

.JOHN BLACKBURN, farmer and stock-raiser. The subject of this sketch 
was born in this township, Jan. 23, 1835, and is a son of .Moses Blackburn, who 
settled here about 1830, and made the first opening on this side. Our subject was 
reared on the farm, and assisted his father in the duties of the farm till he was 26 
years of age, when he began life for himself and engaged in farming, which pur- 



MONROE TOWNSHIP. 623 

suit he has always followed ; purchased 80 acres of land in 1871, and moved on 
it in 1872 ; it was mostly cleared, and his land is in good cultivation, with fair 
improvements ; he has since purchased 40 acres adjoining the old home place, and 
now owns 120 acres. He was united in marriage with Mary, daughter of Joseph 
and Sarah Hall, Oct. 13, 186-. Mr. and Mrs. Hall are natives of South Carolina, 
and came here in a very early day ; her mother died at the age of 60 years ; her 
father is still living and resides in this township, aged 81 years ; they were parents 
of sixteen children, of whom nine are living — James, John. Tamer, Eliza, Mary. 
Amos, Joseph, William and Ezekiel Hall. Our subject began the battle of life 
empty-handed, and he has, by hard work, industry and good management, with 
the assistance rendered by his industrious and amiable wife, succeeded in making 
a good home ; they are the parents of eight children, of whom seven are living — 
Amanda, born Dec. 8, 1861 ; Andrew J.. July 7, 1863; Lvdia A., Jan. 13, 1865; 
Laura Bell. Sept. 25. 1870; Harley, Aug. 17. 1872; Hezekiah, Feb. 27, 1875; 
Lola, July 25, 1877 ; Harvey, Feb. 9, 1867, and departed this life Oct. 13, 1871. 
Both Mr. and Mrs. Blackburn have been members of the Brethren of Christ 
Church for three years, and are exemplar}* Christian people. Mr. Blackburn only 
had the advantage of such education as he could procure by his own exertions. 
Mrs. Blackburn was born May 3, 1839. Mr. and Mrs. Hall were both born in 
1809; Mrs. Hall departed this life Jan. 12, 1870; Lydia is a member of the 
same church ; is a co-worker with her parents in doing good, and is a very exem- 
plary young lady. 

MOSES BLACKBURN, farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 21 ; P. O. Potsdam, 
Miami Count}'. The subject of this memoir was born on Aug. 22, 1848, and is 
a, son of Moses and Lydia Blackburn ; his father was born in Lancaster Co., 
Penn., Sept. 22, 1812, and removed to Ohio in 1836, and settled on 80 acres of 
wild land, where he resided until his death, which occurred March 31, 1877, aged 
64 years and 6 months ; his mother was born near Hamilton, Ohio, March 25, 
1811 ; they were united in marriage in 1833. Mrs. Blackburn is still living, and 
resides on the old home place. They were the parents of twelve children, of 
whom six are living, viz.: Daniel, John, Sarah, William. Abner and Moses ; the 
deceased are Margaret, Benjamin, Elmira (died Aug. 15, 1879), Lydia, Edward 
and Hannah. Our subject was reared on the farm, and at the age of 15 he began 
life for himself, and was engaged in various pursuits until 1865, wmen he made a 
trip to McLean Co., 111., where he remained about one year, and then returned to 
Ohio ; he purchased 45 acres of land where he now resides, in October, 1873 ; he 
was united in marriage with Miss Mar}' E., daughter of Jacob and Martha Isen- 
baugh, Dec. 21, 1871 ; her parents were residents of Miami County and natives of 
Ohio ; her mother departed this life June 14, 1855, aged 27 years 4 months and 
4 days. Mr. and Mrs. Blackburn are the parents of four children, viz.: Charley, 
born Nov. 19, 1873 ; George, born Oct. 10, 1875 ; Anna, born Nov. 4. 1877 ; Cora, 
born Aug. 24, 1872, and departed this life Aug. 26 of the same year, and 
Harvey, born Jan. 17, 1880. Mrs. Blackburn was born May 23, 1850 ; Mr. Izen- 
baugh was born May 14, 1822 ; Mrs. Izenbaugh was born Oct. 10, 1827 ; they 
were the parents of three children, viz.: Matilda J., Martha A. and Mary E.; his 
second marriage was consummated with Mary E. Knee, who was born March 22. 
1836, and are the parents of six children, viz.: Joseph, now deceased, Awdine, 
Catherine B., Laura E., Florence M. and Jesse. Mr. and Mrs. Blackburn have 
been members of the Brethren-in-Christ Church for three years ; they are leading 
members of the church, and are exemplary Christian people. This denomination 
have a regular organization, just below Georgetown, of eighty visible members, 
and are presided over by the Rev. George Wright ; Abraham Wright, Elder ; 
Moses Blackburn, Deacon. Mr. Blackburn has recently purchased the east half 
of the David Heckman farm, 50 acres in Sec. 16, also a 5-acre lot in Sec. 21. 

A. C. BOBBS, physician, now a resident of and practicing physician and 
surgeon in Union Township, Miami County ; was born in Clermont County in 



624 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

the year 1888 ; he is a son of Adam and Elizabeth Bobbs ; his father was born ho 
the State of Pennsylvania, his mother in this State; his father is deceased; his 
mother is still living, and resides in .Montgomery County ; they were parents of four 
children — A.J ., physician and surgeon, residing in Warren, Ind. ; Elizabeth, now Mrs. 
John Henderson ; and Caroline, now Mrs. Dr. Tedrow. The subject of our biography 
spent his boyhood days on the farm until he had arrived at the age of 15. when he 
began the study of medicine under Dr. J. D. Gaines, of California, Hamilton Co., this 
State ; for three years he labored under the instructions of Dr. Games, engaged in 
solving the mysteries and science of medicine ; he then entered the Cincinnati Col- 
lege of Medicine and Surgery, in which he studied two terms ; he then entered the 
army as assistant surgeon, and finally entered the marine hospital at Cincinnati, in 
which he remained three years, where he received a broad experience in the pro- 
fession ; in 1803, he entered a college in Buffalo, N. Y., in which he finished his 
studies, graduating at this institution in 1864, and receiving his diploma ; he 
commenced the practice of medicine in Union, Miami County, in partnership with 
Dr. Hawkins, with whom he practiced for one year ; in 1865, he located where he 
now resides, and has built up a large and increasing practice, making a specialty 
of fevers and diphtheria. In 1861, he was married to Margaret Shellabargar, by 
whom he has had three children, viz., Charles C, Samuel 0. and E. A. Mrs. 
Bobbs is a daughter of Samuel Shellabargar, who is a native of Pennsylvania ; her 
mother, Elizabeth, is a native of this State ; both living. When the Doctor settled 
at his present location he was without means, but, by close attention to his profes- 
sion, has built up a lucrative practice, and is possessed of a good property ; in 
1878, he erected a residence in the village, which for taste and beauty in design 
and finish has no equal, in which the Doctor and his estimable wife have a desir- 
able home ; he owns 25 acres of improved land adjoining the village. 

WILLIAM L. BONHAM, retired farmer, Sec. 36 ; P. 0. Gordon ; one of the 
old settlers of Darke Co. ; he was born in Hunterdon Co., N. J., Feb. 12, 1815, and is 
a son of Ambrose and Ann Bonham, natives of the same place ; his father died in 
the place of his nativity, at the age of 81 years ; after his death, his wife came to 
Ohio, and resided with a daughter till her death, which occurred at the advanced 
age of 86 years ; our subject was reared on the farm, and assisted his father in 
agricultural pursuits till he was of age, when he began life for himself, and en- 
gaged in coopering for about fifteen }-ears, mostby in Darke Co. ; he emigrated to 
Ohio in 1838, and settled in Montgomery Co., seven miles below Dayton, where he- 
resided for thi'ee years, and then came to Darke Co., April 1. 1841. and tempo- 
rarily settled in Gordon for less than a year, when he removed to the place where he 
now resides, in Februaiy, 1842 ; his land was all in the woods, but by dint of hard 
labor and persevering industry, he soon cleared it of the mantle nature gave it ; 
he now owns 65 acres of fine land, all in a good state of cultivation, with good, 
comfortable buildings erected thereon ; Mr. Bonham is another of the self-made 
men of this township ; he landed on the banks of the Miami River, with less than 
$75, but, by good management, combined with the assistance rendered by his ami- 
able wife, has secured a competent income, from which to enjoy their declining 
years, and they are surrounded by all the comforts of life. He was united in marriage 
with Rebecca, daughter of David and Elizabeth Rittenhouse. July 1, 1837 ; they 
w^ere also natives of New Jersey, and their remains are interred in their native 
State ; Mr. H. died at the age of 81, and Mrs. II., at the age of 53 years ; Mr. and 
Mrs. Bonham are the parents of eight children, of whom four are living, viz. : Harri- 
son, born Aug. 24, 1840; Sarah, born June 29, 1844, now Mrs. Garrett Hulse ; 
Criah. born June 27, 1847 ; Martha J., born Sept. 3, 1856, now Mrs. Carler. The 
deceased are : Amy. born April 14, 1838. died Nov. 10, 1841 ; Ann, born Oct. 18. 
1842, and died Nov. I. L842 ; Andrew, born Sept, 22, 1849, died Sept. 10, 1851 ; 
Susan, born March 4. 1854, and departed this life Sept. 9, 1854. Mr. Bonham 
assessed this township in 1845, for which service he received $3.50, and was also 
Constable the same year. Mr. and Mrs. Bonham are members of the Baptist 



MONROE TOWNSHIP. 625 

Church of long standing, are among the faithful ones, and are consistent Christian 
people. Our subject has given his children good education, and his son Harrison 
is one of the leading educators of the county, and has followed the profession at 
intervals for fourteen years. At his country's call for help to preserve the unity 
of the States, and to crush the rebellious spirit of the South, young Harrison was 
one among the first to respond and volunteer in Co. B of the 110th O. V. I., 
Aug. 22, 18G2 ; the regiment was drilled in army tactics at Piqua, about two 
months, when the}* were removed to the front, in the vicinity of Parkersburg ; his 
regiment participated in the severe and stubbornly contested battle of Winchester, 
and after three consecutive days of incessant battle, were obliged to yield the 
ground on account of the overwhelming numbers of the enemy ; he received a 
severe wound in the right arm, and was taken prisoner on the morning of the last 
day's fight, and was entombed in the prison-pen at Belle Isle for one month, 
when he was paroled, and returned to his home for three months, when he was 
exchanged, and again returned to the front ; but by disease caused by exposure, 
and arm}* dirt, he was incapacitated from active duty till the following spring, 
when health and strength again returned, and he took his place in the ranks of 
his battered regiment on the eve of the great battle of the Wilderness ; in the 
first day's fight, May 5, he received a severe wound in the right hip, and was again 
taken to the hospital, where he remained for some time, and then came home on 
a furlough ; he recovered from his wound, and returned to the front in the winter 
of 1864 ; his regiment took an active part in the battles of the spring of 1865, that 
gave the death-blow to the rebellion ; he was honorably discharged May 16, 1865. 
Has followed teaching for nine years, with the exception of two terms. He cele- 
brated his marriage with Catharine, daughter of Hendrick and Elizabeth Barka- 
low, Nov. 26, 1865 ; they are natives of Butler Co., Ohio, but residents now of 
Darke Co. ; Mr. Bonham has 79 acres of fine land, all in a good state of cultivation, 
and his improvements are No. 1 in every particular. 

DAVID BRENNER, farmer, Sec. 6; P. 0. Gordon. Our subject was born in 
Darke Co. April 12, 1838, and is a son of George and Elizabeth Brenner, natives of 
Pennsylvania, who removed to Darke Co., in a very early day, and located in this town- 
ship, where he, the father, lived for two years, when he met with an accident that 
cost him his life ; he was unhitching a horse in the yard, when the animal became 
enraged and gave Mr. Brenner a terrible kick in the stomach, which caused his 
death a few hours afterward ; his mother is still living, and resides near Union 
City upward of 60 years of age. Our subject was reared on the farm, and 
assisted in the duties of farm labor ; at the age of 16, he began life for himself 
and worked as a farm-hand till his marriage, which occurred Dec. 23, 1860, with 
Susanna, daughter of John and Barbara Minnich, residents of Montgomery Co. 
afterward of this county ; he settled on 152 acres of land, where he now resides, in 
1861 ; it is now all in a good state of cultivation, with good improvements, all the fruit 
of his and his good wife's hard labor. Four children are the fruits of this union, 
of whom two are living, Barbara and John; the deceased are Mary and Ira. Mr. and 
Mrs. Brenner have been members of the German Baptist Church for sixteen years, 
and are worthy Christian people, and delight in discharging every Christian duty. 
To our subject and John Ditmore, whose sketch appear in this work, belongs the 
credit of making the first open ditch in Monroe Township in 1862 or 1863. 

JOHN S. BROWN, farmer ; P. 0. Gordon ; one of the old settlers of Darke 
Co.; he was born in Warren Co., Ohio, March 25, 1828, and is a son of Joseph and 
Mary Brown ; his father was born in Virginia, in 1800, and removed to Warren 
Co. in 1811, and was one of the earl}* pioneers of the Miami Valley ; he learned 
the blacksmith trade at the age of 18, which business he followed there, and re- 
moved to Darke Co. in this township, in 1 830, and was one of the sturdy ones who 
gave improvement and civilization a start in the great wilderness of Ohio ; he 
followed farming and blacksmithing, till, within a few years of his death, he became 
disabled and was obliged to leave the field of labor ; lived an invalid for five years, 



626 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

and died Aug. 30, 1874. His mother was born in Warren Co.; her parents were 
John and Elizabeth Snorph, natives of Maryland ; Mr. Snorph died in Montgomery 
Co. ao-ed about 86 years ; Mrs. Snorph departed this life in Warren Co., aged 
about 60 years. Our subject assisted his father in agricultural pursuits till his 
21st year of age, when he began life for himself, and engaged in farming. He was 
united in marriage with Sarah J., daughter of John and Hannah Patterson, Aug. 
17, 1848 ; her father was born in Pennsylvania in 1803, and removed to Cincinnati 
with his parents when he was 7 years old, thence to Warren Co.; from there to 
Montgomery Co., where he married Miss Hannah Witham, and resided there 
upward of thirty years, then moved to West Baltimore, and resided here till his 
death, which occurred Jan. 17, 1874 ; Mrs. Patterson died in Montgomery Co., May 
12, 1862, aged 58 years. After his marriage our subject engaged in farming in 
this township for three years, when he removed to Preble Co., and carried on a 
farm for a short time, thence back to the place where he now resides ; he settled 
on 80 acres of land partly in the woods, but, by hard labor and good manage- 
ment, he cleared it and got it in condition to receive the improved implements of 
agricultural labor ; he has since, in 1858, purchased 80 acres more land, and now 
owns 160 acres here in a body — all in a good state of cultivation, with good im- 
provements. His large brick house presents a striking contrast to the little 
cabin that stands in the yard, which was once their abode. Mr. Brown is an 
example of one of our self-made men, having begun life with no capital, but by 
hard work, industry and good management, he has accomplished the great object 
in life — made a good home, and is surrounded by all the comforts of lite, in which 
to spend his declining years ; in all his struggles and privations, such as pioneers 
know, he has been nobly assisted by his amiable and industrious wife, and both 
are enjoying the fruits of their hard-earned labor. The}' are the parents of four- 
teen children, viz.: James M., born Jan. 7, 1849 ; Mary J., June 13, 1850 ; Ellen 
C.Feb. 22, 1852 ; John, Sept. 3, 1853 ; George W., Feb. 18, 1855 ; Julia, March 
13, 1857 ; Albert, Feb. 24, 1858 ; Dora E., April 1, 1860 ; Arthur, May 7, 1862 ; 
Nellie, March 11, 1864 ; Libbie, August 22, 1866 ; Nina and Eddie (twins), Oct. 
3, 1868 ; Norman L., Dec. 15, 1871 ; Julia died April 1, 1857 ; James M., died 
Jan. 25, 1869 ; George W., died March 16, 1869 ; Eddie, died March 28, 1869 ; 
Nellie, died Aug. 12, 1869 ; Nina, died April 30, 1870 ; Mary J., nee Mrs. 
William Poach, died July 12, 1870 : Albert, died Oct. 21, 1871 ; John F., married 
Martha J. Werts, Nov. 15, 1877 ; Ellenora, married Samuel Barkalow, Feb. 13, 
1873 ; Mary J., united in marriage with William Ibach, Feb. 3, 1870. Mrs. Brown 
was born Feb. 22, 1827. Although Mr. Brown has been very unfortunate in rear- 
ing his large family, he has been one of the few fortunate ones, having only been 
sick once in his life, and then with the ague, and he informs us he was never off 
his feet, and is still hearty and strong though hard work and exposure have bent 
his frame and iron will, his faculties are unimpaired. 

WILLIAM CASSELL, minister and farmer ; Sec. 4 ; P. 0. Arcanum. The 
subject of this memoir was born in Baltimore, Md., February 3, 1826 ; he is a son 
of Leonard and Marian Cassell, natives of Maryland ; his father was born in 1803, 
and has resided in Baltimore continuously for seventy-seven years ; his mother 
died in 1835. Our subject resided with his parents till he was 12 years of age, 
when he went to Carroll Co., Md., and labored on a farm till his 21st year ; he then 
removed to Montgomery Co., Ohio ; here he entered the ministry, a field of labor 
that needed just such material as Mr. C. possessed, for fearlessly and uncomplain- 
ingly has he discharged every duty, kept inviolate every trust; his calling has 
carried him from the influences of home and friends, and he has preached the Gos- 
pel in all of the following States : Ohio, Illinois, Missouri, Indiana, Tennessee, 
Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Michigan, New York, Kentucky, 
Virginia and West Virginia; by estimate, he has preached two thousand two hun- 
dred sermons ; has consummated fifty-five marriages; for his labors in the ministry 
he has never received a cent, and is willing to go on to the end, and receive his 



MONROE TOWNSHIP. 627 

reward from the hands of One, who rewards not with script, but with a free gift of 
righteousness and forgiveness of sins, a reward more valuable than the wealth of 
kingdoms ; he is an Elder of the Painter Creek and Ludlow German Baptist Church, 
which is an extensive organization, numbering about four hundred members, and 
in this denomination has he labored nearly all his life, and is universally loved and 
respected by all. He celebrated his marriage with Miss Lucinda, daughter of 
Daniel and Mary Cauffman, Aug. 14, 1851 ; twelve children have been given to 
this union, viz.: Jesse, born Oct. 13, 1852 ; Mary A., born Feb. 23, 1854 ; Catherine, 
born Jan. 1, 1856 ; Martha, born Sept. 22, 1857 ; Albert, born Nov. 20, 1858 ; Sarah, 
born Oct. 6. 18(30 ; Harvey, born Sept 26, 1862 ; Emma, born May 14, 1864 ; Anna, 
born March 15, 1866 ; William E., born Dec. 13, 1870 ; Ida M., born Jan. 1, 1873 ; 
Irvin, born March 8, 1874 ; Catherine, died Jan. 4, 1864 ; Martha departed this life 
July 12, 1860 ; Anna died March 1, 1869. Mrs. Cassell was born Sept. 8, 1832. 
Of Mr. Cauffmans family there were ten children, of whom six are living, viz.: 
Elizabeth, Benjamin, Frederick, Catherine, Lucinda and Rachel ; the deceased are, 
Jacob, died February 1842, and three others during infancy. Leonard Cassell and 
his wife were the parents of seven children, viz. : Joseph, James, deceased, Leonard, 
Elijah, Marian and Mary. Our subject has 80 acres of farm land, all in good state of 
cultivation, with good comfortable buildings erected thereon. 

JOSEPH DITMER, farmer ; P. O., Gordon ; was born in Montgomery Co., Aug. 
31, 1828 ; he is a son of Frederick and Salome Ditmer ; his father was born in Somer- 
set Co.,Penn.,Sept. 17,1783 ; his mother was born in Maryland, Dec. 22, 1791 ; both 
removed to Montgomery County, before their marriage ; lived, died, and ai'e buried 
in the home of their adoption. Our subject assisted his father on the farm till he 
was 28 years of age, and then he began life for himself, and worked the old home 
place in partnership with his brother David for five years after the death of his 
father, when he removed to Darke County, to this township, and rented a farm for 
one year, and then, in 1859, he moved to the farm where he now resides, when it was 
a perfect wilderness, all in the green woods, with no improvements ; going to work 
with a will and determination, assisted by his industrious wife, they succeeded, after 
years of hard work, in clearing their land ; have made good improvements, and are 
contemplating building a large brick residence this year. He was united in mar- 
riage with Eva, daughter of Abraham and Rebecca Wellbaum, Nov. 30, 1854 ; her 
parents were natives of Lancaster Co., Penn., afterward residents of Montgomery 
and Darke Counties : her father died at the age of 60 years 6 months and 12 days ; 
her mother, now Mrs. Martin, resides in Union City, aged 73 years. Mr. and Mrs. 
Ditmer are the parents of six children, viz. : Sarah A., born Sept. 11, 1855 ; Mary, 
born on Aug. 14, 1857 ; Moses, born March 19, 1860 ; Fianna, born Jan. 24, 1866 ; 
William H, born July 6, 1871 ; Allen E., born March 17, 1877 ; the deceased 
are Sarah, died Feb. 15, 1863, aged 7 years 5 months and 4 days ; Frederick Dit- 
mer, died Feb. 27, 1850, aged 65 years 5 montfhs and 10 days ; Salome Ditmer, 
departed this life May 4, 1878, aged 86 years 4 months and 12 days. Mr. Dit- 
mer has held the office of School Director in his township ; he and his wife have 
been members of the German Baptist Church for fifteen years, and are good Christian 
people ; his grandfather, Frederick Ditmer, was a Revolutionary soldier, and be- 
longed to a Pennsylvania Provincial regiment, and in one of the engagements of the 
war, he with two brothers, both soldiers, were standing together in consultation, 
when the one in the middle was instantly killed by a cannon ball, literally torn in 
fragments, presenting a horrible and sickening sight to his two surviving brothers. 
Our subject's parents were members of the German Baptist Church for many years, 
and died in the triumph of their faith. Mrs. Wellbaum was also a member of the 
same church. 

GEORGE DITMORE, farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 12 ; P. O. Arcanum. One 
of the old settlers of Darke Co.; was born in Montgomery Co. in 1813, and is a 
son of Jacob and Elizabeth Ditmore, natives of Pennsylvania ; his father was born 
in Somerset Co., his mother in Lancaster Co., and removed to Montgomery Co. at 



628 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

a very early day. Our subject assisted his father in the duties of the farm till he 
was 15 years old, when he apprenticed himself and learned the carpenter's trade, 
which he followed for sixteen years ; then he engaged in farming, and removed to 
Darke Co. in April. 1851. He first settled on 80 acres of rented land, partly 
cleared, and remained on this farm for four years, then removed to the place where 
he now resides ; he first purchased 120 acres of land, all in the woods, and. like 
others who settled in Darke Co. in an early day, had plenty to do, and he informs 
us he and his wife labored many times till far into the night before they got their 
farm in a state for cultivation. In 1801, he purchased 80 acres adjoining the home 
farm. In 1858, he bought 00 acres in Van Buren Township ; afterward purchased 
80 acres more in this township, and 50 acres more in Van Buren Township. When 
he began, his capital consisted of one yearling colt and 25 cents in money ; this 
was the nucleus around which he gathered his fortune ; though insignificant as it 
was, it shows that fortunes are the growth of these small germs, when properly 
nourished, and, in this instance, we must recollect that Mr. Ditmore labored against 
many disadvantages. There are many young men who would have consumed his 
small capital with a few trifling expenses, but the outgrowth, through his manage- 
ment, has developed itself into quite a fortune, and he and his good wife are now 
enjoying the refreshing shades of retirement, the reward of their many self- 
denials. He celebrated his marriage with Miss Catherine, daughter of Jacob 
and Elizabeth Fryman, Aug. 8, 1831. They were natives of Maryland. Seven 
children are the fruits of this union, viz., John, born Aug. 4, 1834 ; Levi, born 
Jan. 14, 1830 ; Lavina, born Aug. 25. 1837 ; Israel, born Aug. 12, 1840 ; George, 
born May 10, 1842 ; Catherine, born March 31, 1840 ; one dying in infancy ; 
Israel died Oct. 13, 1855. Our subject has been Township Treasurer and School 
Director for many years, and he and his wife are members of the German Baptist 
Church, and are consistent Christian people. 

JOHN M. DITMORE, farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 12 ; P. O. Arcanum. 
The subject of this memoir was born in Montgomery Co. Aug. 4, 1834, and is a 
son of George Ditmore, whose sketch appears in this work ; he helped his father on 
the farm till he was 23 years of age, and he was only 12 years old when he came 
to this county, and has been a continuous resident here ever since. He was united 
in marriage to Mary, daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth Foreman, Oct. 23, 1850 ; 
three children wei'e given to this union, viz.: Jacob, born Nov. 29, 1859 ; Levi, Nov. 
12, 1857 ; George, June 29, 1801 ; Levi died April 22, 1800 ; George departed this 
life July 10, 1802 ; Mrs. Ditmore died Nov. 25, 1801. He was united with Mrs. 
Cunning, a daughter of the Rev. Mr. Wendall Minnich, a bishop of the German 
Baptist Church, and a pioneer preacher of this county, Aug. 24, 1802 ; eight 
children have been given to this union, viz.: Noah, born May 20, 1803 ; John A.. 
Feb. 13, 1805 ; William H, June 12. 1800 ; Daniel E , March 20, 1868 ; Amanda. 
Sept. 10, 1869 ; Malinda B, March 11, 1871 ; Sarah A.. July 30, 1874 ; Ira C.Sept. 
27. 1876; one dying in infancy. Mr. Cunning was born June 18, 1832, and died 
Jan. 20, 1859, leaving two children, viz.: Mary C. born Jan. 24, 1858, now Mrs. 
Godown ; Anna L., July 29, 1859. Mrs. Ditmore was born Nov. 11. 1838. Our 
subject has 80 acres of as good land as there is in Darke Co., all in a high state of 
cultivation, with good, comfortable improvements, the fruit of his own hard labor : 
he and his wife have been members of the German Baptist Church upward of 
twentv years, and are model Christian people. 

NOAH FRYMAN*, farmer. Set-. 13; P. 0. Arcanum. One of the old set- 
tlers of Darke County, and was born in Montgomery Co.. Ohio. Aug. 2. 1835. and is a 
son of Jacob and Catherine Fryman, both old residents of Montgomery County. 
Our subject was reared a farmer's boy, and labored on his father's farm till his 
21st 3'ear, when he began life for himself, and followed the occupation he was 
reared to. He removed to Darke County in 1848, and settled on Sec. 6. where he 
remained till 1859, and then removed to the place where he now resides. He first 
settled on 40 acres of wild land that took years of toil and privation before lie 



MONROE TOWNSHIP. 629 

had it in a condition that makes farm labor agreeable and profitable ; by great in- 
dustry and good management, he added to his little farm, till now he owns 125 acres 
of choice farming land, all in a high state of cultivation. He has been very suc- 
cessful in life, and through his own exertion he has made the greater part of his pos- 
sessions. He celebrated his marriage with Miss Elizabeth, daughter of Nicholas 
and Leah Niswonger. April 5. 1859. Her parents were residents of this township. 
Her father was killed Sept. 16, 1864; her mother died in 1839. Mr. and Mrs. 
Fryman are the parents of ten children, viz., George, born Jan. 9, 1860 ; Ananius. 
born March 17, 1861 ; Nicholas, born May 9, 1864 ; Mary C, born Dec. 17, 1866 ; 
Lewis, born Jan. 10, 1870 ; Hetta, born June 24, 1877 ; one son and three daugh- 
ters died in infancy; Mrs. Fryman was born April 27, 1840. Our subject is 
greatly interested in educational matters, and delights in educating his children. 
He and his amiable wife have been members of the German Baptist Church for a 
period of twenty years, and are generous Christian people. 

ELIZABETH A. GARRISON ; P. O. Gordon. The subject of this memoir 
was born in Baltimore, Md., Feb. 12. 1817, and is a daughter of William L. 
and Ann (Armstrong) Pierce, natives of Maryland ; her grandfather was a minister of 
the Gospel, and represented the Methodist Episcopal Church ; Mr. Pierce was a 
baker by trade ; he learned his trade in Philadelphia, with his Uncle Hay ward, and 
did business on Great York St.. Baltimore, for three years, when he died very sud- 
denly, aged about 28 } T ears ; after the death of her husband, Mrs. Pierce continued 
to live in Baltimore for about five years, when she united in marriage with Joseph 
Sharp, when they removed to Butler Co., Ohio. Mr. Sharp was a shoemaker, but 
purchased a tract of land in Darke. They remained in Butler Co. one year, then 
moved to Milton, where the}' remained one year : thence to Darke Co., where our 
subject has ever since continued to reside, covering a space of time since 1840. 
She was united in marriage with Nicholas Mays Dec. 5, 1833 ; four children were 
given to this union, viz. : Emily A., born Oct., 16, 1834; Daniel, born Sept. 14, 1836; 
Martha, born Nov 1, 1838; Clarrissa, born Nov. 6, 1840. Mr. Mays departed this 
life March 10, 1841, aged about 40 years. After the death of her husband, Mrs. 
Mays continued on the farm till her marriage with Samuel Thompson, which 
occurred April 9, 1 844, and then left the home place and went with her husband 
to his home, but Mr. Thompson only lived a short time after his marriage, when 
he was stricken down with a congestive chill, and was a corpse just eighteen 
months after his marriage with Mrs Mays. One child was given to this union, viz.: 
Minerva, born Jan. 10, 1846. When her husband was laid in the grave, she 
moved back to the Mays farm, her previous residence, where she remained for six 
years, when she was again united in marriage, with Leonard Garrison, June 19. 
1852 ; four children are the fruits of this union, viz.: Maria E., born May 16, 1853. 
Loretta, born Dec. 27,1854; Amanda, born July 24, 1857; William L., born May 4. 
1859. Mr. Garrison departed this life July 24, 1871. Emily (Mays) Penny died 
Nov. 6, 1866 ; Daniel Mays, died March 25, 1839 ; Minerva (Thompson) Bollinger, 
departed this life Feb. 18, 1875 ; Martha Garrison, died Feb. 15, 1877. Truly the 
death messenger has made frequent calls upon the family of Mrs. Garrison, but 
with true Christian spirit, she submits to the will of her Master, and through her 
faith she sees the gateway of entrance whereby she can be re-united with the 
loved ones that have gone before. She has been a member of the Methodist Epis- 
copal Church since 1832, and was happily converted at a camp-meeting in Balti- 
more, and, through all these years, her faith has never weakened, nor her reliance 
on the promises of her Savior ever grown dim. 

SILAS GILBERT, farmer. Sec. 5 ; P. ( >. Arcanum. The subject of this 
memoir was born in Frederick Co., Md., Nov. 20. 1845, and is a son of Solo- 
mon and Sarah Gilbert, natives of Maryland. Solomon Gilbert was born in April. 
1818; Mrs. Gilbert in December. 1819 ; they were the parents of seven children, 
of whom three are living, viz., Julia. Silas, the subject of this sketch, and William 
S.; they emigrated from Maryland to Montgomery Co., Ohio, in the fall of 1847. 



630 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

and settled on the same section where he now resides. Our subject assisted his 
father in the duties of the farm until he was 21 years of age, and then began life 
for himself, and engaged in farming in Montgomery County until 1869, and then 
removed to Darke County in 1870, and settled on the place where he now resides. 
He first purchased 82 acres of land, with no improvements, but has built a fine 
residence, a large barn, and made other improvements that make his home attract- 
ive and pleasant; he has recently purchased 25 acres of land near the home 
place, and now owns 107 acres of as tine land as is to be found in Darke County. 
He celebrated his marriage with Miss Frances, daughter of John and Sarah Resler, 
June 3, 1866 ; they were natives of Virginia, and settled in Montgomery Co. in 
1845. Mr. Resler died in 1847 ; his wife died near Muncie, Ind., in 1858 or 1859 ; 
they were the parents of seven children, of whom five are living, viz.: John S., 
resides in Miami Co.; James M., lives in Springfield, Ohio ; Lucy A., now Mrs. 
McGowan, resides in Dayton; Caroline, now Mrs. Baker, lives in Montgomery 
Co.; Frances, wife of the subject of this sketch. Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert are 
the parents of seven children, viz.: Sarah J., born Oct. 10,1868; Julia C, Dec. 
7, 1870; Orin S., Feb. 22, 1874; Mary C, June 28, 1876; Cora E., Feb. 1. 
1879, two dying in infanc}-. Mr. Gilbert had only the advantage of a good 
common-school education, but is greatly interested in educational matters, and is 
a contributor to the press, his articles always being honored by the same. He 
has been a member of the German Baptist Church for fifteen years, and is a Dea- 
con of the Church. Mrs. Gilbert has been in the same church for eighteen years, 
and is an energetic, consistent Christian woman. 

PHILIP HAXGEN, retired farmer, Sec. 28; P. O. Center, Montgomery 
Co., Ohio. The subject of this memoir was born in Brissin, German}-, Nov. 
3. 1817, and is a son of John and Margaret Hangen, natives of the same place. 
His father died at the age of 75 years and 11 months ; his mother at the 
age of 45 }-ears. Our subject assisted his father in the blacksmith-shop until 
he was 28 years of age, when he celebrated his marriage with Miss Catherine, 
daughter of P. and Mary (Yost) Herman, Aug. 26, 1845. He then began life for 
himself, and followed his trade for nine years in Germany, when he emigrated to this 
country, and landed in New York on the 9th or 10th of April in 1854 ; came to 
Ohio and settled in Miamisburg. where he lived one year, and then removed to 
near Gordon, in Darke County, and worked at his trade for a few years, and then 
moved to the place where he now resides in 1860. He now owns 170 acres of as 
fine land as is to be found in Darke County, all in a good state of cultivation. 
His improvements are No. 1 in every particular. When our subject left 
Gordon, in I860, his worldly wealth consisted of $40 in money and a span of 
horses. Buying his farm entirely on time, he succeeded in paying the whole 
amount in about two or three years, an example of what can be accomplished 
when energy and good management are brought to bear on points of issue. He 
and his good wife are now in the possession of a good home, surrounded by all the 
comforts of life, and are resting from their labors, for their day's work is done. 
and in the shades of retirement are enjoying their declining years. They are the 
parents often children, viz.: Phillip II. . born Oct. 4, 1846; Christian, born 
March 15, 1850; John, born Sept. 2. 1853; Jacob, born June 26, 1855; Will- 
iam and Henry (twins), born July 4, 1857; Harmon, born Oct. 4, 1859. The 
deceased are Mary, born Aug. 17, 1848, nee Mrs. Henry Bridenbaugh, died Dec. 
25, 1871 ; Catherine, born Nov. 26, 1851, died Jan. 18. 1855 ; Henry, died April 
12, 1860. Mr. Hangen has filled the office of Trustee for four years. He and his 
wife are members of the Lutheran Church, and are good, Christian people. Their 
children are also members <>f the same church. 

CHBISTIAN HANGEN, farmer, Sec. 28; P.O. Center, Montgomery Co. 
The subject of this sketch was born in Brissin, Germany, March 15, 1850, and is a 
son of Philip Hangen, whose sketch appears in this work ; he emigrated from Ger- 
many, with his parents, when he was but 3 years old, and followed the fortunes of 



MONROE TOWNSHIP. 631 

his parents till he was 26 years of age, giving his labor entire to the benefit of the 
family. He was united in marriage with Miss Sarah, daughter of J. and Margaret 
Myers, Nov. 23, 1876. Mr. Myers was born in Enshaem Bavaria, Germany, April 
8, 1807, and departed this life in Miami Co.. aged 63 years 11 months and 15 days. 
Mrs. Myers was born in the same place, April 29, 1808, and is a daughter of Nich- 
olas Hale ; she is still living, and resides with her daughter, Mrs. Hangen ; her 
parents first settled in Cincinnati, and kept a boarding-house for nine months, then 
removed to Miami Co. and purchased 143 acres of land that is still in possession 
of the family. Mrs. Hangen was born in Miami Co. April 8, 1855 ; she and her 
husband are members of the Lutheran Church, and, like their parents, are consist- 
ent Christian people, and are interested in the church. They are the parents of 
two children, viz.: Charles P., born Nov. 9, 1878 ; Lillian W., born Sept. 11, 1879. 
Mr. and Mrs. Myers were the parents of nine children, of whom seven are living, 
viz.: John, who resides in Michigan ; Daniel, who lives in Miami Co.: Charles, who 
resides in Montgomery Co.; Michael, who lives in Montgomery Co.; Margaret, now 
Mrs. Schauer, who lives in Union City, Ind.; Jacob, who resides in Sedgwick City, 
Kan., and Sarah, wife of the subject of our sketch. 

' ELI AS HART, farmer, Sec. 19 ; P. 0. Gordon. The subject of this memoir 
was born in Warren Co., Sept. 30, 1830, and is a son of George W. and Rachel 
Hart, natives of New Jersey, afterward residents of Warren Co.; his father died 
in Hamilton Co. in 1840, aged about 43 years ; his mother died in Darke Co.. 
aged upward of 70 years. Our subject was reared on the farm till 6 years of age. 
when his parents removed to Ohio. After his father's death, he followed various 
pursuits — followed farming in Montgomery Co.; thence to Preble Co., for about 
seven years, and was engaged in farming ; thence to Darke Co.. in the spring 
of 1865, where he now resides. He bought 84 acres of land, partly in the woods, 
and has relieved the surface of all hinderances to farming, and his land is all in a 
good state of cultivation, his improvements comfortable in every particular. He 
celebrated his marriage with Miss Ann, daughter of Michael and Elizabeth Baker, 
Nov. 1, 1855 ; her parents were natives of Montgomery Co.; five children have 
been given to this union, viz.: Lillian, born July 3. 1856 ; Rachel, born Oct. 25, 
1859 ; Ellen M., born May 19, 1861 ; George W., born Feb. 14, 1864 ; Charles R., 
born Aug. 10, 1872. Mr. Hart has been identified in his township's offices, and is 
now one of the Township Trustees, has been Supervisor for six terms, and filled 
the office of School Director many terms ; his constituents have elected him to 
other offices, but, being no political aspirant, he has declined. Mrs. Hart is a 
member of the German Baptist Church, and a consistent Christian woman. 

JOHN M. HENNINGER, retired farmer ; P. 0. Gordon. The subject of this 
memoir was born in Wittemburg, Germany, Nov. 19, 1804, and is a son of Christian 
and Mary Henninger, natives of Germany, who lived and died in the place of their 
nativity at advanced ages ; his father was a school teacher by profession, and was 
one of the leading educators in Germany. Our subject lived with his father till he 
was 16 years of age, when he learned the baker's trade, which he followed for five 
years, and then turned his attention to farming, which he followed for ten years ; 
he emigrated from his native home in August, 1847, to America, and landed in 
New York in September of the same 3'ear — his voyage occupying twenty -eight 
days ; he came directly to Ohio and settled in Darke County ; he purchased 120 
acres of land in this township, mostlj- in the woods ; went to work at it with a 
will and energy that is characteristic of our German citizens, and, after years 
of toil and privations, succeeded in getting his land in a good state of cultivation, 
and had good average improvements thereon ; this he sold at the expiration of 
seven }-ears and purchased 160 acres, where he now resides ; this was all in the 
woods, but by his accustomed skill and industry he soon cleared it of its heavy 
growth of timber, and his land is now in a high state of cultivation, and has fair 
improvements erected thereon ; he began life in America with only a capital of 
$700, and, by industry and good management, he has a pretty home in which to 



632 BIOGRAPHICAL SKP]TCHES: 

■end his declining years ; he informs us that his good wife has bravely assisted him 
in all the arduous duties of life and has borne her full share of the trials in the 
struggle since their pathways were united. He was united in marriage with Bar- 
bara", daughter of Michael "and Barbara (Schiller) Creeb, Nov. 22, 1829, and by 
this union have had twelve children, viz. : Barbara, born June 1, 1830. now Mrs. 
Daller, and resides in Dayton ; John, born Sept. 23, 1832, and died Nov. 15, 185G ; 
John F., born Aug. 22, 1834. died January 16, 1857 ; John H., born Feb. 29, 1836, 
died Nov. 20, 1857 ; Margaret, born April 21, 1837, now Mrs. Scheiding ; Sophia 
C, born Aug. 31. 1838. died Nov. 23, 1858 ; Rosanna C„ born April 2, 1831, died 
Sept. 20, 1856 : Catharine, born Nov. 22, 1839, died Sept. 22, 1858 ; Charles, born 
June 6, 1841 ; Frederick W., born March 7, 1843, died March 24, 1843 ; John, 
born Sept. 23, 1848; Frederick, born April 17, 1851, died in August, 1858 ; Mrs. 
Henninger was born Aug. 29, 1808. Mr. and Mrs. Henninger, with their children, 
are members of the Lutheran Church, and are earnest Christian people. 

JACOB HINSEY, farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 1 ; P. 0. Arcanum ; one of 
the old settlers of Darke County, he was born in Cumberland Co., Penn., in 1816, 
and is a son of John and Mariah Hinsey, natives of Lancaster Co., Penn. Our 
subject assisted his father on the farm till he was 25 }-ears old, when he removed 
to Ohio with his parents and settled just below Hamilton, and resided here for 
four years, when he removed to Montgomery County, where he remained till 1840. 
when he came to Darke Count}*, where he now resides ; he first purchased 82 acres 
of land, which he has cleared up and improved, and in addition, owns a fine lot 
in Arcanum ; his father died at the age of 84 years, and his mother at the age 
of 80 ; he celebrated his marriage with Catherine daughter of Jacob Baker, in 
1840, and by this union had eight children, viz., Susanna, Mahala, Sarah, Cath- 
erine and Samuel ; three deceased ; some time after the death of his first wife, 
he celebrated his marriage with Elizabeth Smith, who was born in Berks Co., 
Penn. ; two children have been given to this union, viz.. Mariah E. and William ; 
he has been a member of the German Baptist Church for sixteen }-ears ; is one of 
•our self-made men, having begun life with $1 in his pocket, but owed just 50 cents 
more than his cash assets. 

ABBAHAM HUNT, blacksmith, Sec. 4 ; P. O. Laura, Miami Co., Ohio. The 
subject of this sketch was born in Miami Co. Dec. 3, 1834, and is a son of Elijah 
and Susanna Hunt ; he assisted his father in the labors of the farm till his 23d 
year, when he began life for himself, and chose Darke County as a proper place of 
settlement, as well as a suitable place for his business ; he operated a thrashing 
machine in this county for ten years, and was ver}* successful ; he next resumed 
his trade (blacksmithing), which he learned in Miami County, in which business 
he is at present engaged. He celebrated his marriage with Miss Elizabeth, daugh 
ter of George and Nancy Funderburg, March 19, 1856 ; her father was born in 

1802, and still resides in Miami County ; Mrs. Funderburg was born in January. 

1803, and died at the age of 67 years ; they were the parents of eleven children, 
of whom seven are living — Noah, Sarah (now Mrs. Timmons), Susanna (now Mrs. 
Wellbaum), Henry, Elizabeth (wife of the subject of our sketch). Nancy (now Mrs 
Aldridge), Catherine (now Mrs. Altic). Mary (now Mrs. Aaihart). Barbara (now 
Mrs. Christe). Mr. Hunt has been identified in most of the local offices of the 
township, having served as Justice of the Peace. Supervisor. Constable, Assessor 
and School Director, his constituents having elected him man}' times to fill the 
same offices, which is ample proof of his executive ability, and of giving perfect, 
satisfaction to his fellow-townsmen ; they are the parents of four children, viz. : 
Isaac A., born Feb. 27, 1858 ; Philonzo, Feb. 24, I860 : Susanna J.. Feb. 26, 1871 ; 
Daniel, Aug. 24. 1805. and departed this life Da'. 13. 1865. 

BICHABD M. HINT, farmer and stock-raiser. Sec. 5 ; P. 0. Laura. Miami 
Co., Ohio; the subject of this sketch was horn in Miami Co., Ohio, in May. 1837. 
and is a son of Elijah and Susanna Hunt, old residents of Miami Co. ; he assisted 
his father in the duties of the farm till his 21st year, when he besjan life for 



MONROE TOWNSHIP. 638 

himself, and engaged in farming ; he settled in Monroe Township, where he now 
lives, in October, 1859, and has 80 acres of good land, all in a high state of culti- 
vation, and his improvements are No. 1 in every respect ; our subject only 
had the advantage of a common-school education, but by making good use of his 
time he succeeded in obtaining a fair education in the English branches, and is 
making strenuous efforts to give his children a good education. He was united in 
marriage with Rebecca, daughter of Jacob and Susanna Oakes, in November, 1858 ; 
two children were given to this union, viz.: Eunice A., born Nov. 9. 1861 ; Osborne 
T., born Oct. 4, 1863; Mrs. Hunt departed this life Dec. 24. 1865 ; was born Feb. 
3, 1840 ; she was a member of the Christian Church, and died trusting in the 
promises of her Savior ; Mr. Hunt was again united in marriage with Sarah J., 
daughter of Samuel and Rosanna Hay worth, Dec. 15, 1867 ; her parents were 
natives of Miami Co., Ohio ; eight children have been given to this union viz.: 
Parlena, born Dec. 20, 1868 ; Dora E., born Jan. 31, 1870 : Mary E., born July 
13, 1871 ; Rosella, born April 21, 1873 ; Albert L., born Jan. 8, 1875 ; Marcellus, 
born Feb. 13, 1877 ; Otwell, born Feb. 24, 1878 ; one dying in infancy ; Parlena 

-departed this life July 13, 1873 ; Rosslla died Dec. 15, . 

RALPH HUNT, farmer, Sec. 5 ; P. 0. Laura, Miami Co. The subject of 
this memoir was born in Miami Co. March 27, 1824, and is the eldest son of 
Elijah and Susanna Hunt, old residents of Miami Co., but natives of South Caro- 
lina ; his father was born Dec. 18, 1800. and was a continuous resident of Miami 
Co. for nearly sixty years ; he removed to Iowa in 1855 or 1856, and died in the 
winter of 1858 ; his mother was born Sept. 3, 1806, and departed this life Nov. 29, 
1841. In a very early day, the early pioneers of Miami Co. were visited by a terri- 
ble and destructive hurricane ; their cabins were hurled from their foundation like 
so much chaff, large trees were uprooted and thrown down, stock and people alike 
suffered from the fury of this storm. Mr. Hunt's grandmother was terribly injured 
by the falling trees, and two of her children were blown in among the tree tops 
and killed, one was impaled on a limb, and its body was taken down after the fury 
of the storm. Our subject lived in Miami Co. about twenty-two years, and was 
engaged in farming, and removed to Darke Co., where he now resides, in 1846. He 
first settled on 80 acres of wild land, and went to work with his ax to remove 
the vast quantity of timber and underbrush — to prepare it for the implements of 
agriculture — and by dint of hard labor he has accomplished his purpose, 
and now owns 123 acres of choice farming land, well improved. He has 
-a vivid recollection of the great star shower of Nov. 13, 1833, and he 
informs us the air was full of the descending meteors, and, was literally a rain 
of fire from the heavens ; many people of a superstitious nature thought that the last 
day had come — that Gabriel with his trump was at hand to speak the summons of 
departure. He was united in marriage with Sophia Walker, Aug. 30. 1845 ; they 
were the parents of seven children, viz.: Henry, born July 25. 1846 : Elijah, born 
Oct. 4, 1848 ; Abraham, born June 6, 1850 ; Susanna, born Dec. 18, 1851 ; Phoeba 
J., born Oct.' 24, 1853; Theodore, born Jan. 18, 1855; Arlistus, born Sept. 18, 
1857 ; Wesley, born March 16, 1859. Mrs. Hunt departed this life April 26, 1859 ; 
Elijah, died Aug. 27, 1849 ; Susanna, died March 21, 1871 ; Wesley, died Aug. 
16, 1859. He was again united in marriage with Lydia Walker, by whom he had 
eight children, viz.: John W., born Jan. 1, 1861, died Sept. 14, 1861 ; Ida A., born 
Jan. 6, 1862. died Au£. 28, 1862 : Delmont, born Jan. 22, 1863. died March 27. 
1863 ; Sophia E., born April 11, 1864 ; James A., born May 18, 1865 ; Martha 
A., born Dec. 17, 1866 ; Charles M., born Feb. 3, 1868 ; Albert, born Nov. 29, 
1869, died Sept. 21, 1870 ; Mrs. Hunt departed this life May 1, 1874. He was 
again married, to Rachel Walker, Feb. 19, 1876. Mr. Hunt has been identified in 
most all the township offices, which is ample proof of his executive ability, and of 
satisfaction being given to his fellow-townsmen ; he is one of our liberal Christians, 
and believes in doing right, and knows it can be done regardless of creeds or 
denominations. 



634 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

JOHN KRESS, farmer ; P.O.Gordon. The subject of this memoir was born 
in Wittenburg, Germany, June 15, 1825, and is a son of George M. and Mary Ann 
Kress, natives of Germany. Our subject assisted his father in the duties of the 
farm till his 1 Oth year, when he learned the baker's trade, which he followed for 
five years, and then abandoned on account of injury to his eyes, caused b}' the 
excessive heat; he emigrated to America in July 1849, and landed in New York 
City, his voyage occupying forty days ; immediately after landing, he started for 
Ohio, and in Darke Co. he went to work as a farm hand for one year, then to 
Montgomery Co. and labored another year, when he rented a farm for five years ; 
thence to Preble Co. where he rented for one year, and was now able to buy land . 
came to Darke Co. and purchased 80 acres in Sec. 20 ; it was mostly in the woods, 
but by his own hard labor he cleared and improved and made a No. 1 farm, 
the result of his industry and good management ; he lived on this farm upward 
of nineteen years, when he purchased 80 acres on Sec. 19, in 1868 ; this was partly 
in the woods with no improvements, but he has cleared it and built a large house, 
barn, and made other improvements of such a nature that to-day he has the best 
farm buildings in Monroe Township, and his land is in a high state of cultivation ; 
he was united in marriage with Eve Henkle, Nov. 13, 1851 ; ten children have been 
given to this union, viz.: Noah, born Sept. 8, 1852 ; Henry, born July 16, 1854 ; 
Eve K, born Feb. 17, 1856 ; Anna M., born July 3, 1857 ; George C, born Nov. 
21. 1858 ; John M., born Nov. 23, 1860; Lewis, born July 14, 1862 ; Samuel, born 
Sept. 28, 1864; Charley, born July 24, 1866; Frederick A., born July 28, 1870. 
Noah was married to Belle, daughter of Elias Harte ; Anna M. was united in mar- 
riage with Aaron Davenport ; the}' reside on the farm Mr. Kress first purchased. 
Mr. Kress has been identified in his township's offices, having served his neighbors 
and friends in the capacity of Trustee for five years in succession, Pike Superin- 
tendent for three 3'ears, School Director for four years, and in all he has discharged 
his duty fearlessly, and to the satisfaction of his constituents. Both Mr. and Mrs 
Kress are members of the Lutheran Church, and are good, consistent, Christian 
people ; they have been very fortunate in rearing their large family of children,, 
having lost none by death, and we believe he and Mr. Shank, whose sketch appears 
in this work, are the only ones in this township that can say as much. 

JOHN J. KUHNLE, farmer, Sec. 1 8 ; P. 0. Gordon. The subject of this memoir 
was born in Wittemburg, Germany, in 1821, and is the son of Philip and Julia 
Kuhnle. natives of Germany ; our subject assisted his father in agricultural pur- 
suits till he was 28 years of age ; in 1848, he emigrated to America ; he came to 
.Montgomery Co., Ohio, where he resided for sixteen years and engaged in farming. 
then he came to Darke Co., where he purchased 80 acres of land in 1865 ; his land 
shows good cultivation, and his improvements are good and substantial ; in 1872, 
he purchased 50 acres adjoining his home farm, and now owns 130 acves of valu- 
able land. He was united in marriage with Miss Mary, daughter of Mr. Henkel. 
in 1851 : five children have been given to' this union, viz.: Elizabeth, born March 
31, 1852 ; Caroline, Dec. 31, 1853 ; Eve, Aug. 29, 1857 ; Victoria, March 5, 1864 ; 
William, Oct. 8, 1868 ; Elizabeth was married April 1, 1872, to Adam Kohns ; Mrs. 
Kuhnle departed this life July 27, 1877, and her remains are interred in the Gordon 
Cemetery ; she was born Jan. 25, 1832. 

SUSAN AH LONG ; P. 0. Potsdam, Ohio. The subject of this memoir 
was bom in Montgomery Co., Ohio, Feb. 13, 1823, and is a daughter of David 
and Elizabeth Smith ; they were born in Pennsylvania and removed to Mont- 
gomery County in a very early day, and were among the early pioneers of 
that county ; her father died at the age of 48, and her mother at the age of 62 
years; they were the parents of seven children, of whom five are living, viz.: 
John S., Solomon, Mary, Esther, and the subject of this sketch, who was united 
in marriage with Abraham Long, now deceased, May 14, 1846 ; they resided in 
Montgomery Co. for sixteen years after their marriage, when they removed to 
Darke Co., where she now resides ; she owns 80 acres of land where she resides. 



MONROE TOWNSHIP. 



635 



all in a good state of cultivation, with good average improvements erected 
thereon. Mr. Long was born in Pennsylvania Feb. 18, 1818, and departed this 
life May 25, 1863 ; he was a son of Abraham and Ann Long, natives of Pennsyl- 
vania, afterward residents of Montgomery Co.; they died at advanced ages ; they 
were 'the parents of five children, viz., Christian, Elizabeth, Nancy, Fanny and 
Abraham. Mr. and Mrs. Long are the parents of thirteen children, of whom eight 
are living, viz.: John, born Feb. 28, 1847 ; Henry, Aug. 6, 1848 ; Rose A., Jan. 26, 
1858 ; Joseph. Sept. 27, 1854 ; David, July 11, 1856 ; Ellen M., June 21, 1859 ; 
Daniel, Dec. 14, 1860. The deceased are— Elizabeth, born Jan. 1, 1850 (died May 
9 1878 nee Mrs. Aaron Pearson, leaving two children, viz., Esty, born Feb. 13, 
1872, and Ellis, bora Sept. 1, 1873 ; both are adopted by their grandmother) ; 
Noah born May 17, 1851, and died in infancy ; Moses, born March 17, 1852, also 
died in infancy ; Sarah J., born March 26, 1853, and died Sept. 6, 1877 ; Esther, 
born Sept. 27, 1854, and died Aug. 1, 1855 ; William, born July 11, 1862, and 
departed this life Dec. 18, 1863. Mrs. Long has been a member of the Christian 
Church for twenty-four years, and is an exemplary Christian woman, and though 
her sorrows and bereavements have been many, her Christian fortitude has never 
forsaken her, but to the contrary, each affliction has added strength to the chain 
of tender ties that connect her with departed loved ones. 

FREDERICK MILLER, farmer, Sec. 6 ; P. 0. Arcanum, was born in Ger- 
many in 1823 and emigrated to America in 1846, and landed in New York in June. 
He came to Montgomery Co., where he worked at the mason trade for about 
two years, and then removed to Darke Co. in 1850, and settled in Franklin Town- 
ship, where he purchased 120 acres of land. He resided here about fourteen 
year's, when he sold out and moved to Monroe Township, where he now resides, 
and purchased 165 acres of land. It was partly in the woods, but he has cleared 
it all, and his land now is in a good state of cultivation, with good, comfortable 
buildings thereon. He was united in marriage Jan. 18, 1849, with Susanna, 
daughter of Jacob and Susanna Flory, natives of Pennsylvania ; six children are 
the fruits of this union, viz.: Mary A., born March 24, 1850 ; Susanna A., born 
Oct. 28, 1851 ; Jennie, born June 10, 1853, died Oct. 21, 1860 ; John F., born Oct. 
24, 1856 ; Ammala, born March 23, 1860 ; Barbara M., born Jan. 8, 1863. Mr. 
Miller's father was born in Germany in 1792, and died at the age of 83 years. 
His mother, Mary J. (Gieser) Miller was born in 1801 and died in 1861. Mrs. Mil- 
ler's father, Jacob Flory, was born in Somerset Co., Penn., July 4, 1801, and died 
in September, 1853. Her mother, Susanna (Smith) Flory, was bora in Virginia, 
October, 1802. Mr. and Mrs. Miller have made all their worldly wealth by their 
own hard labor and enterprise, and now have a good home, in which to enjoy their 
declining years. He has been Trustee and School Director of his township. Mr. 
Miller is a member of the Lutheran Church, and his wife belongs to the German 
Baptist Church. Mrs. Miller was born July 3, 1827. 

GEORGE MILLER, farmer, Sec. 19 ; P. O. Gordon ; the subject of this 
sketch was born in Wittemburg, Germany, Oct. 5, 1817, and is a son of Charles 
and Dora Miller, both natives of Germany ; his father died in Germany, aged o3 
years ; his mother died in America, aged 81 years ; his father was a cabinet- 
maker by trade, but our subject became" a stonecutter, and afterward learned the 
carpenter's trade, which he followed while he lived in Germany ; he emigrated to 
this country in August, 1847, and landed in New York ; came to Ohio and settled 
in Darke Co. ; he purchased 62 acres of land all in the woods, but, going to work 
with a will that is characteristic of our German citizens, he soon cleared off the 
timber, and got his land in a state of cultivation, and now has good improvements 
erected thereon ; he commenced life with a very small capital, but by energy and 
persevering industry, in which he was nobly assisted by his good wife, overcame 
and bridged the broad gulf of poverty and adversity with the chain of determina- 
tion, and they are comfortably moored in a harbor of rest — secure from the chilling 
blasts of adversity. He was united in marriage with Catherine, daughter of 



636 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

Michael and Barbara Creel), April 12, 1840 ; twelve children are the fruits of this 
union, viz.: John, horn April 1. 1841 ; Catherine, born Oct. 11, 1844 ; Rose, born 
Feb. 14, 1846 ; Margaret, bom April 1, 1848; Elizabeth, born Nov. 1, 1849: 
Lydia, born April 1, 1851 : .Man. born June 16, 1852 ; George, born June 2. 
1854 : Frederick, born March 16, 1856 ; David, born Feb. 27, 1858 ; Margaret, 
born June 22. 1860 ; Charles, born July 2, 1862. Margaret, died Nov. 15, 1854 ; 
Frederick, died Sept. 23, 1860 ; Rose, died Dec. 9, 1873. John was married to 
Rebecca Shank, daughter of Peter Shank, in March, 1869 ; Catherine married Nel- 
son Marcum, in March, 1870 ; Elizabeth married George Schmeltcher, July 2. 
1872. Mr. and Mrs. Miller are members of the Lutheran Church, and are consist- 
ent Christian people ; Mrs. Miller was born Jan. 8, 1820. 

NELSON MOTE, farmer ; P. 0. Arcanum ; the subject of this memoir was 
born in this township, May 30, 1842, and is a son of Noah and Catherine Mote : 
his father was the third actual settler in this township. Our subject assisted his 
lather in the duties of the farm till his 17th year, when he began life for himself, 
and at his country's call for men to preserve the honor of the flag and save the 
Union in the impending crisis, he enlisted in Company B of the glorious old 110th 
O. V. I. Aug. 17, 1862, and went resolutely forth to do whatever his country 
required of him ; he was stationed at Piqua about two months, and then his regi- 
ment was sent to Parkersburg, W. Va,, in October, where they remained two 
weeks, thence to Clarksburg. W. Va., where his regiment did camp duty till 
Christmas, and then did fortification duty till June, 1863, and was then ordered 
to the front, stationed at Harper's Ferry ; his regiment belonged to the 3d Divi- 
sion of the 3d Army Corps ; in the spring, they were transferred to the 6th Army 
Corps ; his regiment participated in the engagement at Winchester, and afterward 
in the ever-memorable and disastrous battle of the Wilderness, that raged with 
unabated fury all through the month of May, in 1864 ; here the regiment lost 
heavily, but our subject escaped uninjured ; the battle of Cold Harbor followed 
almost immediately, and the old 110th was again plunged into the thickest and 
hottest of the fight, and came out with thinned ranks, crippled and torn, and only 
a shadow of its former strength ; here our subject received a severe wound in the 
left hand, entirely losing theforefinger, and shattering the bones in his hand in a 
terrible manner ; this wound incapacitated Mr. Mote from further duty till the 
15th of December, when he again joined the regiment at Petersburg. Va., and was 
engaged in the terrible and destructive battles of that renowned stronghold in 
March and April of 1 864, and on April 2 he received two wounds, one in the breast, 
and the other behind the left ear, the ball passing clear through his head, and coming 
out by the side of his nose ; he was again taken to the hospital, this time to City 
Point, and afterward to the hospital in Washington, where he remained till he 
was honrably discharged from the service, May 19, 1865, having served his country 
well and faithfully for two years nine months and two days : he now returned 
home, completely broken down from wounds, exposure and privations of war, and 
was unable to do much manual labor, but did all he could. He was united in 
marriage with Miss Sarah, daughter of George and Mary Hansberger. Aug. 16, 
1866 ; her parents were residents of Darke County : her lather was born in Vir- 
ginia in 1810, her mother was born in Kentucky in 1816. and came to Darke 
County in isi':', ; Mr. Hansberger came in 1835 ; they were married in 1840, and 
are the parents of six children, of whom three arc living. Mr. Mote has filled the 
office of Supervisor for one term : Mrs. Mote is a member of the Christian Church, 
and is an exemplary Christian woman. 

GEORGE NETZLEY, deceased. The subject of this memoir was born 
in Lancaster Co., Penn., Nov. 5, 1823, and was a son of George and Eliza- 
beth Netzley, also natives of Pennsylvania, and removed to Montgomery County 
in 1835 and settled on a farm, where they lived till 1873. when they removed to 
Franklin Township. Darke Co., and resided till their death. Mr. Netzley, Sr.,died 
in the summer of 1875, aged 78 years; Mrs. Netzley departed this life in 1876, aged 



MONROE TOWNSHIP. 637 

75 years ; Geo. Netzley, our subject, settled in Monroe Township in 1859, on the 
same farm where his widow now resides ; he was united in marriage with 
Miss Catherine, daughter of D. and Mary Cauffman, July 13, 1846, they being* 
natives of Pennsylvania ; eight children are the fruits of this union, viz. : Mary. 
born Dec. 3, 1847 ; Urias, born Sept. 25, 1849 ; Joseph, born July 11, 1851 ; Eh\ 
born Jan. 27, 1855 ; Allen, born Feb. 10, 1857 ; Jesse, born April 12, 1861 ; Ros- 
etta, born Nov. 7, 1865 ; David A., born Aug. 30, 1871. Mr. Netzley departed this 
life Sept. 7, 1879, aged 55 years 10 months and 2 da}*s ; his death was caused b}' 
accident, his arm being caught in the cylinder of a thrashing machine, and before 
he could be extricated he was terribly injured ; the accident happened on Monday, 
and he lingered till the following Sunday, when death came to his relief ; Mr. 
Netzley purchased only 60 acres when he first settled in Darke County, but by 
careful management and persevering industry he kept adding to his small farm 
until his death, when he was in possession of 290 acres of as fine land as there is 
in the county, with fine buildings erected thereon, the fruits of his hard-earned labor. 
DAVID W. NISWONGER, carpenter and builder ; resides on Sec. 7 ; P. O. 
Arcanum. The subject of this sketch was born in Darke County Jan. 6, 1843. 
and is a son of John Niswonger, whose sketch appears in this work. Our subject 
assisted his father in agricultural pursuits till his 1 8th year, when at his coun- 
trys' call, he was one of the first to respond, and volunteered in Co. K, of the 
19th I. V. I., and afterward belonged to the 2d Corps, in the Arm}* of the Potomac ; 
he passed through several severe engagements, the first at Slaughter Mountain, the 
second battle of Bull Run, South Mountain, and the battle of Antietam, where he 
received a severe wound in the left breast that rendered him unfit for military 
duty, and he was obliged to repair to the hospital, where he remained for six 
months, when he was honorably discharged from the service and returned to his 
home, and remained for nine months, but, still thirsting for the smoke and excite- 
ment of battle, he again enlisted in Co., B, of the 110th O. V. I., and returned to 
the front, and passed through the desperate and sanguinary battle of the Wilder- 
ness of 1864, where so many brave boys laid down their lives, merely to appease 
the clamorous cry raised by the North, of-' On to Richmond ;" nothing of advan- 
tage was accomplished by this battle, but the heaps of dead and dying were 
ghastly witnesses of the great sacrifice of life to our brave bo} T s in blue, and their 
noble and heroic commander, McClellan, was stigmatized as an inefficient leader, 
because he led where popular sentiment demanded, but absolutely contrary to the 
better judgment of men posted in military tactics ; after this came the battle of 
Spottsylvania. the " Slaughter-pen," where, our subject informs us, the dead lay in 
literal heaps, and large trees were shattered by the terrible rain of iron hail ; he 
was at Cold Hai'bor. and in fact all the fighting that was gone through by the Army 
Potomac, in the great campaign of 1864. At Monocacy Junction, in Maryland, he 
was taken prisoner, and sent to Danville, and was in the hands of the rebels seven 
months and thirteen days, when he was exchanged, and came home on furlough and 
reported at Camp Chase, but on account of ill health, and shattered constitution, 
caused by the fearful exposure in rebel prison pens, and the brutal treatment he 
received at their hands, he was honorably discharged from the service of his country 
in 1865. He returned home and labored on the farm for two years, and then engaged 
in harness-making in Pittsburgh for four years, when he sold out, and has followed 
carpentering from then till the present time. He was united in marriage with 
Elizabeth, daughter of David and Nancy Oldmine, May 19, 1867; her father was 
born in Pennsylvania, and her mother in Virginia. Mr. and Mrs. Niswonger are 
the parents of six children, viz.: William H, born Oct. 7, 1869 ; Hetta, V., born 
April 16, 1872 ; Sarah E., born July 25, 1874 ; Clifford, born Dec. 21, 1876 ; Harry, 
born Sept. 7, 1879 ; one dying in infancy. Our subject has had his full share of 
township offices, having served as Township Clerk for six } T ears, Township Asses- 
sor five years. His wife is a member of the German Baptist Church, and an exem- 
plary Christian woman. 



638 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

ELI NISWONGrER, farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 17 ; P.O. Arcanum; was 
born in Montgomery Co., Ohio, Aug. 31. 1836, and is a son of George and Eliza- 
beth (Warner) Niswonger. His father was born in the same county in March, 
1800, and died in the place of his birth, aged 70 years 4 months and 4 days. His 
mother was bora in Pennsylvania in January, 1811, and died in Montgomery Co., 
aged 57 years. They were the parents of six children, of whom all are living but 
one, which died in infancy. Our subject assisted his father in home duties until his 
21st year, when he began life for himself and engaged in farming, which he fol- 
lowed in his native county until 1864, when he removed to Darke Co., on the place 
where he now resides. It contained 90 acres, all in its wild state when he 
began operations on it, but by persistent labor he has deprived it of its native gran- 
deur, and now it is in a good state of cultivation and well improved. He was united 
in marriage with Miss Mary H., daughter of Jesse and Eliza Cauffinan, Feb. 3, 
1859. Her parents were residents of Montgomery Co. Her father died at the age 
of 48 years and 9 months. Her mother is still living, at the advanced age of 07 
3'ears. They were the parents of ten children, of whom all are living but four. 
All reside in Dayton but one, who resides in Tippecanoe, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Nis- 
wonger are the parents of eight children, viz.: Laura Belle and Dora Ellen 
(twins), born April 17, 1862 ; Orrie, born April 7, 1864 ; G-eorge, born March 18, 
1866 ; Jesse and Ira (twins), born Jan. 27, 1873 ; Willie, born April 5, 1875 ; 
Webby, born July 14, 1877 ; Ira departed this life June 27, 1873. Mr. Niswon- 
ger has had the honors of petty offices conferred upon him by his constituents, 
and has performed his duties to the satisfaction of the public. Our subject was 
instrumental in causing the erection of School District No. 7. He circulated a 
petition and obtained the signatures of all the householders in the new district 
some eighteen months before it was presented to the Board, and was rewarded for 
his time and trouble, and has a good school with an enumeration of eigtOy-one, in 
close proximity to his own house. 

DAVID NISWONGER, farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 17 ; P. O. Pottsdam, 
Miami Co., Ohio. The subject of this memoir was born in Montgomery Co., Ohio, 
May 29, 1834, and is a son of George and Elizabeth Niswonger ; Mr. Niswonger was 
born in Montgomery Co. March, 1809, and lived and died on the place where he was 
bora, aged 70 years 4 months and 4 days ; Mrs. Niswonger was born in Pennsyl- 
vania January, 1811, and died in Montgomery Co., Ohio, aged 57 years ; they were 
the parents of six children, of whom all are living but one, who died in infancy — 
David (the subject of this sketch), Eli (whose sketch also appears in this work), 
Catharine (now Mrs. Peffly, and resides in Franklin Township), May (now Mrs. 
W anger, lives in Montgomery County) and Moses who resides in Michigan. Our 
subject assisted his father on the farm till his 21st year, when he began life for 
himself, and worked his father's farm on shares for two years, and burned lime for 
a season ; then removed to Darke County and settled on the farm where he now 
resides, when it was mostly in the woods ; he immediately set to work to clear off 
the heavy timber, and, going at it with a will, he soon accomplished a large part 
of the work, and, at the expiration of six j r ears, he purchased a steam saw-mill, 
which he operated for four years, but was very unfortunate in this undertaking 
as the mill was twice destroyed by fire, and he was a loser of all the labor and 
money he had furnished ; he then turned his attention to the farm again, and has 
followed this occupation ever since; he has 90 acres of good land, all in a good 
state of cultivation, and the improvements are all first-class ; Mr. Niswonger has 
been very unfortunate in life ; in 1868, the first year after he resumed work on the 
farm, he lost upward of $ 1 00 worth of hogs from cholera ; the second year, he 
lost the best horse he had, which cost him $140 to replace ; the third year, he was 
terribly afflicted with sickness in his family, and doctor bills, etc., cost him a Large 
amounl of money ; in 1871, he lost his entire crop, except some barley and wheat,, 
by a terrible hail-storm that swept over his locality, and was a heavy loss to him ; 
since then, the sunshine of peace and prosperity has dissolved the lowering clouds 



MONROE TOWNSHIP. 639 

of adversit}', and all has gone well ; free from pecuniary loss, he has escaped the rav- 
ages of disease, and the elements no longer play sad havoc with his growing grain. 
He celebrated his marriage with Miss Anna, daughter of Jacob and May Pebbly, 
March 14, 1857; they were natives of Penns}"lvania, and removed to Montgomery 
County in 1823 ; Mr. Pebbly was born in August, 1801 ; Mrs. Pebbly was born in 
1803 ; they were the parents of ten children, viz., Lydia (now Mrs. Flory, resides 
in Montgomery County), Sarah (now deceased, formerly Mrs. Prizen resided 
in Indiana), Fanny (now Mrs. Flory, resides in Montgomery County), John (who 
lives in Darke County), Mary (now Mrs. Landis, formerly Mrs. Cloppert, who 
lives in Montgomery County), Anna (wife of the subject of this sketch), Jacob 
(resides in Darke County), Simon (lives in Montgomeiy County), Samuel (resides 
in Miami County), Benjamin (started for Kansas the 16th of December, where 
he intends to make a home) ; Mr. and Mrs. Niswonger are the parents of 
seven children, viz.: Moses, born June 14, 1858 ; Mary E., March 12, 1861 ; Clem- 
ent L., Sept. 1. 1863; Charles E., March 26, 1868; Cora, Sept. 27, 1870; Sarah. 
Nov. 30, 1873: Edwin A., Aug. 21, 1877; Clement departed this life Oct. 15, 
1863 ; both Mr. and Mrs. Niswonger are members of the German Baptist Church, 
and are worthy Christian people ; he was once an inveterate user of tobacco, but, 
finding it was undermining his health, he resolved to quit, and did ; his receipt for 
a cure is, <; never put it in your mouth, and don't use it in any way, shape or form." 
JOHN NISWONGER, farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 18 ; P. 0. Arcanum ; to 
the subject of this memoir we are pleased to accord a place in the front ranks of 
the early pioneers of Darke Co. ; he was born in Montgomery Co., Ohio, Ma} T 28, 
1815, and is a son of John and Elizabeth Niswonger, who were born in Virginia 
about 1786, and removed to Ohio in 1807, and settled northwest of Dayton about 
twelve miles, where they resided till Mr. Niswonger's death, which occurred in 
1850 ; some years after the death of her husband, Mrs. Niswonger removed to 
Darke Co., and resided with her daughter, Mrs. Samuel Baker, till her death, which 
occurred when upward of 70 years of age ; they were the parents of nine children, 
of whom five are living, viz.: John, the subject of this sketch ; Eli, a resident of 
Montgomery Co. ; Frances, now Mrs. Benjamin Baker, and resides in Mont- 
gomery ; Elizabeth, now Mrs. Samuel Baker, and lives in the same county ; May, 
now Mrs. Samuel Baker, and resides in Darke Co. The deceased are George, 
died aged 71 years ; Rachel (Mrs. Michael), aged 68 years; Nellie (Mrs. Swank). 
aged 38 years ; Nicholas departed this life at the age of 47 years. Our subject 
assisted his father on the farm till his 21st year, when he began life for himself, 
and rented a farm in Montgomery Co. for two years, and then removed to Darke 
Co. in 1837 ; he purchased 180 acres of land, built a cabin immediately and went 
to work to clear up his land, which was covered with a dense growth of heavy 
timber and underbrush, and, by dint of hard labor that required energy and perse- 
verance, he and his good wife, after years of toil and privations, such as the early 
pioneers of Darke Co. know, have, with their combined efforts, made a home in 
which to end their declining years, full of every comfort and happiness and 
refinement, and are dwellers therein. Our subject has been very successful all through 
life, and added to his original purchase 160 acres in Sec. 18, and removed to this 
place in 1878, where he still resides. He was united in marriage with Miss 
Susanna, daughter of David and Esther Warner, Sept. 3, 1835. Mr. Warner was born 
in Bedford Co., Penn., April 3, 1787, and died Nov. 13, 1862. Mrs. Warner was 
born in the same county in 1788, and died Sept. 13, 1872 ; they removed to Mont- 
gomery Co. in 1811, and settled on a farm ; they were the parents of seven chil- 
dren, of whom five are living, Susanna, now Mrs. Niswonger; Catharine, now Mrs. 
Leechy, and resides in this county ; John, resident of Miami Co. ; Jacob, resides 
in this county ; David, a resident of Madison Co., Ind. The deceased are Henry. 
died Sept. 22, 1841 ; Elizabeth, died in 1867, aged 56 years. Mr. and Mrs. Nis- 
wonger are the parents of twelve children, viz. Maiy, born Jan. 9, 1837 ; Catharine, 
born July 11, 1838; George, born Nov. 3, 1839; Elizabeth, born April 13, 



640 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

1841 ; David, born Jan. 6, 1843; Esther, born March 4, 1845 ; Lydia, born April 
20, 1847 ; Luanda, born Sept. 2, 1851 ; John C born July 22, 1853; Harvey, 
born Sept. 16, 1855: Nicholas J., born June 1, 1857, and Harriet. Elizabeth 
departed this life Aug - . 14, 1870. Mr. Niswonger has spared neither pains nor 
expense to educate his children, John, Harvey. Nicholas and Harriet being suc- 
cessful educators, and are leaders in the profession ; our subject and his wife 
have been members of the German Baptist Church for twenty-six }*ears, and are 
zealous Christian people. 

JACOB PRESSLER, farmer ; P. 0. Gordon. Born near Sultz Oct. 5, 1835 ; 
is a son of Martin and Catherine (Roth) Pressler, who were married in Germany 
in 1834. Mrs. Pressler died soon after the birth of our subject, hence he was the 
onty child by the union. Martin was again married in 1836, to Susan Bass, 
and by this union there were eight children, of whom seven are now living. In 
early life, he served an apprenticeship of carpentering, after which he devoted sev- 
eral 3-ears to traveling over the continent of Europe. Being a man of remarkable 
ingenuity, a large portion of his time was devoted to the manufacture of public 
and town clocks, cabinet-organ cases, etc. He also served a length of time in the 
military service of his country. On the 30th of June, 1848, he and his family 
emigrated to the United States, landing in Dayton, Ohio, in August following. He 
soon found employment in a machine-shop in Miamisburg ; continued the same 
until 1860, when he moved to Darke Co. and followed farming until his death,. 
which occurred Dec. 5, 1868. His widow survived him until June 9, 1878, when 
she, too, passed away. Our subject was employed in a machine-shop in Miamis- 
burg from the age of 16 to 19 years. He then engaged in agricultural pursuits, 
which he has since followed. In 1862, he was united in marriage with Margaret 
Surber ; nine children are the fruits of this union, of whom eight are now living. 
Upon his marriage, he purchased 40 acres of land in Sec. 24, Monroe Township, 
which he has since brought from its wild condition to a good state of cultivation 
by his own hard labor. He has, since a resident of Darke Co., held the office of 
Township Clerk three } T ears, Township Trustee six years, and School Director nine 
years. 

GEORGE PUTERBAUGH, farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 8 ; P. O. Potsdam. 
Miami Co., Ohio. The subject of this memoir was born in Pennsylvania Dec. 7, 
1811, and is a son of Samuel and Eve (Croner) Puterbaugh, who moved to Mont- 
gomery County, near Dayton, in 1814, and were among the early pioneers of that 
county ; our subject was only 5 years old at the time, and remained at home and 
assisted his father on the farm, as his help was a grand acquisition to his parents. 
to assist in clearing the heav}' growth of timber that everywhere met the eye of 
the settler before the land could be satisfactorily tilled ; our subject has lived to- 
see the monarchs of the forest succumb to the onward march of civilization and 
improvement ; the ax has done its work, the forest has been leveled, the wil- 
derness made to blossom as the rose ; at the age of 20. our subject served an appren- 
ticeship under his brother and learned the blacksmith's trade, which he followed 
for three years, when he again resumed farming, and labored for his father's ben- 
efit till he was 26 } T ears of age, when he went out into the world to battle for an 
existence, amid the turmoil and strife of the world's doings, with no capital save a 
horse that was a present from his father; he rented a farm in Montgomery County, 
which he carried on for three years, and Avas very successful, making about $1,500, 
which enabled him to purchase 160 acres of land, for which he paid $3,200 ; he 
now being a real-estate holder, he went to work with renewed energy and a deter- 
mination to clear himself from debt, which he soon accomplished, and had suffi- 
cient ahead to buy 80 acres more land, for which he paid |2,600 ; he resided on 
the farm for twelve years, when, in 18(10. lie purchased a water paper mill, on the 
Stillwater, but was not successful in this undertaking, as he suffered a loss of 
$8,000 ; thus the fruits of labor were swept from him in a short time, that took 
years of incessant labor to amass ; in 1866, he removed to Darke County, where he 



MONROE TOWNSHIP. 641 

purchased 240 acres of land where he now resides. Samuel Puterbaugh was born 
in Franklin Co., Penn., in February, 1790, and was a son of George and Mary 
Puterbaugh, natives of Pennsylvania ; their parents were European born on both 
sides, and died at advanced ages ; his mother was born in Bedford Co., Penn., in 
1790 or 1791, and died in 1849, aged 58 years ; his father died, aged 59 years ; they 
were the parents of eleven children, of whom seven are living. Our subject was 
united in marriage with Miss Sarah, daughter of Jacob and Elizabeth Weybright, 
May 26, 1836. and are the parents of eleven children, viz.: Harriett, born Aug. 13. 
1837 ; Samuel, born Jan. 8, 1840 ; Jacob, born Aug. 28, 1842 ; Allen, born March 
16, 1845 ; John E., born Jan. 9, 1851 ; Mary, born April 24, 1853 ; Davis, born 
May 23, 1855 ; Sarah C., born April 26, 1857 ; Sarena, born April 24, 1859 ; 
George W., born March 3, 1863 ; Emma J., born March 16, 1865 ; John E. died 
Sept. 27, 1852 ; Samuel died Sept. 28, 1853 ; Sarah C. died April 28, 1857 ; Emma 
J. died Jan. 11, 1868 ; George W. died March 5, 1863 ; Jacob married Miss Sarah 
Wagner March 20, 1863 ; Allen married Hannah Spittler April 7, 1868 ; Harriet 
married John Kessler the latter part of March, 1858 ; Davis married Thurzy H. 
Porter Feb. 10, 1876 ; Sarena married Ira Landis May 4, 1878 ; Mary E. married 
John Oaks Oct, 3, 1878 ; Mrs. P.'s father was born in Somerset Co., Penn., in the 
latter part of the eighteenth century, and removed to Montgomery County in 1800; 
Mrs. P. was born about the same time as her husband, and emigrated from Penn- 
sylvania to Ohio on horseback ; they were married in 1812, and were the parents 
of nine children, of whom seven are living. 

JOHN SCHEIPING, farmer ; P. 0. Gordon ; the subject of this memoir was 
born in Saxon}', Germairy, Aug. 8, 1827, and is a son of Nicholas and Christena 
Scheiding, natives of Germany : our subject assisted his father on the farm until 
he was 25 years of age, when he began life for himself, and labored as a farm hand 
for two years ; in the fall of 1853, he emigrated to America and landed in New 
York, his ocean trip occupying three weeks ; he came directly to Montgomery Co., 
Ohio, and worked in a flax-seed mill for three winters ; he afterward followed 
other pursuits, and in 1868 he removed to Darke Co., and rented a farm for four 
years, in this township, and then purchased 40 acres of land, where he now resides; 
it was parti}* cleared, but without any improvement worth}' of note ; but to-day, 
his small farm is in a high state of cultivation, with a good house, barn and other 
improvements of a good, substantial character, all the fruits of their own labor, as 
Mr. Scheiding began life with no capital. He was united in marriage with Miss 
Margaret, daughter of George Henninger (whose sketch appears in this work), Feb. 
7, 1863 ; seven children have been given to this union, viz.: John, born in 1863 
Albert H., born Sept. 25, 1864, died Jan. 21, 1867 ; Gustave, born April 28, 1867 
George M.. born Feb. 8, 1869 ; Charles A., born March 1, 1870, died Dec. 1, 1871 
Frederica L... born Jan. 1, 1872 ; Charles A., born Oct. 24, 1874. Mr. and Mrs. 
Scheiding are lifelong; members of the Lutheran Church. 

ANDREW J. SERBER, farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 18 ; P. O. Arcanum. 
To the subject of this sketch we are pleased to accord a place in the front rank of 
the early settlers of Darke Co.; he was born in Rockingham Co., Va.. Nov. 25, 
1837, and is a son of Andrew and Caroline (Hansberger) Serber, natives of Ver- 
mont ; his father was born in 1799 and died in this township aged 54 years 11 
months and 17 days : his mother was born in 1807 and died in this township aged 
71 years 10 months and 25 days. Our subject spent his early life on a farm, and 
assisted his father in agricultural pursuits till the age of 22, when he began life 
for himself and carried on the old home place in partnership with his brother 
Robert for about four years ; then selling his interest, he purchased 80 acres of 
land in Franklin Township, all in the woods ; after clearing 20 acres, he disposed 
of this land and purchased 92 acres, where he now resides, and by dint of hard 
labor, he has cleared the balance and has good, comfortable and substantial 
buildings erected thereon ; he has been very successful in life, and he and his good 
lady have undergone their full share of toil and privation and now are enjoying 



642 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

the fruits of their toil and are surrounded by all the comforts of life. He cele- 
brated his marriage with Susannah, daughter of Henry and Esther Bowers. April 
21, 1864 ; Mr. and Mrs. Bowers were natives of Pennsylvania, afterward residents 
of Montgomery Co. Mr. Bowers departed this life Oct. 5, 1864 ; he was born 
May 16, 1815; Mrs. Bowers (now Mrs. Zumbrunn) resides in Montgomery Co.; 
she was born Aug. 20, 1820 ; they were the parents of four children ; 
Mr. and Mrs. Serber are the parents of three children, viz.: Esther, born 
April 6, 1865 ; Mary E., Oct. 26, 1867 ; Elmer E., July 18, 1870 ; Mr. and Mrs. 
Serber have been members of the German Baptist Church for three years and are 
good Christian people and take a lively interest in the promulgation and 
advancement of Christianity. Andrew Serber, Sr., was the father of eleven chil- 
dren, viz.: Charles, born in 1830 ; Joseph and John (twins) in 1833 ; Robert, in 1839 ; 
Caroline, in 1844 ; Mary E., in 1840 ; Emeline, in 1843 ; Amanda, in 1852 ; George W., 
in 1855 ; Margaret, in September, 1857 ; Mary E., died in March, 1856 ; Charles in 
June, 1856; Henr} T Bowers was the father of four children, viz. : Jeremiah, born Oct. 7, 
1831 ; Susannah, Aug. 30, 1843 ; Elizabeth, June 24, 1846 ; John, Feb. 9, 1849. 

PETER SHANK, farmer, Sec. 33 ; P. O. Center, Montgomery Co., Ohio. To the 
subject of this sketch we are pleased to accord a place in the advance brigade of 
early pioneers in Darke Co. He was born in Lancaster Co., Penn., May 28, 1803, and 
is a son of Christopher and Catherine Shank, natives of the same place — lived, died 
and are buried in the place of their nativity. His father departed this life in 1825, at 
the age of 45 years, and his mother at the advanced age of 91 years. Our sub- 
ject assisted his father in tailoring till his 21st year, and then began life for him- 
self, and followed his trade to gain a livelihood. After his father's death, he 
resided with his widowed mother for four years, when he was united in the bonds of 
matrimony with Miss Barbara, daughter of John and Mary Keener, Jan. 12, 1830. 
They were natives of Dauphin Co., Penn., and their remains are peacefully at rest 
on the hillsides of their native place. Our subject removed to Montgomery Co., 
Ohio, with his young wife, the same year of their marriage, and settled seven miles 
north of Dayton, and resided there for four years and worked at his trade ; in 
1834, he came to Darke Co. and settled on the place where he now resides ; he 
first purchased 160 acres of land, consisting of woods and almost impenetrable 
swamps ; he erected a small log cabin, and began the great task of making a 
farm in the heart of a mighty wilderness, with no improved implements of indus- 
try such as we possess now to assist and lighten the heavy work of clearing ; ax 
and muscle then were the essentials, and he who had not plent}' of the latter was 
certainly an object of pity, for strength, muscle and the power to endure priva- 
tions were the keys that opened the great wilderness and sustained the pioneer in 
those trying days. Our subject and his good wife have passed through the differ- 
ent phases of pioneer life, and for fifty years this day, the anniversary of their 
marriage, have they labored together, shared each other's joys, partaken of each 
other's sorrows, each has been a helpmeet to the other, and, although their frames 
are bent with the weight of years and incessant toil they are in the enjoyment 
of good health aud strength, with faculties unimpaired ; they are the parents of 
nine children — Nancy, born Oct. 2, 1830 ; Catherine, born Oct. 10, 1831, died 
aged 15 months ; Lydia, born Sept. 26, 1833 ; Elizabeth, born Aug. 14, 1835 ; 
Catherine, born Dec. 24, 1837 ; Henry, born Mav 10, 1840; Susanna, born Nov. 
13, 1844 ; Margaret, born April 5. 1847 ; John" born Sept. 3, 1850. Mr. Shank 
was the first Justice of the Peace in Monroe Township after its erection, and has 
be.en identified in most all of the offices in the Township, and is a man with con- 
siderable executive ability ; he is a member of the Brethren in Christ Church, and 
his wile belongs to the German Baptist ; both are Christian people in every sense 
of the word, and are universally beloved and respected by all ; they have been 
very fortunate in rearing their large family, having lived in Darke Co. tor a period 
of forty-five years without a death in the family ; in May, 1879, the death messen- 
ger entered the family of his daughter, Mrs. John Miller, who resides in Washington 



MONROE TOWNSHIP. 643 

Township, and removed three of its members from earth to heaven — Lydia on 
the 19th of May, and her sister Ara on the 21st following, and all that was mortal 
of these two innocents was consigned to the same tomb ; but its ravages did not 
stop here, and little Peter fell a victim to the scourge, and was carried away to 
angels' home on the 29th following. 

RILY SHILT, farmer ; P. O. Gordon ; the subject of this memoir was born 
in Preble County, March 21, 1835, and removed with his parents to the same Sec- 
tion where he now resides in 1839 ; his father was born in Adams County, Penn., 
Oct. 7, 1790, and died July 21, 1876 ; his mother was born May 31, 1799, and 
departed this life Jan. 4, 1872. Our subject was reared on the farm, and assisted 
in the duties of the same till he was 21 years of age ; in 1862, he volunteered in 
Company B of the 110th 0. V. I., which was attached to the 8th Corps, and 
afterward to the 6th Corps ; his regiment was engaged at Winchester for three 
consecutive days, and Riley informs us it was " mighty hot " in that neighborhood 
for awhile ; at Wapping Heights, they stood the brunt of the battle, but the mor- 
tality of the regiment was not as severe as at Winchester ; after this fight, he was 
transferred to the Ambulance Corps, and many a poor fellow has Riley lifted from 
the field and carried to the rear ; at the battle of the Wilderness, he labored for 
seven days and nights in removing the dead and wounded, and his horses were 
out of harness only once, day and night being employed to remove the heaps of 
wounded and slain ; he was honorably discharged from the service of his country, 
July 2, 1865, having served two years ten months and eleven days. He was 
united in marriage with Catherine Poach, Pec. 26, 1867 ; one child was given to 
this union, viz., Sarah A., born Jan. 22, 1869 ; Mrs. Shilt departed this life April 
6, 1872. He was again united in marriage with Marian Flory, April 7. 1873, and 
by this union have one child, viz., William E., born Aug. 22, 1874. Our subject's 
father died in Darke Count}', aged 52 years ; his mother departed this life in 
Indiana, aged 62 years. He has 40 acres of land where he resides, all in a good 
state of cultivation, with good average improvements. 

ADAM N. SMITH, farmer and stock-raiser ; Sec. 30. The subject of this 
sketch was born in Maiyland, in 1828, and is a son of George A. and Nancy Smith ; 
they were natives of Maryland; his father died in 1875, and his mother is living 
and resides in Carroll Co., Md.; our subject was raised on a farm and assisted his 
father in the same till he was 25 yeai*s of age, when he began life for himself and 
followed farming for seventeen years, when he removed to Montgomery Co., where 
he resided for seven years ; thence to Baltimore, in Preble Co., where he remained 
for one year ; thence to the place where he now resides ; he first purchased 40 acres 
of land, mostly in the woods, and by hard work and good management, he suc- 
ceeded in clearing oil' his land, and it is now in a good state of cultivation ; he has 
since purchased 38 acres, and now owns 78 acres in all ; his improvements are 
good, and he bids fair to be one of our leading farmers ; he was married to Eliza- 
beth, daughter of George Wagner, Feb. 1, 1853 ; they are natives of Frederick Co., 
Md., afterward reidents of Montgomery ; her father died in 1876 ; her mother is 
still living and resides in Montgomeiy. Mr. and Mrs. Smith are the parents of 
five children, Ida E., Martha F., William S., Charles G., George J. Mr. Smith has 
been a member of the M. E. Church for thirty-five years ; Mrs. Smith is a member 
of the German Baptist Church, of twenty years standing ; both are old soldiers of 
the Cross, and are leading members of the church they represent — good exemplary 
Christian people. 

ADAM SMITH, farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 36 ; P. O. Gordon. The sub- 
ject of this sketch was born in Wittenburg, Germany, Nov. 7, 1818, and is a son 
of Frederick and Catherine Smith, natives of the same place. His father died 
when he was quite young, and his mother when he was 13 years of age ; his father 
was a shoemaker by trade, but our subject was a weaver, and followed his trade in 
various places. He came to this country in 1848, and landed in New York, his 
voyage occupying eight weeks. He went from there to Pennsylvania, where he 



644 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

remained five weeks, and then went to Cincinnati, and was employed on the river 
steamers, and made runs to New Orleans for about two months, when he aban- 
doned the river and came to Dayton, where he was employed for some time, and 
then to Miami Co., remaining for six years, working in a tan-yard ; thence to near 
Miamisburg, for five years, and followed farming. He was united in marriage 
with Miss Elizabeth, daughter of Frederick and Elizabeth Stover, Oct. 15, 1854. 
They were natives of Pennsylvania, afterward residents of Montgomery Co. ; both 
are dead, dying at advanced ages. Mrs. Smith was born in Montgomery, Sept. 24, 
1824. Mr. Smith is one of our self-made men, as he began life with no capital, 
and he has, by good management and industry, made a good property ; in all his 
trials and labor he has been nobly assisted by his wife, and they now own 80 acres 
of land, all in a good state of cultivation, and his improvements are No. 1 
in every particular, all made by their hard, earnest labor, and the}' have a good 
home, surrounded by all the comforts of life. They are the parents of only one 
child, John A., born July 17, 1859. Mr. Smith has been a member of the Lutheran 
Church all his life, and is a consistent Christian gentleman. 

ELI AS SPITLER, farmer : P. 0. Gordon. The subject of this memoir was born 
in Adams Co., Penn., May 16, 1821, and is a son of Jacob and Mary Spitler, natives 
of Pennsylvania, afterward residents of Montgomery Co. Our subject was reared 
as a farmer boy, and assisted in the work of the farm till he was 27 years of age. 
He was united in marriage with Miss Eliza, daughter of John and Ruth Heater, Feb. 
24. 1848; they were natives of Pennsylvania. After his marriage, Mr. Spitler began 
life in good earnest ; he had no capital, in fact not $5 at the time of his mar- 
riage. He engaged in farming in Montgomery Co., till 185G, when he removed to 
Darke Co., on the place where he now resides. He purchased 80 acres of land, 
partly in the woods, and, by the united efforts of himself and lady, which combined 
energy with determination, they overcame all the obstacles of life, and the fruit of 
their toil is a beautiful home, surrounded by all the comforts of life. Children — 
Rufus, born April 26, 1849; Anna M., born July 15, 1850; Harriet, born May 30, 
1852; Amanda, born Sept. 10, 1861 ; Rufus departed this life in the bloom of young 
manhood, Nov. 23, 1871, aged 22 years 6 months and 27 days, leaving his young 
bride to mourn his departure, they only being married four months ; Amanda, 
departed this life March 5, 1873, aged 19 years 5 months and 20 days ; she was 
Mrs. Harvey Ludy and left a husband and one child. Mr. Spitler has been Trustee 
of his township for three years, and has been School Director for many years. 
He and his good wife have been members of the Lutheran Church for a period of 
thirty-five years, and are universally beloved and respected by all who know them. 

ELIAS F. STAUFFER, farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 7 ;*P. O. Arcanum. The 
subject of this memoir was born in Montgomery Co. April 13, 1835; his father was 
born in Pennsylvania and his mother in Virginia, and removed to Montgomery Co. in 
a very early day. and are still living at advanced ages. Our subject assisted his 
father in the labors of the farm, till his majority, at which time he began life for 
himself, and followed the occupation of his father ; he worked on a rented farm in 
Montgomery Co. for a period of seven years, when he removed to Darke Co., 
in 1866, where he purchased 80 acres of land, where he now lives; he has since 
bought 45 acres more adjoining his first purchase, and all is in a good state of cul- 
tivation and well improved. His property is the fruit of his and his wife's hard labor. 
He was married to Anna, daughter of Daniel and Rebecca Bollinger, Dec. 28, 1858 ; 
they were natives of Pennsylvania, and removed to Ohio in a very early day ; her 
father is dead, her mother is still living, and resides with the subject of our sketch. 
Mr. and Mrs. Stauffer an; the parents of seven children, viz.: Lucinda, born March 
13, L 860; John, born May 17. 1862; Benjamin born Feb. 18, 1865; Harvey born 
Jan. 15, 1870 ; Hettie, born Nov. 24. 1872 ; Lydia, born March 13, 1874 ; Samuel, born 
Feb. 18, 1867. and died in infancy. Mr. Stauffer has tilled the office of School 
Director several terms, having had only the advantages of a common-school edu- 
cation. lmt is considerably interested in educating his children. He and his amiable 



MONROE TOWNSHIP. 645 

wife, are members of the German Baptist Church, and are among the zealous 
workers in the church. 

A. G. STROBEL, farmer ; was born in Wurtemberg, Germany, his father 
dying when he was but 6 years old : till the age of 14, he lived with a man named 
Carl Weis, to whom he afterward was apprenticed to learn the trade of wagon- 
maker, paying therefor $30 in money, and clothing himself. After this term of 
apprenticeship expired, he traveled several weeks, and at last located in Heilbronn. 
where he worked one year ; in the spring of 1834, he obtained work in Cannstadt. 
from a man named Neff ; March 1, 1835. was drafted in the army and served as 
an artilleryman two years, when he was placed in one of the arm}- wagon-shops, 
where he remained seven months. In the winter of 1840, he wrote to a brother in 
America for money to get across the water with, and in the following July landed 
in New York without a cent in his pocket ; he made his way to Pittsburgh, Penn.. 
where a brother lived, where he remained a short time, then, after a long and tedious 
passage on the Ohio, he arrived in Cincinnati ; here he worked three weeks for his 
board, and afterward on a farm at $1.50 per da}* ; on the 16th of October, he arrived 
at Da}'ton, via canal, where he passed the winter at his brother's house, having 
no work ; in 1842, he returned to Cincinnati and began work at his trade, but, as 
he was only a short time employed, he returned to Dayton ; afterward he worked 
at farming for Carl Port. Was united in marriage with Phebe Schwerk, by whom 
he had three children, the youngest (twins) died at birth, the eldest was placed in 
care of its grandmother ; the summer after the death of his first wife, he was mar- 
ried to Leily Freeman. June 25. Mr. Stroble has been unfortunate in losing, by 
fire, his wagon-shop, valued at from $300 to $400, also a barn and contents valued 
at $3,000. 

JESSE STUTSMAN, minister, educator and farmer ; the subject of this 
memoir was born in Montgomery Co., Ohio, Oct. 29, 1833, and is a son of David 
and Francis Stutsman, natives of Pennsylvania ; they removed to Montgomery 
Co. in 1802, when there were but three houses where the beautiful city of Dayton 
now stands ; he cleared four farms in this county, and endured all the hardships 
and privations incident to pioneer life, and in 1860 he disposed of the old home 
farm and removed to Polk Co., Mo., where he died the following year, from the 
effects of exertion and the troubles of war ; his mother, after the death of her 
husband, returned to Ohio, to escape the horrors of guerrilla warfare, and remained 
about seven years, and then moved to Kansas to spend her declining }-ears with 
her daughter, and died in September, 1877. Her son-in-law, Mr. Herr, who 
resided in Missouri, was foully shot down by the rebel bushwhacker, Powell, and. 
before the close of the war he was captured in Arkansas, handed over to a Missouri 
regiment, court-martialed, sentenced to death and shot. In the winter of 1857. 
our subject emigrated to Cedar Co., Mo., and engaged in farming ; here he was 
very unfortunate, losing all his property, and was thus thrown entirely upon his own 
resources ; in 1858, he returned to Miami Co. and engaged in teaching, which 
occupation he followed for two years, when he removed to Montgomery Co. and 
still continued to follow his profession ; he only received a common-school educa- 
tion, and is one of our self-made men in every respect, and is a successful and 
proficient educator ; in 1869, he removed to Darke Co.. where he now resides, and 
purchased 87 acres of land, all in a good state of cultivation, the fruit of his labor. 
Mr. Stutsman is a representative of the German Baptist Church, and has labored 
in the ministry for twelve }-ears ; he was united in marriage with Miss Martha, 
daughter of Martin Hyser, Nov. 7, 1857 ; Mr. Hyser emigrated from Lancaster 
Co., Penn., in 1850, and located in Montgomery Co., is still living, and is upward 
of 83 years of age, the oldest man in Butler Township ; Mrs. Hyser departed this 
life Jan. 2, 1875, aged 75 years and 1 day ; was born Jan. 1. 1800. Mr. and Mrs. 
Stutsman are the parents of nine children, viz. : Francis E., born July 1, 1861 : 
Willis H.,born Jan. 11, 1864; Charles A., born Aug. 27. 1866 : Franklin M., born 



646 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

Dec. 18, 1868; Anna M., born' July 3,1871 ; Susella. born Aug. 26, 1873; Ira 
M., born June 1, 1875 ; infant daughter dying in infancy ; Marcus D died Aue 
27. I860, aged 6 months 20 days. 

ROBERT SURBER, farmer; P. 0. Arcanum; born in Montgomery Co 
Ohio. Dec. 18, 1838; in 1840, he with his parents came to Darke Co.; his father 
died in 1852, and mother in 1878. Our subject remained at home with his mother 
until 1865, when he united in marriage with Catherine Rhoads, and, from the date 
of his marriage until his mother's death, he was her support. Mr. and Mrs. Sur- 
ber :ire the parents of seven children, of whom six are living, viz.. Sarah J., Amos 
Mary Etta. Emma. Minnie and Ira. At the time of their marriage, they had but 
little by which to commence in life, and have since, by hard labor and economy 
accumulated 126 acres of splendid land in Sec. 13, Range 3 east, valued at about 
!ro,000. 

SAMUEL SWANK, farmer, Sec. 24 ; P. 0. Gordon, Ohio ; was born in 
Montgomery Co. Oct. 25, 1836, and is a son of Jacob and Sarah Swank. Mr 
Swank was born in Kentucky, and Mrs. Swank was born in Pennsylvania ; his 
father died at the age of 79 years, his mother at the age of 52 years. Our subject 
was reared as a farmer's boy, and assisted his father until he was 21 years of aa-e. 
when he began life for himself, and engaged in farming in Montgomery Co. for 
three years on his father's place ; thence to Darke Co. and purchased a steam saw- 
mill, which he managed for thirteen years, and still has the mill in his possession ; 
he purchased 124 acres of land, where he now resides in 1867 ; it was all in the 
green woods, which he has cleared up, so it is all in a good state of cultivation . 
his improvements are second to none in the township ; his fine house, now in the 
course of erection, is an ornament to the farm and shows the taste and o-ood 
judgment of the builder ; his property is the fruit of his own hard labor and good 
management. He was united in marriage with Miss Catherine, daughter of Paul 
Tobias, Feb. 28, 1861, and resides in Montgomery Co. Four children have been 
given to this union, viz.. Sarah, born March 20, 1864 ; Ira, April 21, 1866 ; Elmer 
Aug. 1, 1870 ; Clement L., born in April, 1863, died in Sept. 1864. Mr. Swank 
has been School Director for a period of three years ; he only had the advantages of 
a ( ommon-school education, but experience has made him a close calculator^ and 
he is greatly interested in educational matters, and is giving his children 'o- 00 d 
educations. 



TWIN TOWNSHIP. 

SIMPSON ALBRIGHT, retired tanner ; P. O. Arcanum. Another of the 
old settlers of Darke Co. He was born in Anderson Co. East Tenn.. in 1804 and 
is a son of Philip and Christena Albright, natives of North Carolina. He removed 
with his parents to Preble Co., Ohio, in the year 1814. In 1820, he returned to 
rennessee, and remained till 1826, when he came back and permanently located in 
Darke Co., in Twin Township, in 1834. He was united in marriage with Mis* 
Mary, daughter of Henry and Mary Snoderly. natives of North Carolina, Nov. 9, 
1828. Twelve children have been given to this union, viz., Johnson K Henry M 
Henderson L., Daniel S., Philip S., William K, Adam C, Catherine S., Sarah Eliz- 
abeth, Mary and Martha M., the latter dying in infancy. Henry departed this life 
in August, 1878, aged 48 years, leaving a wife and five children* to mourn his loss 
He was a member of the United Brethren Church in Christ, and died as he had 
lived, relying absolutely on the promises of his Savior. Mr. and Mrs. Albright 
had seven sons in the army at one time, and he informs us he offered his services 
to his country if they would supply him with teeth with which to bite the cart- 
ridge ; they all returned to their homes uninjured except Philip, who received two 



TWIN TOWNSHIP. 



647 



flesh-wounds ; while these patriotic boys were in the front, suffering the dangers 
and privations of cruel and devastating war, their heroic and patriotic mother took 
the implements of labor in her own hands, and, with a determination and resolu- 
tion that is the offspring of patriotism, entered the field, and, with her own hands, 
cultivated 16 acres of corn, and doing other labor of great fatigue. Mr. and Mrs. 
Albright have been members of the church for fifty years, and are greatly inter- 
ested in religion, and in their declining years it affords them great satisfaction that 
they have not labored in vain, their children being co-workers with them in achiev- 
ing righteousness. His son William has been a minister of the Gospel for eight 

JACOB BISH, grocer and tobacco dealer, Arcanum ; born in Carroll Co.. 
Md., Nov. 19, 1823, where he remained until about 1839, after which, during life, 
he learned three trades, viz.: tanner, carpenter and machinist ; in his youthful days 
received no education ; after his maturity, voted to introduce the public school 
svstem and donated the land for the first schoolhouse in his township ; on April 
24 1845, he united in marriage with Mary Jones, and by this union have one child ; 
they remained at the place of his nativity until 1855, when they emigrated to 
Pavton, Ohio, where he soon found employment in a machine-shop and was engaged 
in various pursuits until 1866, at which time he bought a farm, for $6,000. near West 
Sonora. Preble Co., Ohio, and moved on it ; he soon after sold it, and in 1872 came 
to Darke Co. and bought a farm near Arcanum, what was then known as the Coons 
farm, which he afterward laid out in town lots and sold ; in 1874, moved to Arca- 
num, located on lot No. 56, where he engaged in his present business, and since 
1878 his entire attention has been turned to the tobacco trade forW. S. O'Neal; of 
Dayton, Ohio, and since a resident of Arcanum, has held the offices of Town Mar- 
shal, Town Councilman and Pike Superintendent of Twin Township ; our subject 
is a man who has, during his whole life, done a great deal of traveling, thereby 
having viewed the scenes of the Alleghany Mountains a number of times and served 
four months in the late rebellion ; when Mr. B. commenced in life, he^ had an 
amount of property so small that his tax receipts have increased from 25 cents 
to $75 

HENRY C. BRISTLY, carpenter ; P. 0. Arcanum. The subject of this 
sketch is the son of Charles Bristly, a native of Germany, and Elizabeth Olivine, 
of Pennsylvania ; was born in Pennsylvania Sept. 7, 1826 ; his parents removed 
to Montgomery Co. in 1853. where his father died in 1857, aged 76 years. After 
a residence in this county of one year subsequent to the death of his father, his 
mother took up her abode with her son (Henry O), where she remained till her 
death, Jan. 9, 1873, aged 77 years and 6 months. At the age of 21, Mr. Bristly 
left the old roof that had sheltered him all these years, and began life for himself 
by learning the carpenter's trade, which he has closely followed up to this time. He 
was united in marriage with Miss Delila, daughter of Jacob Baker, Esq., a resident 
of Montgomery Co., Ohio, Oct. 18. 1855 ; eight children have been born, to wit : 
Elizabeth, Susanna, Mary, Levi, Sarah, Samuel, and two died in infancy. On 
the 2d of March, 1857, Mr. B. located on the land where he now lives, which at 
that time was covered by timber ; by hard work, energy and industry, he has 
made great changes, and to-day has a fine residence, first-class farm buildings, and 
a farm in a high state of cultivation. Mr. Bristly has been School Director for^ 
years, and is at this time filling the office of Township Trustee. Is a member of 
the Lutheran Church. . 

ISAAC BURKE, deceased. The subject of this sketch was born in len- 
nessee Nov. 25, 1823 ; his parents removed to Preble Co., Ohio, in 1827, when 
he was but 4 years old. he continued to reside with his parents and assisted 
in the labors of the farm till 1846. He was then united in marriage with 
Sarah Wright, Oct. 27 of the same year ; he then began life for himself, with no 
means except his own willing hands and resolute will, and, being nobly assisted by 
his amiable and energetic wife, they overcame the difficulties so common to early 



648 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

pioooer life and succeeded in making a comfortable home, where his widowed wife 
still remains, assisted by her children in carrying on the farm. Mr. Burke's death 
occurred Oct. 7. 1867, in his 44th year, leaving many friends and a nienHny that 
will long be cherished by his lonely wife and fatherless children. Mr. Burke was 
an active member of the Methodist Church, and died trusting in the promises of 
his Savior. Ten children were given to this union, viz.: William A., born March 
31, 1848 ; Mary E., born June 28, 1849 ; John M., born April 15, 1851 ; Ruth A.. 
born March 24, 1853 ; Richard H., born June 3, 1855 ; Irene, born June 16, 1857. 
Manervia A., born May 11, 1858 ; Calvin J., born July 18, 1859 ; Jesse D., born 
Nov. 21, 1861 ; Amanda A., bora Feb. 12, 18G3. Manervia died June 27, 1857 ; 
Irene died June 27, 1877 ; Jesse died Feb. 23, 1862. Mrs. Burke has been sorely 
afflicted by the loss of her husband and children, but seems resigned to the loss, 
and lives in the hopes of being again united. 

JOHN D. CLARK, of the firm of Kraus & Clark. Arcanum. To the sub- 
ject of this sketch we are pleased to accord a place in the advance lines of the 
early pioneers of Darke County ; he was born in Butler Co., Ohio, Aug. 12, 1814, 
and is a son of Barzilla and Mary (Davis) Clark ; his father was born in Virginia 
Oct. 3, 1788, and died in Darke Co. in March, 1874, and his remains are interred 
in the cemetery at Ithaca ; his mother was born in Maryland Sept. 1, 1780, and 
died Aug. 13, 1871, and lies beside her husband in Ithaca Cemetery ; the}' settled 
in Twin Township in 1848, one mile southwest of Ithaca. Mr. Clark, Sr., was a 
volunteer in the war of 1812, and was in the army that was surrendered bj" Hull, 
and was on the pension rolls of the old veterans of that war. The subject of this 
sketch has been a continuous resident of Darke Co. since 1840 ; he had purchased 
255 acres of land in its wild state, and, by his untiring industry and determina- 
tion, in which he has been most nobly assisted by his industrious and amiable 
wife, succeeded in removing all the obstructions and thoroughly fitted it for the 
implements of agriculture ; he still owns the same tract of land, with an addi- 
tional 40 acres that he has cleared, improved and spent the greater part of his 
life upon ; in 1872, he came to Arcanum and engaged in the drug business, which he 
followed for three years, then selling out to his son and embarked with Mr. Kraus 
in a general mercantile business, in which he is still engaged. He was united in 
marriage with Miss Sarah, daughter of John and Jane Bow}*er, Aug. 15, 1838, 
near Foster's Crossing, in Warren Co.; her parents were born in Pennsylvania in 
the latter part of the eighteenth century, and settled in Warren Co. in 1800, and 
were among the first settlers in that county ; both died in the county of their 
adoption, her father at the age of 76, and her mother at the age of 68 years. Mr. 
and Mrs. Clark are the parents of eight children, viz.: Mary J., born in Warren 
€o., Dec. 29, 1839 ; Sarepta, born in Darke Co., June 21, 1842 ; Nancy, July 3. 
1845 ; John W., Sept. 15, 1848 ; Bowyer, July 12, 1852 ; Sarah E., July 6, 1856 ; 
Laura J., April 5. 1859, and one dying in infancy April 20, 1851. Mr. and Mrs. 
< 'lark have been members of the M. E. Church for upward of forty years, ami 
have faithfully performed the duties incident to a fervent Christian life. Mr. Clark 
is a Prohibitionist and a good worker in the temperance cause. Mr. Clark. 
assisted by Mr. Ivester, whose sketch appears in this work, was the first to agitate 
the question of free pikes, and under his supervision three miles were constructed 
in the fall of L867. 

MICHAEL ("LINE, cooper. Arcanum ; was born Jan. 20, 1811, in Hamp- 
shire County, Va., where he remained until March, 1836, when he came to 
Montgomery County. Ohio, and commenced coopering, which occupation he has 
followed through life. dan. 1-4, 1844, he was united in marriage with Martha A. 
Miller, and by this union they have five children, viz., Mollie E., Henry M.. Charles 
('., Edward A. and William; .Mollie has been a teacher of the public school for 
a number of years. Mr. (Mine came to Arcanum, Darke Co., in 1866, where he has 
since resided, and since then has filled the office of Township Trustee five successive 
terms. Town Councilman one term. The sum of the ages of our subject, father 



TWIN TOWNSHIP. ^49 

and mother, and both of his grandfathers and grandmothers, was 582 years ; this 
shows remarkable average age. 

nrvRr>n>>r q PLOYD farmer Sec. 20 ; P. 0. Arcanum. 
^TcOoX-SLanum.. The subject of thi* sk jtohw- 
born in Fairfield Co., Ohio, Sept. 17, 1839, and is a son of William W. and Elizabeth 
J^oElSwtato of Fairfield Co. but now residents of Arcanum ; Mr. Coons only 
S ^advantages of a common-school education, as he assisted his fa her in the 
dtL^flrS ; but by hard labor, which -mbined bo^ene^and mdu^y 
he succeeded in acquiring a good average education ; he "P^J^^^S 
nlar* to Arcanum in the fall of 1867 and engaged m manufactming and handling 
funeral stoT'f boots and shoes, which business he followed for two years, when 
he D clos"d out his stock and purchased a farm of 60 acres in winTc^b^W 
he carried on for two years, when he disposed of this property, m 1871, and pui 
^Lsed 120 aefes in Butler Township of Levi Slechty for $54 ^™^f^ 
sold at the expiration of six months, realizing a fair profit ; n 1872, he opened a 
sSre of -4^1 merchandise in Arcanum, where he still continues to do business , 
he has large double salerooms, with storerooms back, and carries a complete 
and p'fSock of clothing, dry goods, hats, caps, boots, %™J^&^™ 
fact everything found in a first-class retail business house. He celebrated Ins max 
Se wit h Miss Almira, daughter of Benjamin and Susan Fount a Maj o 1 86 
^parents being old residents of Darke County Mrs. (Founts) Coons was boin 
in March, 1840 ; six children have been given to this union viz.. Flo ".Join Nov. 
22 1862; Elizabeth S, born Nov. 9, 1865 ; Luanna bom April 27 1868 Leroj 
W bom August 23, 1871 ; Harry P., born Dec. 9, 1874 ; Cleo W, born Aug 25 
187c S In MaJch, 1879, the death messenger entered this quiet and happy h tie 
familv and. removed two of its members from earth to heaven ; little Harry on the 
S^rMaXand his baby brother Cleo on the I8tb , foUowmg. Mr to 
father William W., was born in Harrison Co., West Va Sept. 9 18Ub, and 
rfmovedwEn infancy, with his parents, to Ross Co., Ohio ; here he attended 
school ami assisted his father in the labors on the farm during vacations ; Mr. 
■CoTs' X'Ser of the subject of this sketch, was united in marnag. , wdb Miss 
Elizabeth daughter of William and Sarah Schooley, Sept. 20 1826 who weie oia 
SSSTofSS- Co., Ohio ; they are the parents of ten j***^™ ^ 
^rP living viz ■ Marv A., now Mrs. Robinson, who resides m Pieble Co.. umo , 
Z'SenrfCamden, Ohio ; Philip, the subject of this sketch ; Ellen now 
Mrs FoM who lives in Arcanum ; Salem S, residing in Butler Co, Ohio ; John 
who also lives in Camden ; Samuel, a minister of the U. *™™^*£*g 
resides in Lewisburg, Ohio; the deceased are Sallie, Mrs. Giffoid , Lena, Mrs. 
Francis ami one dying in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Coons Sr., have been members 
of the U B Church 'in Christ for forty-six years, and Mr. Coons has labored ni the 
Ministry for forty-three years, and, although his frame is bent with the weight of 
years, his mind is still vigorous and his memory unimpaired 

PHILEMON CROMWELL, retired farmer, Sec. 19 ; P. O Ithaca, lne sud 
iect of Tl is keteh is entitled to aplace in the advance lines of the early pioneers of 
Darke Co ■ he was born March 23, 1803, and is a son of Philemon and Mary 
CnrnweU.' natives of Maryland, both dying in their native Sta te-his father •* the 
iSTSt and his mother at the advanced age of 92 years ; he removed to Ohio 
and settlecU Darke Co. in March, 1838, and purchased 156 acres of land in its 
w d state a cl ly his energy and unflinching wiU, combined with the assistance 
^ered byln ii hi trious and amiable wife, overcame all the obstacles incident to 
SonterlSfe and they have as a reward of their toil and privations, a beaut to 
Lome surroimded by every comfort and convenience, in which to enjoy then 
Sin" 4ar ffis marriage with Miss Rebecca, daughter ot Henry and 
SSC was celebrated March 12, 1835 nine children have bee u given 
to this union, viz, William W., born Feb. 21, 1836 ; Catherine V Nov. 14. 1840 , 
Henry H.. Sept. 4, 1843; Josiah 0, Nov. 14, 1845; Sarah J., Nov. », 184< , 



650 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

Philemon, Feb. 14, 1850 ; John W., Nov. 30, 1852 ; Alverdo, Dec. 13, 1857 . 
Catherine, wife of Francis Huffen, died Feb. 22, 1874 ; Henry H. was a member 
of Co. D, 110th O. V. I., and at his country's call went nobly forth in defense of 
his country, and to help save the honor of his flag ; on the 5th of May, the first 
day of the great and ever-memorable and disastrous battle of the Wilderness in 
Virginia, he fell, pierced by the enemy's bullets, while charging on a rebel strong- 
hold, and. like many of his brave comrades in arms, his body lay for days between 
the contending lines of vast armies, amid the clash and turmoil of incessant bat- 
tle, and to-day his remains are peacefully at rest on the ground where he fought 
to win. Mr. and Mrs. Cromwell have been members of the United Brethren Church 
for forty years, and their large family of children are co-workers with their parents 
in the cause and advancement of the Christian religion. 

JOHN FASIG-, merchant tailor and Justice of the Peace, Ithaca ; the 
subject of this sketch was born in Sprendlingen, Grossherzogthum, Darmstadt. 
Germany, March 14, 1831 ; he is a son of John and Susan Fasig. Mr. Fasig 
emigrated to America in 1855. landing in New York in October, and made his 
way to Euphemia, Preble Co., Ohio, where he engaged in tailoring for upward of 
one year, when he removed to Ithaca and engaged in the same business which 
he is still engaged in. He was united in marriage with Elizabeth, daughter of 
Franz and Doratha Croell, May 28, 1854 ; twelve children have been given to this 
union, viz.: Luzetta, born April 27, 185G, died April 13, 1860 ; John, born Sept. !'. 
1857, died Sept. 12, 1859 ; Mary, born Feb. 18, 1859, died March 25, 1801 ; 
Minnie L., born Aug. 15, I860 ; Margaret L., born Sept. 5, 1861, died Oct. 3, 
1862 ; Eliza, born Oct. 27, 1862 ; Catherine, born June 4, 1864 ; Charles A., born 
Oct. 31, 1866 ; Amanda S., born Aug. 23, 1868 ; Sarah J., born April 28, 1870. 
died April 29, 1872 ; William H., born March 22, 1873 ; Leah C. born Jan. 20, 
1876. Truly, Mr. and Mrs. Fasig have a large and very interesting family ; their 
charming daughters, with their various accomplishments, tend to make home a 
pleasant place. Mr. Fasig carries a fine stock of custom-made clothing, dry 
goods, notions, tobaccos and cigars, and if you want a perfect-fitting suit of clothes. 
give him a call. Politically, he is Democratic, and has been prominently identi- 
fied in all the township offices, and has alwa3's carried the unanimous support of 
his constituents, which is ample proof of his official business capacity. Mrs. 
Fasig was born June 24, 1834, in Phaffenshabenneim, Germany ; she had two 
1 uothers and eight sisters ; four came to this country, and two have since died ; 
her elder brother was killed in the Mexican war. 

A. M. FLORY, of the firm of Wallace & Flory, dealers in hardware and agri- 
cultural implements, Arcanum. The subject of this sketch was born May 12, 
1851, and is a son of Henry and Catherine Flory, old residents of Montgomery 
Co.. Ohio; his father followed coopering the greater part of his life, and was 
engaged in farming a short time previous to his death ; his father dying when he 
was but 10 years of age, he went out into the world to take care of himself and 
battle with life, and, by energy and persevering industry, has overcome all obstacles. 
and so far has made life a success ; at the age of 16 years, he learned the carpen- 
ter trade, which he followed till he removed to Arcanum, the last day of Decem- 
ber. 1873, and on the 1st day of March, 1874, he opened a general hardware store, 
in partnership with Mr. Wallace, in which business they are still engaged ; he w:i- 
united in marriage with Miss Catherine E., daughter of Henry Burns. March 19. 
1S74. her parents being residents of Preble County ; Mr. Flory has been identified 
with the offices of his village, having been a member of the City Council, and has 
had the honor of Mayor conferred upon him by his fellow towns men. 

MICHAEL FLORY, farmer: P. (). Cordon : the subject of this sketch was 
born in Montgomery County, Ohio, Dee. 22, 1811, being a son of Joseph and 
Elizabeth Florj- ; he resided in the county of his nativity till 1861, when he 
removed to Darke County, and settled on Sec. 26 of Twin Township, where he now 
resides. He was united in marriage with Hannah Wagerman in 1853, and by this 



TWIN TOWNSHIP. 651 

"anion they have had three children, of whom two are living, viz., John W., Elizabeth, 
and Joseph, deceased ; his farm is all in a good state of cultivation and has good 
improvements erected thereon. 

JOHN C. HAMILTON, physician and surgeon ; Ithaca ; the subject of 
this memoir was born in Monroe County, Ohio, in 1852, and is a son of Jacob 
and Maria Hamilton, old residents of Monroe County ; he received a good 
common-school education, and afterward entered the Mt. Union College in Stark 
County, where he prosecuted his studies with great energy for two years ; he then 
read medicine, under the instructions of a very prominent physician of Louis- 
ville, Ohio, and afterward attended the full course of lectures at the Cincinnati 
Medical Institute, and finished his entire course of stud}', after much hard labor, in 
1875, having gained his M. D., the goal of his ambition, and commenced the prac- 
tice of medicine in Ithaca ; he is a successful practitioner and a gentleman of 
ability and refinement. He was united in marriage with Miss Allie Dresher, of 
Cincinnati, Jan. 27, 1879. 

DAVID A. HARSH, merchant, Arcanum. The gentleman whose name heads 
this sketch was born in Preble Co., Ohio, Dec. 25, 1838. His boyhood days were 
spent on his father's farm till his 16th year, at which time he began his struggle in 
life alone and unaided, save by his indomitable will and energy. He was engaged 
in Indiana as teamster for about eight months, then abandoned the business and 
engaged in carpentering, which he followed for five years. In the beginning of the 
war, he volunteered in the 11th 0. V. I., and served four months, when he was hon- 
orably discharged from the service. In 1861, he engaged in storekeeping in Hill 
Grove, Darke Co., but, on account of failing health, he was obliged to relinquish 
his business and seek the out-door employment of the farm, and for two years car- 
ried on a farm in Preble Co. ; thence he went to Lewisburg, where he remained for 
six years ; thence to Arcanum, and followed butchering for two years ; he then 
followed various pursuits till July 4, 1877, when he again engaged in the mercan- 
tile business, and, by judicious management, has built up a good trade, receiving 
his full share of the public patronage. He married Susanna Studebaker, daughter 
of D. and Elizabeth Studebaker, of Darke Co. Mr. and Mrs. Harsh are members 
of the Reformed Church and are zealous workers in the cause of religion. He is 
a member of the Libanius Lodge, No. 80, is in good standing, and his motto is 
onward and upward in the order. 

FRANCIS M. HUFFER, farmer ; P. 0. Ithaca. Born in Greene Co., Ohio, 
June 29, 1837, and, in 1839, he, with his parents, came to Darke Co., where he 
remained at home until 1858. At that time, he united in marriage with Catherine 
V. Cromwell, and by this union they have three sons and two daughters ; in the 
year 1874, Mrs. Hurler departed this life. During life she was a consistent mem- 
ber of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Hurler has since united in marriage 
with Louisa Reidenhour, and they are living on his farm, in Sec. 28, Twin Town- 
ship ; he has one among the best stock and grain farms in the township, beauti- 
fully located north of Ithaca, with a good gravel l'oad on the east and west, and sev- 
eral good fountains on the east side of it, the land being worth probably $100 per 
acre. 

GEORGE IVESTER, farmer and miller, Sec. 4 ; P. O. Arcanum. The subject 
of this memoir was born in Chester Co., Penn., Aug. 10, 1821 ; he only had the 
advantage of a common-school education, such as the country afforded upwards of 
fifty years ago, and when out of school assisted his father in a nail factor}' ; at the 
age of 13 years, he commenced his career in the world alone and unaided, save his 
own willing hands, and inflexible will ; in 1834, he removed to Miami Co., Ohio, where 
he worked on a farm for three years, and then entered a blacksmith-shop and soon 
became a proficient in his trade, which he prosecuted for twenty years ; in the 
spring of 1849, he was seized with the gold fever that raged so at that time, and 
made an overland trip to the Pacific Coast, which occupied 130 days ; in the fall 
of 1854, he settled in Dai'ke Co., in Twin Township, where he purchased 148 acres 



652 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

of land where, he now lives, all of which is in a high state of cultivation ; in the 
summer of 1^7"). he erected a large and magnificent dwelling in the pleasant little 
village of Arcanum, and its pleasant grounds and beautiful surroundings make 
it the most desirable place in the village. He celebrated his marriage with 
Miss Rebecca, daughter of William and Catherine Davis, Feb. 24. 1851. Six 
children have been given to this union, viz.: Martha J., born Jan. 11, 1853 ; Will- 
iam EL, born Aug. 5, 1855 ; Emma J., born May 13, 1858 ; Olive V., born 2\pril 
1 1. 1862 : Allie 0., born March 27, 1864 ; Mina B., born Dec. 23, 1868. The par- 
ents of Mr. lvester were residents of Chester Co., Penn.; his father was born in 
1 784, and died at the age of 58 years, in the county of his nativity ; his mother was 
born in the latter part of the eighteenth century, and departed this life about 1839. 
Mr. lvester has had his full share of petty offices, and informs us that he has never 
been a political aspirant. Mrs. lvester was born in Logan Co. Jan. 18, 1825. 

BENJAMIN C. JACKSON, farmer and teacher ; P. 0. Arcanum. Born in 
New .Jersey July 4, 1828 ; his parents being dead, he lived with his grandfather 
until 1845, when he entered the Mt. Retirement Seminary. Sussex Co., Vt, where 
he remained until 1848, then engaged in teaching till 1851. at which time he 
entered upon duty with the N.Y. & E.R.R Co. as telegraph, freight and ticket agent 
at Chester, Orange Co., N, Y., where he remained until 1856 ; he then engaged as 
book-keeper in a wholesale cigar and liquor store in New York City until 1857, and 
since has been principally engaged in teaching. In 1861, he united in marriage in 
Montgomery Co.. Ohio, with Mary A. Kimmel, and by this union has two chil- 
dren, viz.. Carrie Y. and George E. In 1872, he came to Darke Co. and bought 
the farm of 57 acres where he now lives, in Sec. 7, valued at $3,500. 

HARRISON A. KEPNER, hardware and grocer, Arcanum. The subject 
of this sketch was born in Perry Co., Penn., May 14, 1836 ; he was the son of a 
family of eleven children, whose father, Jacob Kepner, was born in Juniata Co.. 
Penn", July 21, 1806, and whose mother, Catharine (Kanawell) Kepner, was born 
in Berks County, same State, Nov. 11, 1808. Having resided in his native county 
until the age of 21, he left the parental roof, and, wholly dependent upon his own 
resources and energy, began the struggle of life. Subsequently, he emigrated to 
Allen Co.. Ohio, where he remained about one year, then finally settled in Darke 
Co. in the spring of 1858 ; on the 4th day of September in the following year, he 
married Miss Sarah, daughter of George and Lydia Brumbaugh, who were then old 
residents of the county ; the fruits of this marriage were four children, three of 
whom are now living, viz.: Clara C, born in 1862 ; Harry V., born in 1867. and 
Bertha N., born in 1877. Mr. Kepner's political sympathies are with the Demo- 
cratic party, and his influence has been lent to the advancement of the principles 
which he advocates. The party has recognized and reciprocated by bestowing 
upon him various offices of trust and responsibility, which he has in every case 
most creditably filled, and by his genial manners and uprightness of character has 
won friends among all with whom he has been brought in contact. 

J. H. KRAUS, of the firm of Kraus & (Mark. Arcanum. The subject of this 
sketch was born in Butler Co., Ohio, in 1840, and is a son of Benjamin and Nancy 
Kraus, both natives of Lancaster Co., Penn., and removed to New York State, in 
1835. and to Butler Co.. in 1836, and to Montgomery Co.. Ohio, in 1846, where they 
still continue to reside ; they are the parents of two children, viz.: Amanda C.now 
Mrs. I). II. Wilson, who resides in Montgomery Co.. Ohio, and J. II.. the subject of 
this sketch; his grandparents were natives of Pennsylvania : his grandfather, 
Kraus. was horn in 1778,and died at the age of 82 years ; his grandmother, Kraus, 
was born in 1 780, and died at the agcof 84 years ; his grandparents on his mother's 
side were Jacob and Elizabeth (Keeler) Shell, also natives of Pennsylvania; Mr. 
Shell dying at the age of 77. and Mrs. Shell at the advanced age of 80 years. Mr. 
Kraus was engaged in the mercantile business for a period of five years, and 
removed to Arcanum in October. 1870, and engaged in the business he still con- 
tinues to follow. I le was united in marriage with Miss C. E.. daughter of Jacob and 



TWIN TOWNSHIP. 



t>53 



Nellie (Niswonger) Swank June 22, 1871, her parents being residents of Montgom- 
ery Co. ; two children have been given to this union, viz.: Harry B., born Aug. 10. 
1876 • Waldo J., born April 2, 1879 ; he has, by his own exertions and studious 
habits, succeeded in making himself well versed in educational matters, and as a 
reward for his persevering industry and popular business ways, has made life a suc- 
cess, and is literally one of the self-made men of Darke Co.; though Mr. Kraus is 
no political aspirant, his fellow-townsmen have voted him a full share of local 
offices. Mrs. Kraus has been a lifelong member of the U. B. Church, and is a 
hard-working, consistent, Christian woman, and greatly interested in the emulation 
of the Christian religion. 

THOMAS McCOWEN, farmer and stock-dealer ; P. 0. Arcanum ; was born 
in Darke Co., Ohio, Nov. 7, 1828, and is a son of John McCowen, a native of Bell- 
brook Ireland, who came to North America when but 3 years old, and was 
one of the patriots of 1812 ; came to Darke Co. in 1826, being one of the pioneers 
of this county, where he died in 1850. Our subject spent his boyhood days on a 
farm in summer, and in winter devoted his time to school, as much as time and 
convenience would admit, which at that time were limited. In 1850, he united in 
marriage with Sarah J. Mears, and by this union they have three children, viz.: Mary 
A., now Mrs. 0. B. Pierce; Catherine and Irvin. When Mr McCowen com- 
menced for himself, he had no money by which to assist him in life ; he has 
since, by industry and economy, become the possessor of 233 acres of valuable 
land in Sees. 17. 19 and 20, twin Township ; is located on the Ithaca and Ft. 
Jefferson free turnpike. The gentleman whose name heads this sketch, has been 
a member of the Masonic Fraternity for thirty-two years ; the oldest member of 
the Ithaca Lodge, also a member of the I. 0. 0. F. for a number of years ; has 
been an active member of the Darke Co. Agricultural Association ; at present is 
President of the same ; has held the office of Twin Township Trustee four years. 
ANNA M. MARSHALL, retired, Gordon. The lady whose name heads this 
sketch was born in the State of New York Dec. 2, 1813, and removed in infancy 
with her parents to Montgomery Co., Ohio, in 1815 ; her father, Lewis Mundhenk. 
was born in Wittenberg. Germany, in 1784 ; her mother, Mary A. Feit, was born 
in Botterburn, Germany, in 1789 ; they were married in New York June 4, 1811 : 
Mr. Mundhenk departed this life at the age of 74 years ; Mrs. Mundhenk is living 
at the advanced age of 90 years, and is still hale and hearty. Our subject was 
united in marriage with Philip Marshall, April 17, 1834 ; he was a son of Henry 
and Mary Marshall, who were natives of New Jersey, afterward residents of Mont- 
gomery Co., Ohio ; Mr. Marshall departed this life March 10, 1838, aged 26 years : 
she still bears the name of her departed husband, and was 67 years of age the day 
this sketch was written. Two children were given to this short but happy union, 
of whom only one survives, viz. : Mary A., born Jan. 12, 1835 ; Philip L., March 
28, 1838, died May 19, 1838 ; Mary A.'s first marriage was consummated with 
John Mills ; her second marriage was celebrated with Mr. Troxall, Nov. 3, 1864 ; 
to their union three children have been given, viz. : Watson E., born Sept. 5, 1865 ; 
John D., Oct. 18, 1868 ; Letta N., Dec. 11, 1870. Mr. Troxall had been previously 
married to Susan Heater; four children were the fruits of their union, viz. : Emma 
B., born July 27, 1858 ; Martha A., Jan. 25, 1860 ; Mary E., July 3, 1861 ; Mrs. 
Troxall departed this life April 15, 1864, aged 29 years 6 months and 25 days : 
he was a son of David Troxall, a native of Pennsylvania, who departed this life 
in 1840 • his wife removed to Ohio in 1847, and died in July, 1861. 

DAVID E. MUNDHENK, farmer ; P. 0. Gordon. The gentleman whose 
name heads this sketch was born in Montgomery Co., Ohio, in 1831 ; he is a son 
of Lewis and Mary Mundhenk, and a brother to Mrs. Anna Marshall, whose 
sketch, with that of her parents, appeared in this work. Our subject's boyhood 
days were spent on his father's farm, where he assisted in agricultural pursuits 
until his 21st year, when he began life for himself, and for three years faithfully 
labored in Montgomery Co., and then removed to Darke Co., where he now 



654 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

resides. He was united in marriage with Elizabeth Reed, who is a daughter of 
John and Barbara Heed ; they were natives of Westmoreland Co., Penn., and 
removed to Montgomery Co. in 1836, where they resided until Mr. Reed's death, 
which occurred in February, 1840 ; then his wife removed to this count}', where 
she resided until her death, Feb. 17,1870, aged about 70 years Mr. Mundhenkisoneof 
Darke Co.'s self-made men, having begun life empty-handed, and by hard work and 
o-ood management, coupled with frugality, he and his amiable wife have accomplished 
the great object in life — made a good home, being now in possession of 160 acres 
of as good land as is to be found in the county ; the improvements are No. 1 in 
every particular ; his large house, which has recently been built, and its pleasant 
surroundings, make his premises a ver} r attractive place. Six children are the 
fruits of their union, viz., Clement V., born March 29, 1864 ; Charles J., born July 
14, 1866 ; Eddie M., born Nov. 7, 1868 ; three dying in infancy. Politically, Mr. 
Mundhenk is a Democrat of the old Jacksonian school, but has never been a poli- 
tical aspirant. 

PHILIP MUNDHENK, farmer ; P. 0. Arcanum ; was born in Montgomery 
Co., Ohio, July 19, 1816 ; he is a son of Lewis and Mar}' Mundhenk, and a 
brother of Daniel, whose sketch appears here ; also a brother of Mrs. Marshall, 
in whose sketch proper mention is made of his parents ; he resided in his native 
county with his parents until his marriage, which was celebrated with Mary A. 
King May 11, 1848 ; she was a daughter of John and Elizabeth King, who were 
among the early settlers of Darke Co.; he settled in Darke Co. in 1848, and on 
the place where he now resides in 1853 ; he first purchased 160 acres of land, cov- 
ered with a dense forest, which has entirely disappeared from view, and in its 
stead highly cultivated fields, rich and productive ; a fine barn and a large brick 
residence which he has erected, at a cost of $3,000, mark the place where a few 
years ago the handiwork of nature reposed in all its grandeur ; he has since added 
to the original purchase, and now owns 260 acres of fine land, all in a high state 
of cultivation. In August, 1878, he was rendered houseless by the devouring 
flames. Eight children have been given to their union, viz.: Lewis R., born Feb. 
28, 1849 ; John. March 9, 1851 ; Elizabeth R., Feb. 16, 1853 ; Martha J., Jan. 
28, 1855 ; Dora C, March 22, 1857 ; Philip A., July 6, 1861 ; Charles F., Jan. 
12, 1867 ; Albert D., Jan. 30, 1870, and departed this life March 15, 1872. 

WILLIAM NE ALEIGH, farmer and minister of the Gospel ; P.O. Arcauum ; 
was born in Preble Co., Ohio, Sept. 28, 1811 ; his parents were Henry and Eliza- 
beth Nealeigh. He married Rachael Shields, of Preble Co., Nov. 17, 1831, and 
settled in Darke Co. in January 1837, on Sec. 3, Twin Township, Of his experi- 
ence, Mr. Nealeigh writes as follows : " We were married in 1831, and commenced 
life with $30 ; in January, 1837, we emigrated to Darke County and settled 
on the land where we have since lived ; in five years, we had earned and paid for 
our 163 acres of land, $555. The forest looked wild ; there were wolves and deer 
in abundance, and the mosquitoes were so numerous that, when I went out of an 
evening to shoot squirrels, they'would alight so thick on my gun barrel that I 
could not see the sights, unless I fired very quickly, but now, the wilderness has 
become a fruitful field, thank God ! The first spring, we made a flour barrel full 
of sugar, ami twenty gallons of molasses ; in 1840, we were both converted to God. 
and in 1843, a Christian Church, called the Panther Creek Christian Church, and a 
meeting-house was built one mile south of Arcanum ; we were two of the charter 
members, and the only two now living ; I there commenced preaching. The church 
was two miles from our home, and we often traveled tliat distance six times in 
one day and night, carrying a child in our arms ; I traveled and preached where- 
ever I could, and worked on my farm the balance of uiy time ; I have preached 
forty years, and during my ministiy have delivered 3,029 sermons. 1,586 exhorta- 
tions, attended 304 funerals, solemnized 213 marriages, prayed with the sick 470 
times, received into the church 422 members, baptized 212, made 153 speeches of 
various kinds, and traveled 40,324 miles, for which I have received about $50 



TWIN TOWNSHIP. 655 

per year. I was once young, and now I am old, and I never saw the righteous 
forsaken or their seed begging bread, thank God ! Mr. Nealeigh, has, in addition 
to the labors he has enumerated, raised a family of ten children. 

GEORGE NISONGER, farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 23 ; P. 0. Gordon, 
Ohio. The subject of this sketch is one of the old residents of Darke Co.; he was 
born in Montgomery Co., Ohio, Oct. 16, 1823, and is a son of George and Fanny 
Nisonger, natives of Pennsylvania. Mr. Nisonger resided in the county of his 
nativity until he removed to Twin Township, Darke Co., in 1849. He was united 
in marriage, in 1853, to Miss Louisa, daughter of John and LydiaSt. Clair, natives 
of Pennsylvania, who removed to Ohio at an early day ; four children have been 
given to this union, viz. : Catherine, born Dec. 25, 1854 ; John W., born June 20, 
1859 ; Henry, born March 12, 1862 ; Silas, born Jan 5, 1867. Catherine was 
married in the fall of 1872, to George Mathews, and resides on an adjoining farm ; 
John W. died Jan. 7, 1863. Both Mr. and Mrs. Nisonger are members of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church, and are zealous, energetic Christians. Mr. and Mrs. 
Mathews are also members of the same church. Mr. Nisonger has 40 acres in his 
home farm, which is in a good state of cultivation. 

DANIEL B. OLWINE, livery and exchange, Arcanum ; the subject of this sketch 
we are pleased to place in the foremost ranks of the early pioneers of Darke Co., 
he was born in Montgomery Co., Ohio, in 1835, and is a son of David and Nancy 
Olwine, and removed with his parents to Van Buren Township in the spring of 
1839. Mr. Olwine, the subject of this sketch, was only 4 years old at the time, 
but has many vivid recollections of the early pioneer life ; he assisted his father 
in the duties of farming, and, as a matter of course, young David had his part to 
perform in the many log rollings that were necessary before the dense forest of 
Darke Co., could be subjected to the use of the plow ; he labored on his fathers 
farm till 18 years of age, or in 1858, when he commenced his career without a 
dollar in his pocket or a second suit of clothes ; he served an apprenticeship as 
carpenter for one year, for which he received $8 per month, when he hired to 
another party for better wages and labored for three years, for which he received 
$18 per month. His marriage was celebrated on Oct. 1, 1857, with Miss Amanda 
Jones, daughter of Henry and Susan Jones, old residents of Darke Co., Ohio ; after 
his marriage, he was without funds to procure the necessary furniture for house- 
keeping ; but by negotiating a small loan from his father-in-law, he procured a 
little lumber and manufactured his own furniture for housekeeping, renting a 
farm in Adams Township, near Gettysburg, on which he lived for one year ; selling 
out again, he embarked in the carpenter business in Harrison and Adams Town- 
ships, which he prosecuted till 1860, when he again engaged in farming till 1864 ; 
he then engaged in the cabinet business and followed cabinet-making till 1869, 
and then handled walnut lumber for two years; in the fall of 1871, he again 
resumed the cabinet-making business ; in the spring of 1872, he removed to 
Arcanum and engaged in his previous business for two years ; during that time he 
erected a very fine residence, then kept hotel and dealt in real estate till 1875 ; 
selling out the hotel business, he purchased a large liverj' and barn and contents, 
which business he still continues to follow. Mr. Olwine has had a checkered career, 
and in all of his ups and downs he has been nobly assisted by his amiable and 
estimable wife. His barn contains many fine turnouts, and we would advise any 
who wants a drive to call on Dan. Eleven children have been given to this union, 
of whom all are living except three, two having died in infancy — Franklin T., was 
born Aug. 21, 1858 ; Susan B., May 8, 1860 ; Nancy J., Sept. 4, 1862 ; Ida L., 
Sept. 9, 1864 ; Essie G., Aug. 11, 1868 ; Gladis M., Dec 20, 1870 ; Adda F., June 
21, 1873 ; Parlie M., April 15, 1876 ; Nancy J., died April 15, 1869, aged 7 years 
7 months and 11 days. 

B. F. OZIAS, freight, ticket and telegraph agent, Arcanum ; on the D. 
& U. R. R. To the above-named gentleman we are pleased to record a space in 
this work; he was born in Preble County, Ohio, Nov. 17, 1837, where he was 



656 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

brought up on the farm until 1855, and received a common-school education, after 
which he took a short course in the Seven-Mile Academy ; after returning from 
the seminary, was engaged in various pursuits until 1867, when he opened a drug 
store in Galveston, Ind., which business he followed until 1869 ; at this time 
sold out and came to Arcanum. Darke Co., where he has since resided, and up to 
1872 was variously engaged ; at this time, he was appointed to the office he now 
holds, and duly tills ; our subject, since a resident of Twin Township, has been 
elected as Township Clerk two terms. Township Trustee one term, and Trustee of 
the Arcanum School Committee while erecting their new school building in 1876. 

JOHN W. PARKS, farmer and teacher ; P. 0. Arcanum ; born in Preble 
County, Ohio, Oct. 22, 1839 ; is a son of Samuel Parks, a native of Preble County, 
born Feb. 22, 1818, and who, in 1839, united in marriage with Lydia McDonald ; 
seven children are the fruits of this union, who are all living, are married, and 
have families. Our subject remained at home at his birthplace until 1860, when 
he united in marriage with Minerva J. Gates, and by this union have one son, 
Clinton F. ; from the date of his marriage to 1870, he made several changes, at 
which time he came to Darke Count} T and purchased a farm near Arcanum. Mr. 
Parks has, since the age of 18, been a live and energetic teacher of Sunday school, 
and, since a resident of this county, held the office of Justice of the Peace three 
years ; he has recently bought and improved a small farm in Sec. 4, where he is 
comfortably situated for life. 

JOHN R. RATLIFF, harness-maker ; P. 0. Arcanum. The subject of this 
memoir was born near Oxford, Ohio, Dec. 9, 1842, and is a son of Robert and 
Lucinda (Lee) Ratliff, old settlers of Butler County. Our subject resided with his 
father till he was 21 years of age and assisted in the labors of the farm ; he then 
began life for himself, and engaged in farming for about ten 3*ears ; then selling' 
the implements of the farm, he engaged in harness-making, which occupation he 
still follows. He was united in marriage. Dec. 22, 1864, with Miss Minerva, daugh- 
ter of David and Catherine Conners, residents of Butler Co. Mr. and Mrs. Rat- 
liff are the parents of four children, namely : Ellsworth, born Dec. 27, 1865, de- 
ceased ; Charles E., born Feb. 25, 1867; Stella K., born Dec. 10, 1870; Thomas 
C, born Nov. 8, 1876. Mr. and Mrs. Ratliff are members of the Presbyterian 
Church and are zealous workers in the cause of religion, and exemplary Christian 
people. 

JOHN Y. ROBBINS, farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 29 ; P. O. Ithaca, Is one 
of the oldest continuous residents of Darke Co. that we have had the pleasure of 
meeting with ; he was born in Ithaca Sept. 28, 1 820, and has lived within one mile 
of his birth place for nearly threescore years ; he has seen the dense forests of 
Darke County melt away before the woodman's ax and the onward march of im- 
provement and civilization ; he has seen the dismal and gloomy swamps, which 
bred malaria and death, robbed of their deadly poisons, subdued, renovated and 
improved, and to-day, owing to the vast quantities of decayed vegetable matter, 
these quagmires are the most productive lands to be found in Darke County. His 
parents emigrated from North Carolina to the Stillwater, in Miami County, in 
1800, afterward to Darke County in 1815, and to Richard and Rebecca Robbins 
belong the honor of being the first actual settlers in Twin Township. The subject 
of our sketch celebrated his marriage witli Susan, daughter of Adam and Eliza- 
beth Rhidenour, June 11, 1840, and were natives of Maryland, and removed 
to Darke County in 1836 or 1837 ; children — Martha A.. Adam. Sarah. Ellen. 
Malinda. Daniel. Melzena, Ella, William and Alberta; Martha and Ellen, deceased. 
Mr. and Mrs. Bobbins are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and bear- 
ers of the Cross for many 3'ears. 

C. B. ROBBINS, farmer, Sec. 19 ; P. 0. Arcanum. 

ABRAM RYNEARSON, farmer; P. 0. Ithaca. Born in Warren Co., Ohio, 
April 27. 1812. and is a son of Nicholas Rvnearson, born in New Jersey in 1769 r 
and about 1792, married 3Iiss Jane Elison, who was born in New Jersey Aug. 25, 



TWIN TOWNSHIP. 657 

1769 ; I)}- this union they had ten children ; in 1806, they emigrated to Warren 
Co., Ohio ; Mr. Nicholas Rynearson came from New Jersey to Ohio in a large 
wagon ; he died in Warren Co. Feb. 24, 1822. The subject of this sketch remained 
at home with his parents till 1829, at which time he entered upon the apprenticeship 
of wagon-making. On Dec. 18, 1834, he was united in marriage with Rachel Ball, 
who was born in Deerfield Township, Warren Co., Ohio, Aug. 12, 1817 ; her father 
Luther Ball, was born in New Jersey in 1777, and Miss Elizabeth Fry, his wife, was 
bom in Maryland in 1793; they had four children ; the children of Abram and Rachel 
(Ball) Rynearson were nine in number, six daughters and three sons, of whom 
there are two daughters deceased ; Abram. after marriage, lived in Warren Co. 
until 1836, at which time he moved to Twin Township, and, when he came, found 
plenty of deer and turkej-s ; on moving to his farm in Sec. 29. where he now lives, 
he found it densely covered with huge oaks, beech, and a heavy growth of under- 
brush, which he and his family have, through industry, opened, so that it makes a 
beautiful farm home, where he and his companions are comfortably situated for 
life. Mr. and Mrs. R. have for many years been consistent members of the Meth- 
odist Episcopal Church at Ithaca, thereby lighting up the path of Christianity, 
that their children ma}* not stray from it. 

Gr. W. SIGERFOOS, deceased. The subject of this sketch was born in the 
State of Maryland Dec. 13, 1825 ; he emigrated to Montgomery, Ohio, when 9 
years of age, his early life being devoted to farming and teaching^ Upon the 28th 
of July, 1850, he was united in marriage with Nancy Shanck, a daughter of Peter 
Shanck, whose biography appears among the sketches of Monroe Township, in 
another part of this work ; she was born in Montgomery Co. Oct. 2, 1830 ; upon the 
marriage of Mr. S., he followed brickmaking and school-teaching some five years in 
Phillipsburg ; in 1855, he engaged in the dry -goods trade at Georgetown, Miami 
Co., continuing the same ten years ; he then devoted six years to farming, then 
came to Gordon and again engaged in the dry-goods trade, and in 1872 came to 
Arcanum and engaged in the dry-goods trade, continuing the same until his death, 
which occurred Oct. 16, 1875. The children of G. W. and Nancy (Shanck) Singer- 
foos were six in number, viz.: Lorin, born Aug. 25, 1851, died Nov. 28, 1870 ; Orrin, 
born March 22, 1853. died Aug. 12, 1870 ; Arrabella, born Oct. 22, 1856 ; Ella B., 
Jan. 26, 1863 ; Charles P., May 4, 1865, and Edward, Dec. 14, 1868. It will be 
seen by the above that the family circle remained unbroken until Aug. 12, 1870, 
when the death messenger entered and claimed Orrin as its first victim, and the 
November following again made his appearance, this time laying his cold, icy hands 
upon the first-born : thus within the short space of about three months two of the 
members of this happy family were removed from earth to Heaven, followed five 
years later by the death of a kind husband and father. 

JOHN SMITH, merchant ; P. 0. Arcanum ; one of the old settlers of Darke 
Co. ; he was born in Adams Co.. Penn., in 1828, and removed, with his parents, to 
Preble Co., Ohio, in 1835 or 1836, and resided there till 1850, when he removed 
to Sampson, in Darke Co., where he remained about one year, thence to Arcanum, 
in 1851, and opened a store of general merchandise, it being the first store ever 
opened in Arcanum. The dimensions of this building were only 16x24 feet, and 
would present a striking contrast in comparison with his large, elegant and com- 
modious store of the present day — the latter being 90x32 feet. Mr. Smith is 
one of the pioneer merchants of Darke Co., and has for thirty years been passing 
through the different phases of mercantile life, and by his strict business integrity 
and popular business habits, built up a trade that is second to none in Darke 
Co. He was united in marriage with Sophia McNutt in 1851 ; they were the 
parents of three children, viz.. Milton W., Leonidas H, Theophilus D. Mrs. 
Smith departed this life Feb. 7, 1859, leaving a large circle of relatives and friends 
to mourn her loss ; his marriage with Delia V. Bittle was celebrated in 1863 ; the 
children by this union were Edwin S., Bertelle L., Roy C, Maude C. and Mamie. 
W. ; the above are all living. The deceased. Elmer E., was born Dec. 4, 1864, 



658 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

and died Sept. 9, 1866. Mr. Smith is a son of Jesse and Christina (Dietrick) 
Smith, natives of Adams Co., Perm., both deceased ; Mr. Smith died at the age of 
69 years ; Mrs. Smith at the age of 40. 

A. F. SMITH, druggist, Arcanum ; one of the old settlers of Darke Co., 
and is a son of Jesse and Christina Smith, natives of Pennsylvania. He removed 
with his parents from Pennsylvania, to Preble Co., Ohio, in 1836, and remained 
there for a period of sixteen years, and was engaged in agricultural pursuits till 
1852, when he abandoned that occupation, and removed to Arcanum the same 
year, and assisted his brothers in their business for two years, when he again 
resumed farming in Twin Township for a period of five years ; and thirsting for a 
more active life, he returned to Arcanum and entered in a general mercantile 
business, which he followed for twelve years, with fair success ; then embarked in 
the drug business, which he is still engaged in, and carries a full and perfect stock 
of drugs, paints, oils, and everything found in a first-class retail house. He was 
united in marriage with Miss Jane M., daughter of Herman and Margaret Conners, 
residents of Darke Co., in September, 1854. Two children have been given to this 
union, viz., Margaret E. and Eberle S. Mr. and Mrs. Conners departed this life 
within a few hours of each other, and their bodies were interred in the same grave. 

WILLIAM M. SMITH, miller, grain and tobacco dealer, also dealer and 
shipper of live stock, Arcanum, Ohio. We could hardly do justice to the busi- 
ness interest of Arcanum without devoting a brief space of this work to the 
gentleman whose name heads this sketch, as we consider that the local interests of 
the town as well as the surrounding country owe a debt of gratitude to Mr. Smith 
as conducting his many branches of business in a highly honorable manner, and 
supplying a market for the productions of the surrounding countiy. He was born 
in Adams Co., Penn., Nov. 16, 1829, and in the sketch of his brother, John Smith, 
will be found a more extended genealogy of the family. The subject of our sketch 
came to Ohio about the year 1836, and located in Preble Co.; here he was raised 
to and followed agricultural pursuits until 1858, when he came to this place and 
clerked in the store of his brother one year. For the next ten years he was 
engaged in the general merchandise and grain trade, disposing of the same in 1869 ; 
he then devoted one year to the real-estate business, the three years succeeding 
being agent of the D. & U. R. R. ; about the year 1872, he erected his present 
warehouse, since which time he has successfully followed the above business, his 
shipments of grain in a season to the Eastern markets being upward of 200,000 
bushels, his purchases of tobacco being disposed of for export ; his mill has a 
capacity of from 400 to 500 bushels a day, the production of which is shipped 
largely in car-load lots to the New England States ; his shipments of live stock 
will exceed fifty car-loads yearly ; and, as stated above, we consider the business 
as conducted by the above gentleman of great importance to the interests of 
Arcanum and the surrounding country. Upon the 16th of February, 1852, he was 
united in marriage with Maria Keltner ; she was a native of Indiana, but came to 
Montgomery Co. with her parents when quite young. They are the parents of 
four sons and two daughters, viz., John W., Seges, Jesse C, Charles E., Daisy 
and William R. 

JAMES STEELE, farmer ; P. 0. Arcanum, Ohio. To the subject of this 
sketch we are pleased to accord a place in the front rank of the early pioneers of 
Darke Co. ; he was born in Maryland in 1802 ; in 1812, he removed with his 
mother to Butler Co., Ohio, and labored faithfully for the maintenance of his 
widowed mother and the support of the family ; his father died when he was only 
S years old, and the responsibility of providing for the family tested exclusively 
on our subject ; young as he was, he fully understood the situation, and labored 
faithfully for the support and comfort of the family till he attained his 21st year, 
at which time he learned the blacksmith's trade, which, combined with farming, 
made life very successful ; in 1868, on account of failing health and rapid 
advancement of old age, he abandoned the anvil and forge, and his attentions have been 



TWIN TOWNSHIP. 659 

exclusively directed to the farm ; Mr. Steele has lived on the farm he purchased 
at Government price, for forty-five years ; he has .lived to see the monarchs of the 
forest laid low by the onward march of civilization, the wilderness robbed of its 
verdure, the desolate and pestilential swamps deprived of their poisons and con- 
verted into productive fields ; truly, the change has been great — a howling wilder- 
ness has been conquered and subjected to the use of a great industrial people 
within half a century, and still the resources of Darke Co. are not more than half 
developed. He united in marriage with Jemima Johns, March 6, 1825 ; twelve 
children have been given to this union, of whom ten are living, viz., Elizabeth and 
Hannah (twins), Uriah Stephen, Thomas, Martha, Asher, Ellen, Eliza and Mary 
(twins), William and Catherine having died in infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Steele have 
lived to see their children all married and comfortably situated in life ; they have, 
taken great pains in educating them, five of whom are successful educators. 

ELIJAH THATCHER, farmer ; P. 0. Arcanum ; was born in Genesee Co., 
N. Y., Aug. 31, 1828, and is the fourth son of Moses and Mary (Wert) Thatcher, 
the former born in New York Oct. 6, 1804, the latter in New Jersey Nov. 10, 
1807 ; ten children are the fruits of this union, viz.: George R., born March 30. 
1832 ; Nathaniel, born Feb. 2, 1834 : Godfrey, March 10. 1836 ; Moses, Dec. 28, 
1840 ; Mary A.. March 21. 1843 ; Loraine, Aug. 30, 1846 ; Sarah E., Feb. 3, 1849 ; 
Charlotte, June 8, 1850 ; John P., July 7, 1854. The parents and five children 
are deceased. Elijah remained at home principally through life, and in the year 
1844 came with the family to Darke Co., where he has since resided; he is the 
only child living that has not united in marriage. In the year 1860, he commenced 
life for himself, and since then has been engaged in agricultural pursuits. Having 
started with nothing, he has since, by industry and econonry, become the possessor 
of 40 acres of land in Sec. 22, Twin Township, which is well improved and under 
good cultivation ; it is valued at about $3,000. During the last da}-s of his par- 
ents, he performed a child's duty by caring for them. In the late rebellion, he did 
his share in the field of war, and now lives a quiet life on the home farm of his 
sister. 

JOHN L. THOMAS, retired ; P. O. Arcanum ; to the subject of this sketch 
we are pleased to accord a place in the advance guard of the early pioneers of 
Darke Co. ; he was born in Greene Co., Ohio, Feb. 16, 1827, and removed with his 
parents when in infancy to German Township, in Darke Co.. where his parents 
settled in 1827 ; his early boyhood days were spent at home, and, at the age of 16, 
he began life for himself and did carpenter work for fifteen years, when he com- 
menced the stud} 7 of medicine at the Allopathic College in Cincinnati, where he 
prosecuted his studies with much energy ; he was engaged in money-loaning and 
doing a general brokerage business for a number of years, and in 1878, he with 
his son opened a bank in Arcanum. He celebrated his marriage with Sarah A. 
Emerson, in June, 1849 ; she was a daughter of Gen. Henry Emerson. President 
of the Farmers' National Bank of Greenville ; four children were given to this 
union, viz.: Francis V., deceased ; Alonzo S., Joseph E., Sarah J. ; Mrs. Thomas 
departed this life Jan. 30, 1867. leaving a large circle of friends to mourn her 
departure ; a kind wife, an affectionate mother, are the tablets erected to her 
memory by her husband and children. He was again united in marriage with 
Nannevine Ballard, Nov. 29, 1871 ; one child has been given to this union, viz.. 
John Volney. 

THEODORE O. WARNER, farmer and stock-raiser ; P. O. Arcanum. The 
subject of this sketch was born in Montgomery Co., Ohio, Nov. 24, 1842 ; he was 
reared on a farm and assisted his father in agricultural pursuits till his 21st year ; 
he, by hard labor, succeeded in obtaining a fair education in the common district 
schools ; at the age of 21. he commenced life for himself and worked at various 
pursuits for three years, when he was united in marriage with Miss Celestia E. 
Yeasel in 1866. The parents of Mr. Warner were born in Maryland, and removed 
to Montgomery County. Ohio, in 1828: his father died Sept, 3, 1874, aged 71 



660 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

years ; his mother still continues to reside on the old home farm, and is now 72 
years of age. The subject of our sketch was engaged in farming in Montgomery 
County till the spring of 1875. and then removed to Darke County, in Twin Town- 
ship, where he still resides. Both Mr. and Mrs. Warner have been members of 
the Reformed Church upward of ten years, and are both zealous workers in the 
cause of religion. The father of Mrs. Warner, John Yeasel, was born in Virginia 
Oct. 15, 1804, and her mother, Susannah, was horn in Warren Co., Ohio, Nov. 1. 
1820 ; they were united in marriage Sept. 1-1, 1842, her maiden name being Susan- 
nah Aughe. 

JOHN WEIKLE, retired farmer ; P. O. Arcanum. He was born in Penn- 
sylvania in 1804, and removed with his parents to Butler Co., Ohio, in 1814 ; 
here he assisted his father in agricultural pursuits until 1837. He has been thrice 
married, first with Sarah Shaffer, who bore him four children ; she departed this 
life in 1853. In 1855, he was married to Mrs. Mary Knox, by whom he had 
one child, Mrs. Weikle dying soon after. His third and last marriage was 
celebrated with Christiana Williams, two children being the result of this union ; 
Mr. Weikle has. by his own hard labor, skill and industry, succeeded in making a 
comfortable home in which to enjoy his declining years. He has been a member 
of the Reformed Dutch Church upward of fifty years, and a continuous resident 
of Darke Co. twentv-eight years. 

JEREMIAH WHITENACK, farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 7 ; P. 0. Arca- 
num. To the subject of this sketch we are pleased to accord a place in the front 
ranks of the early pioneers of Darke Co.; he was born in Somerset Co., N. J., Oct. 
19, 1802 ; he assisted his father in the labors of the farm, and removed with his 
parents to Warren Co., Ohio, in 1823, and still continued to assist his father in 
farming and weaving till 1828. He was united in marriage, June 26 of the same 
year, to Miss Lavina, daughter of George and Elenore Camblin, residents of Penn- 
sylvania ; one child has been given to this union, viz., John C, whose sketch appears 
in this work. Mr. Whitenack settled in Darke Co. in 1837, upon 68 acres of land, 
where he still resides. He and his wife are members of the Reformed Church, and 
are greatly interested in the advancement of the Christian religion, and have borne 
the cross for upward of fifty years ; his house has been the house of Cod, where 
his neighbors congregated to worship their Maker in their wilderness home. In 
the year 1858, the parents of Mrs. Whitenack. becoming old and infirm, came to 
her home and lived with her until their death ; Mr. Camblin died at the age of 81 
years, and Mrs. Camblin at the age of 73. 

MARTIN WILD, Twin Township Clerk; P. 0. Arcanum; born in Scot- 
land, near Glasgow, May 15, 1850 ; his father was born in Liverpool, and mother 
in Germany, and died in Scotland. Our subject, in 1856, with his father, 
brother and sister, emigrated to Germany, where he attained a German education: 
in the spring of 1860, they traversed the countries of France, Prussia, and the 
Rhenish part of Germany ; and on the 10th of May following, they boarded a sail- 
vessel, at Havre de Grace, France, for the United States, and landed in New York 
city in the following month ; soon after, it is supposed, their father enlisted in the 
late rebellion ; nothing has been heard of him since. Martin W.. though but a boy, 
engaged in various pursuits whereby he supported himself until 1868, at which 
time he emigrated to Darke Co.. where he now resides. In 1870, commenced the 
plastering trade, which has since been his occupation, and during the time 
(10 years) of his life in Twin Township he has held the office of Constable one 
year. Township Clerk four years, and is now a candidate for County Recorder, sub 
ject to the Democratic Primary election, for 1880. On May 11, 1872, he united in 
marriage witli Susan Siler, and by this union they have four children, of whom one 
is deceased, and three living viz.: Gertie, Eddie C and Ethel. 

THOMAS H. WILLIAMS, farmer and stock-raiser. Sec. 32 ; P. O. Ithaca. 
The subject of this memoir is another among the many old settlers to be found in 
Twin Township; lie was born in Washington Co., Penn., July 5. 1806, an 1 is a 



BUTLER TOWNSHIP. 661 

son of John and Margaret Williams ; his father was a native of Maryland, his 
mother being born in Washington Co., Penn. ; he was reared on the farm, and 
assisted his father in agricultural pursuits till his 18th year, when he began life 
for himself, and engaged in ship-carpentering for three years, when, havinggained 
his majority, he emigrated West, and traveled through the States of Indiana. 
Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and. on his way up the Mississippi River to Wis- 
consin, he erected the first building in Keokuk, and also the first fine frame 
building in Madison. Iowa. This Western tour occupied about twelve 3'ears, 
when he removed to Pennsylvania, in 1839, and operated a saw-mill for two 
years, when he returned to Warren Co., Ohio, and was united in marriage with 
Miss Nancy, daughter of Barzilla and Mary Clark, Dec. 13, 18415. Her parents 
being residents of Warren Co., he remained in Warren Co. till the next year, and 
then removed to Darke Co., in Twin Township ; he first purchased 40 acres of 
land, on which he erected a frame dwelling, and moved his family into their new 
quarters in September, 1847 ; his land being in a wild state, Mr. Williams com- 
menced his almost herculean task of removing the vast growth of timber and 
underbrush from the land, to prepare it for the implements of agriculture, and 
by dint of hard labor and perseverance, he succeeded in removing these obstruc- 
tions ; in 1871, he purchased 80 acres more land, and in addition to the other, he 
now owns 120 acres of as fine land as is to be found in Darke Co. ; all in a 
good state of cultivation. Politically, Mr. Williams is a sound Republican, 
and has been identified with the most of the township offices ; he, with his 
estimable wife, are leading members in the Methodist Episcopal Church, and have 
labored long and earnestly in their Master's vineyard. Mr. Williams is greatly 
interested in educational matters, and has spared neither pains nor expense in 
giving his children good educations, his 3011 Thornton being a graduate of the 
Ohio Wesleyan University, and a proficient and successful educator. Mr. 
Williams informs us that James G. Blaine. America's greatest orator and states- 
man, was once a pupil in his brother's school, who was a very prominent educator 
in Pennsylvania. The children of Mr. and Mrs. Williams are nine in number, 
viz. : Clark L., born Dec. 7, 1848 ; Thornton R.. born July 21, 1850 : Frank M. 
born Nov. 3, 1852 ; Mary Belle, born May 31, 1854 : Martha J., born March 31. 
1856 ; Melissa A., born April 5, 1858 ; their first child died in infancy ; Clark 
departed this life Feb. 9, 1871 ; Frank died Aug. 30, 1868. 



BUTLER TOWNSHIP. 

EVIN BAKER, deceased ; was born in Rockingham Co.. Va., in 1808 ; 
died in 1863 ; a resident of this county nearby all his life ; was identified with 
most of the public improvements of the county ; was elected to the Legislature 
in 1854, and was the author of the Ohio ditch laws, and at the time of his death 
had a large law practice. He was President of the Richmond & Covington Rail- 
road, for the location of which through Greenville he had labored long and 
earnestly. 

BENJAMIN BOBENMOYER. retired farmer ; P. O. Arcanum ; a native of 
Pennsylvania, and a resident of Ohio for the past fifty years, and of Darke Co. 
nearly one-fourth of a century ; is a brother to Charles Bobenmoyer, whose biog- 
raphy also appears in the Butler Township list. The subject of this sketch was born 
in Berks Co., Penn., in 1805 ; was brought up on a farm, and received but little 
education and that in Grerman : was married in 1826 to Sarah Rhinesmith ; they 
removed from Pennsylvania to Butler Co. Ohio, about the year 1833 ; came to 
Darke Co. in 1853, and purchased the farm in Sec. 11. Butler Township, where they 



662 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

now reside ; his farm then had an " opening" and a cabin on it, but was mostly 
woods and very wet and swampy ; since then, he, with the other settlers, have, by 
means of clearing and ditching, made this to rank with the best lands in Darke Co.; 
lie now has a pike in every direction from his place, good buildings, and in every 
way pleasantly situated and prepared to enjoy the remainder of his days, the fruit 
of his early toils and sacrifices. Mr. and Mrs. Bobenmoyer are substantial, respected 
people ; are the parents of thirteen children, ten of whom are living, five sons 
and five daughters — Eliza, now Mrs. William Banois, of Cincinnati ; Mary, now 
Mrs. Clarke Robinson, of Neave Township ; William, a resident of Middletown. 
Ohio ; Christena, now Mrs. Fred. Wagner; Frederick, now a resident of Allentown, 
Penn. ; Sophia, now Mrs. John Bridenstine, of Hamilton. Ohio ; John, now a 
resident of California ; Nathan, a resident of Port Jefferson ; Kate, now Mrs. 
A I tram Baker, of Twin Township, and Benjamin, Jr., now married, and residing 
on and farming the homestead. 

CHARLES BOBENMOYER, farmer ; P. 0. Arcanum ; a Pennsylvanian by 
birth and an old resident of Darke Co. ; is the son of Frederick and Christena Ann 
Bobenmoyer ; was born in Berks Co., Penn., March 4, 1817 ; when about 14 years 
of age, his father came to Butler Co., Ohio, where Charles grew to manhood and 
was married to Caroline Burkholder April 20, 1847 ; she is a daughter of Joseph 
and Barbara (Meyers) Burkholder, both of whom were natives of Lehigh Co., Penn.; 
Caroline was one of a family of ten children, all but one of whom grew to man- 
hood or womanhood ; she was born in Lehigh County Dec. 20, 1824 ; her parents 
emigrated to Butler Co., Ohio, when she was an infant ; Mr. and Mrs. Bobenmoyer 
began domestic life on his father's farm, in Butler County, and continued there 
six years ; then purchased and removed to the farm in Sec. 3, Butler Township, 
l>a ike County, where they now reside, having lived in the same house for more 
than a quarter of a century, most of the fine improvements and all the gravel 
roads and public ditches have been made during their residence here. Mr. Boben- 
moyer commenced life a renter, and, by persevering labor and economy, saved 
enough to get a start in Darke County when Butler Township was yet new, and 
has grown with the growing country, and is now retired from the field of labor. 
having accumulated sufficient to keep himself and family comfortably and have 
something left. Mr. and Mrs. Bobenmoyer are worthy members of the German 
Reformed Church and useful, respected people ; they have never had any children, 
but have raised two — Charles F. Bell, now a dentist in Arcanum, and Emma J. 
Harp, who still lives with them. 

ASARIAH BRUSS, farmer ; P. 0. Arcanum ; son of John and Mary (Sher- 
man ) Bruss : John was a native of Pennsylvania ; his father, whose name was also 
John, came to Preble Co., Ohio, in 1819, the son being then 3 years old. and after- 
ward removed to Marion Co., Lid., where his death occurred. Mary is the 
daughter of John and Susannah Sherman, natives of Maryland ; the father had 
sold off his loose propert}' to be in readiness to move West, but sickened and 
died about the time he had intended to start, and the widow came soon after to 
Preble Co., Ohio ; Mary was born in Maryland in 1815 ; John Bruss, Jr., and Mary 
Sherman were married in Preble Co., in 1837 ; they first began domestic life in 
Preble Co.; he worked by the day or job as he could, mostly making shingles and 
rooting barns, for several years ; then farmed a year or two in Preble Co., and in 
1850 came to Darke Co.. and purchased a farm near Matchetts Corners, where 
Asariah grew to manhood ; in 1872, they traded for and removed to the farm in 
Sec. 11, where the widow now resides, his decease having occurred Oct. 26, 1878. 
A sariah was born in Preble Co., Jan. 1 8, 1843, grew to manhood here in Butler Town- 
ship before the era of good schools, good roads, and easy farming ; he was married 
Jan. 22, 1807, to Miss Mary E., daughter of Joseph Hittle, and they lived with 
his parents several years, he having charge of his father's farm ; the same year in 
which his father traded farms. Asariah purchased 33 acres in the same section, and 
built a small house just across the road from his father's, where they first began 



BUTLER TOWNSHIP. 663 

housekeeping by themselves, and are still residing, he here having charge of the 
old homestead, where his widowed mother now resides. In 1 862, Azariah enlisted in 
the 94th Ohio V. I., and faithfully served his country three years, enduring the hard- 
ships and privations, as well as the dangers of the service, willingly, in defense 
of the flag of our country ; he passed unharmed through several severe engage- 
ments, was taken prisoner while under Sherman, at Goldsboro, N. C, but was 
only held seven days, then paroled ; the capture of Richmond and surrender of 
Lee soon followed, and he. with the other remaining brave defenders of their 
country, was mustered out of service and joyfully returned home, receiving glad and 
grateful welcome from friends and neighbors. Mr. and Mrs. Bruss have six 
children. 

GEORGE BYERS, Sr. (deceased) ; the subject of this sketch was a native of 
Maryland ; was married to Susan Hetzler ; they came to Darke Co. in 1832, and 
located in Sec. 36, and are prominently mentioned in connection with the town- 
ship history ; they raised a family of four children, three of whom are living, viz.. 
Catherine E.. George H. and Joseph ; Catherine is now the wife of Peter Fowble. 
of Preble Co. ; George H. resided with his parents until his marriage with Kezia 
Fowble, daughter of Peter Fowble, of Preble Co., which occurred March 26, 1863 : 
they first began domestic life at his father's ; about two years later he purchased 
and removed to his present place, but his mother's decease, which occurred March 
26, 1872, made it necessary for him to remove to the old homestead ; about two 
years later. Joseph married, and he returned to his own place in Sec. 25. where 
they now reside. They are both members of the United Brethren Church, and 
respected members of the community ; they have six children — Peter W., Emma 
C.j John H., Theodore, Bertie W. and Clara E. ; Joseph was the youngest child ; 
he was married March 11, 1875, to Sarah Ann, daughter of John W. Smith, a resi- 
dent of Butler Township, and they immediately took charge of the old homestead 
and the care of his aged father, his brother older removing to his own farm in the 
adjoining section ; after their father's decease, which occurred Sept. 5, 1875. 
Joseph bought the other shares, and thus retains the old homestead, around which 
cling the memories of the struggles, toils and achievements of his parents during 
their forty years' residence, in which the wilderness and swamp which first covered 
this township were converted, by toil and perseverance, amid unfavorable circum- 
stances, into one of the most fertile portions of the county ; in this struggle, Mr. 
and Mrs. Byers bore their full share, and have handed down their legacies to their 
children, who, it will be seen by this sketch, are carrying forward the work of 
improvement and beautifying, and making pleasant and profitable, the legacy of 

fllP IT* f itllPTS 

HARRISON COBLENTZ, farmer and Justice of the Peace, Sec. 21 ; P. O. 
New Madison ; a life resident of Butler Township ; was born June 2, 1840 : 
remained at home until after his marriage, Sept. 18. 1860 ; he was united in mar- 
" riage with Caroline Hittle ; she is the daughter of Nicholas Hittle, an early settler 
of Butler Township ; she is also a life resident of Butler Township ; was born Dec. 
25, 1843. After his marriage, Mr. Coblentz built a small frame house on his farm, 
which then consisted of 80 acres, the gift, in part, of his father, and. in the April 
following, they began the duties of domestic life upon the farm upon which they 
now reside. In the } T ear 1875, he remodeled and enlarged his house, making a very 
neat, commodious home ; he also added to the original 80 acres, as he had means 
and opportunity, and now has 334 acres in a good state of cultivation ; 229 in the 
home farm, in Sec. 21. and 105 in Sec. 16. Mr. and Mrs. Coblentz are the parents 
of four children, viz.: John C, born Oct. 15, 1862; Lizzie, born Dec. 3. 1865; Kate, 
born April 29, 1871, and Frank L., born Oct. 24, 1873. Mr. Coblentz, though a young 
man, is ahead}' one of the substantial citizens of Butler Township ; has been Trus- 
tee, and is now Justice of the Peace, and an intelligent, agreeable gentleman. 
Both he, and his amiable wife, are members of the United Brethren Church, and 
useful members of society. 



6t>4 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES : 

GEORGE COBLENTZ, farmer; P. 0. El Dorado, Preble Co. ; one of the 

oldest residents of Butler Township now living; was born in Frederiek Co., Md., 
Nov. 26, 1812 : when he was a young man. his parents came West and settled in 
Montgomery Co.. Ohio, where he remained until his marriage with Miss Eva 
Foutz, which was solemnized March 16. 1834 ; she was the daughter ef Frederick 
Foutz, a native of North Carolina ; she was horn in Montgomery Co., Ohio. Dec. 
22. 1813; after their marriage, they remained in Montgomeiy County about two 
years, then came to Darke County ; his father had entered a piece of land in Sec. 
21 for him. and they put up a cabin on it and lived there about one year, but, feel- 
ing that this was too slow a way to get a start, he bought 55 acres in Sec. 2!>. upon 
which thei'e were about 10 acres cleared, a log cabin, and a young orchard started : 
they removed to this place in February. 1837, and have since resided here, improv- 
ing and adding to the original 55 acres, until he had about 600 acres, all of which 
he has divided out among his children ; Mr. and Mrs. Coblentz, now quite ad- 
vanced in years, have seen the forest, once the home of the roving savage, cleared 
by the woodman's ax, the swamps, foul with decaying vegetable matter, drained 
and renovated, and all made beautiful by the advance of civilization and the im- 
provements and embellishments they helped to make, creating fertile fields and 
pleasant homes for themselves and the generations to follow ; Mr. Coblentz has 
been a quiet, industrious citizen ; both he and his devoted wife have been worthy 
members of the U. B. Church for more than fort}' years ; they are kind neighbors 
and useful members of society ; they are the parents of nine children — Catherine, 
Mary, Ezra. William Henry Harrison. Susanna, Elizabeth, John, Rebecca J. and 
Eliza E. ; Ezra is deceased ; the rest are all married, and are substantial citizens 
of Darke County ; John is the youngest son, and has the old homestead, and his 
parents reside with him ; he was married to Mary C. Garrison May 26 1870 ; she 
is a daughter of Simeon Garrison, and was born in Butler Co., Ohio, March 5, 
1852 ; they have two children — Charles H. and William R, 

GEORGE EMRICK, retired farmer and blacksmith, Sec. 34 ; P. 0. New 
Castine ; was born in Germantown, Montgomery Co., Ohio, Nov. 2. 1818 ; he 
learned the blacksmith's trade while a boy and worked at it for a number of years. 
He was married to Frances Arnold June 16, 1842 ; they first commenced the 
duties of domestic life in Montgomery Co., and removed to Darke Co. in 1852, and 
carried on a shop at Versailles and afterward at Hill Grove, and still later farmed 
in the vicinity of Hill Grove two or three years, then returned to Montgomery Co. 
and purchased a farm there upon which they remained until 1863, when he pur- 
chased and removed to the farm in Sec. 33, Butler Township, Darke Co.. where 
Samuel Emrick now resides ; four years later, he purchased and removed to the 
farm on Sec. 34, where he now resides ; Mr. Emrick now has 159 acres of well- 
improved land, with neat, commodious buildings, suggestive of industry and econ- 
omy, and is a substantial, respected citizen : both he and his wife are members 
of the German Baptist Church, and useful members of society. They are the 
parents of fourteen children, eleven of whom are living, viz., Josiah, Silas, Zacha- 
riah, Barbara A.. Matilda. Uriah, Benjamin P., Samuel, George W., Solomon and 
Sarah E. The first seven named are married and all residents of Darke Co. but 
one, who resides just over the line in Indiana. 

SAMUEL EMRICK, retired farmer. See. 31 ; P. O. New Castine ; was born 
in Montgomery Co., Ohio, Jan. 17, 1818, and lived in Preble Co. during his minor- 
ity ; he is the son of Jacob Emrick. He was married to Elizabeth, daughter of 
t'oonrod Emrick. April 1!). 1845; after their marriage, they remained in Preble 
Co. until August. 1867, when he purchased and they removed to the farm in See. 
33, Butler Township, where they now reside ; the spring following his removal, he 
was elected Township Treasurer, and has continued to hold that office ever since ; 
he is now a member of the Board of Directors of the County Infirmary ; his 
home consists of 180 acres of well-improved land, with good buildings, and. 
although not an old resident, he is a substantial and respected citizen. Mr. and 



BUTLtR TOWNSHIP. 665 

Mrs. Emrick are worthy members of the Lutheran Church, of forty years' standing, 
and useful members of society. They are the parents of eight children, only two 
•of whom are living, viz.: Matilda, now Mrs. Geo. Bidlow, and Ananias, both 
residents of Butler Township. 

PETER FARST, farmer, Sec. 22 ; P. 0. New Castine ; an old resident of 
Darke County; was born in New York Oct. 7, 1818, and came to Ohio when 28 
years of age.* Was married in Pickaway Co., in 1844, to Matilda Stout ; in the year 
1850, they removed to Darke Co. and settled on the farm where they now reside, 
which consists of 200 acres of well-improved land, with good, substantial build- 
ings. Mr. Farst is a quiet, substantial, respected citizen ; has raised a family of 
seven children, viz.: Catharine (now Mrs. Martin Bowman), John, Amos, Susan 
(now Mrs. Joseph Elliker, of Neave Township), Lavina (now Mrs. Geo. Schlecty). 
Geo. W. a resident of Indiana, and Lida. 

BENJAMIN FOUTS, farmer ; P. 0. and residence El Dorado, Preble Co. A 
Buckeye by birth, and an early resident of Butler Township ; was born in Mont- 
gomery Co. May 18, 1813 ; he is a son of Jacob Fouts, who was a native of North 
Carolina, and settled in Montgomery Co., Ohio, in 1803, entering land upon which 
he lived all the remainder of his days ; his decease occurred in 1864, he being in 
his 83d year. Benjamin was married Sept. 21, 1834. to Susannah Coblentz, sister 
to George Coblentz, whose biography appears in this work ; soon after their mar- 
riage, they came to Darke Co.; settled first in Sec. 14, Butler Township, his father 
having entered the southwest quarter of that section ; here he remained about 
seven years ; afterward lived near New Madison, and later, a short time, in Preble 
Co.; he removed to the farm in Sees. 32 and 33, which he now owns, in 1848. 
Mr. Fouts is one of the pioneers of Butler Township ; came when Butler was a 
wilderness, in the days of log-rolling and other social enterprises common to new 
settlements ; he remembers attending rollings twenty-one days in succession one 
spring; Mr. Fouts has contributed a full share toward the development and 
improvement of the county, morally as well as physically. Both he and his wife 
are members of the United Brethren Church. They had six children — Enos, now 
married, has a family of five children, and resides on and farms his father's place ; 
Wilson B., married, and a resident of German Township ; Almira, now Mrs. Philip 
Coons, of Arcanum ; Julia, deceased, was married, and resided in Twin Township, 
and left a family of four children ; Jacob K., was a single man of about 24 years 
■of age at his decease, and Uriah, also deceased. In 1871, Mr. Fouts removed to 
Dallas, and Mrs. Fouts' decease occurred there, Aug. 15, 1867 ; he then lived with 
his married sons, part of the time at Dallas, and part of the time at the farm in 
Butler Township, until his second marriage, which occurred Dec. 7, 1879, the bride 
being Sarah Marshall ; since his last marriage, he has resided in El Dorado. 

JOHN P. FREDRICK, farmer ; P. 0. Castine ; is the son of Peter Fred- 
rick, who came from Germany to America in 1842 ; there were ten in the family 
when they crossed the ocean, and it required sixty-three days to make the trip ; 
they landed in New York City in August, and came on West to Montgomery Co., 
Ohio, coming by water to Columbus, and then by wagon to Dayton, where they 
arrived after a three-weeks journey ; the same season, they came to Darke County 
and settled in Harrison Township, near the lake : the subject of this sketch re- 
mained on the farm with his parents until he had attained his majority ; then went 
to Indiana and worked at the carpenter trade. Was married there Jan. 25, 1852, to 
Rebecca, daughter of Wm. McFarland, who was an early settler of Butler Town- 
ship and made the first clearing on the George Coblentz farm ; afterward he 
removed to Randolph Co., Ind. ; Rebecca was born in Butler Township, Darke 
County, March 18, 1833, and was about 3 years old when her parents moved to 
Indiana ; after their marriage, Mr. and Mrs. Fredrick began housekeeping in Ran- 
dolph County, he working at the carpenter trade there several years ; also dealt in 
merchandise a short time. In 1861, he enlisted in the 40th O. V. I., and was 
•elected 1st Lieutenant of Co. F ; after about eighteen months' service he resigned and 



666 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 

returned home, and in 1863 purchased a farm, and has followed farming ever since ; 
in October, 1870, they removed to Darke County, and he purchased a farm in Sec. 
I where they resided until the spring of 1875, when they removed to their pres- 
ent farm, known as the Aaron De Camp farm, which he had purchased the previ- 
ous December. Mr. Fredrick is a substantial, respected citizen, a member of the 
order of F. & A. M., and both he and his amiable wife are respected members of 
society. They are the parents of five children, two of whom died in infancy, and 
three are now living — Flora E., now Mrs. C. F. Bell, of Arcanum ; George W. and 
John E., both at home ; a little orphan niece. Iva Murray, also lives with them. 

ROBERT GILFILLAN, farmer and Justiceof the Peace, Sec. 25; P. 0. Castine; 
a native of Ireland, and was born on Nov. 12, 1833, and came, when a child, with 
his parents, to the United States ; they settled in Chester Co.. Penn., where Robert 
grew to manhood ; he learned the tanner trade, and when 17 years of age struck 
out to see the world and make a start in life for himself ; he first visited Baltimore. 
then Washington, and while there went to the White House and had the pleasure 
of shaking hands with President Fillmore ; from there he came West, having to 
stage it from the mountains to the Ohio River, thence by steamer to Cincinnati ; 
from there he came to Dayton, and found he had just $5 left ; he then began to 
look around to find work, which he soon found in a tannery at West Milton. Miami 
Co.; afterward came to Ithaca, Darke Co., where he remained a little more than a 
year : went to Preble Co. in the fall of 1852 and remained until 1859 ; he cast his 
first vote in Preble Co., when Know-Nothingism was at its height. He was married 
March 1, 1859, to Margaret C. Miller, daughter of Jacob F. Miller, a native of 
Tennessee, and an early resident of Preble Co. They removed to Darke Co. in the 
April following their marriage ; first settled on a tract of land south of Castine. 
which he had purchased in partnership with Lewis Howell. In 1862. Mr. Gilfillan 
purchased his partner's interest and became sole owner of the quarter section ; in 
1867. he sold that tract and purchased 160 acres in Sec. 25. a part of which is his 
present homestead; he was elected Justice of the Peace in 1862, which office he held 
until 1867; he resigned, and in 1870 was again elected, and has held the office ever 
since. Mr. Gilfillan's life is an illustration of what can be accomplished by indus- 
try, integrity and economy. He started from Chester Co.. Penn., a lad of 17, with- 
out means, and is now a substantial and important citizen. He has a family, three 
■ laughters and two sons living, and three daughters are deceased, one of whom, an 
unusually bright and promising girl, of about 10 years of age, was burned to death 
in 1874, by the accidental explosion of a can of coal oil. 

JOSEPH W. HAMIEL, merchant, Castine ; a Buckeye by birth, and an old 
resident of Darke Co.; was born in Montgomery Co., Feb. 15, 1828 ; when he 
was about 5 years of age, his father removed to Darke Co. and rented a 
farm north of Greenville ; after about two years ' residence, he started on horse- 
back to look up a location for a permanent residence, but never returned, nor was 
anything learned of him except that a man answering to his description was 
drowned while attempting to cross the Wabash River in Indiana ; this sad event 
made it necessary for the family to return to Montgomery Co.. where the subject 
of this sketch grew up, being bound to an uncle ; the terms made it necessary for 
his uncle to see that he was educated until competent to cipher in -'the rule ot 
three," and the contract was scrupulously adhered to in not educating him beyond 
that point ; in the spring of 1 847, he came to Castine ; first worked by the month 
for Mr. — Minich, and afterward became a partner in the lumber business ; in 
1859. he changed from the lumber to a general merchandising business, and has 
continued to conduct a general merchandise store here ever since. His marriage 
with Miss Rachel, daughter of John Bettelon, an early settler of Butler Township, 
occurred April 3. 1852 ; they have resided in Castine all their married life ; the} 
have six children — John R., Joseph W., Jr., William H, Elmore E. E., James P. 
and Kmma Nettie. John R, is now married, and resides in Castine ; Joseph W. 
is a traveling salesman, with C. W. Darst & Co., wholesale dealers in hats, caps, furs 



BUTLER TOWNSHIP. 667 

and umbrellas, at Dayton ; the latter four are still members of the family household. 

WILLIAM B. HARTER, farmer ; P. 0. New Madison ; a descendant of 
Francis Harter, and a life resident of Darke Co. ; is the only child of Silas and 
Lydia (Michaels) Harter ; Silas was the son of David and brother to Elias Harter, 
whose biography appears in this work ; his decease occurred Dec. 1, 1861. Lydia 
Michaels is the daughter of John Michaels, an early settler of Butler Township ; 
she is now Mrs. James Clarke, of German Township. The subject of this sketch 
was born in 1846 ; he grew up on the farm upon which he now resides ; at his 
father's decease, he took charge of the farin ; afterward rented it, and learned the 
wagon-maker's trade, but returned to the farm in 1867, and has resided here ever 
since. His father first had 40 acres, and had increased them to 80, before his 
death, and had a barn partly built ; the son finished the barn, remodeled the 
house, and has also made other improvements, besides paying over $700 pike tax 
and has lately purchased an additional 40 acres, with buildings. Mr. Harter. 
though a young man, is already one of the substantial citizens of Butler Town- 
ship ; is an economical, industrious, useful citizen. He was married to Eliza J. 
Zimmerman Nov. 29, 1868 ; she is the daughter of Reuben Zimmerman ; her 
mother was a Brubacker, and is now Mrs. John Jamison, of Greenville. Mrs. 
Harter is a member of the United Brethren Church, and an intelligent and agree- 
able woman. They have three children — George A., Elizabeth Iola and Mary Rosetta. 

ELIAS HARTER, blacksmith ; P. 0. New Madison. He is one of the few 
men who were born here in the early days of Darke Co., that now reside here ; he 
was born in Butler Township in 1821 ; is the son of David and Sarah (Boone) 
Harter. David was one of the married sons of Francis Harter, and was among 
the first settlers of Butler Township. David was a blacksmith, and Elias partially 
learned the trade, while at home, and after his marriage finished his apprentice- 
ship, and has continued to follow this trade most of his time since. Was a 
leading and active citizen of New Madison for many years, during which he 
erected several of the best buildings in town, but the crisis following the close of 
the war occasioned heavy loss, and he, with others, was bankrupted. When the 
war was raging and the Government called for more help, he, though above 40, 
enlisted in the one-hundred-day service, and traveled over a considerable portion 
of Virginia, where his father and grandfather had lived. The past season he has 
relaid more plows, perhaps, than any other man in Darke Co., and is still a vig- 
orous, active workman and a respected citizen. He was married in 1844, to Miss 
Gertrude J., daughter of William Biddle, a native of New Jersey, and an early 
settler of Butler Township. She was born in New Jersey in 1826, and was 8 
years old when her parents came to Darke Co. Mr. and Mrs. Harter are worthy 
members of the Reformed Church, at New Madison, and useful, respected mem- 
bers of society ; the} 7 have raised a large family — five sons and three daughters, 
viz., George S., John O., William B., Millroy E., Charles S., Sarah K., Allie J. and 
Gertrude E. George S. volunteered in 1862, when only 16 years of age, and 
served three years, enduring many hardships and participating in many battles ; 
was a prisoner in the infamous " Andersonviile," and came home from there in 
December, 1864, looking more like a corpse than a living being, but recovered, 
and is now the teacher of the Dayton (Ohio) High School ; Sarah K., now the 
widow of William Hetzler, deceased, is a teacher in the public school at Green- 
ville ; John O., formerly a teacher at the high schools at Ashtabula and Hudson. 
Ohio, is now retired, on account of his health, and resides in Summit Co. ; Alice 
J. is now Mrs. David Wheeler, of Greenville ; Gertrude, now a young lady of 
unusual intelligence and culture, is also a teacher, and all the above-mentioned 
are members of the Presbyterian Church, thanks to the holy influences of a pious 
and intelligent mother. William B. is a medical student, while the two younger 
are schoolboys. 

ELAM HARTER, farmer ; P. O. New Madison ; a life resident of Darke 
Co., grandson of the pioneer Francis Harter, and son of Solomon Harter, whose 



668 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

biography appears in this work ; his youth was spent on a farm in Harrison Town- 
ship ; when 20 years of age, he began to work at the earpenter's trade, and has 
followed that business ever since, with the exception of about three years of army 
service ; he worked in the vicinity of Terre Haute, and resided there in 1857 and 
1858, part of the time in Indiana and part of the time over the line in Illinois j 
in 1859, he returned to Darke Co., built a house on his father's place near New 
.Madison, which house he removed after the war, on to the little tract he then 
purchased and has since resided on ; in 1862, he with others enlisted a company 
and went into the United States service, being mustered into the 110th Regiment 
( ) V. 1. as Co. II, at Piqua, October 3, and in the same month joined the army in 
West Virginia, and was actively engaged in field service from that time to the 
surrender -of Lee at Appomattox. We cannot follow them in the long and weary 
marches, nor mention the almost numberless deeds of endurance and valor in 
which Mr. Harter alwa} T s shared, but will mention some of the more noted battles 
in which he with his regiment took a part — Winchester in 1863, and later the 
Wilderness, under Grant, Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor, Cedar Creek, and the final 
siege of Richmond ; during the latter, Capt. Harter was wounded ; he entered the 
service as Second Sergeant, and, by bravery and persevering endurance, always 
being with his company, was promoted through the regular order to Captain ; at 
home he is a Past Grand in the I. 0. 0. F., and an intelligent, respected citizen. 
He was married in 1853 to Christina Ray, who is also a life-resident of Darke Co., 
having been born in Rutler Township May 20, 1834, and is an intelligent, sociable 
lady. They have two children — Junietta, a young lady of unusual intelligence 
and culture, and a son, Eyevin V. 

LYCURGUS HAWKS, fanner; P. O. Castine ; another life resident of 
Darke Co., is a son of James and Margaret ( Robeson ) Hawes ; James Hawes' 
parents were pioneers of Kentucky, and were both massacred by the Indians ; 
James, then a babe, and a sister 2 years old, being hid or overlooked by the 
blood-thirsty red men, were found by some neighboring settlers and cared for : 
James was brought up by the famous Col. Patterson, who brought him to Mont- 
gomery Co., Ohio, when he was about 9 years of age ; he lived on a farm until 
about 18, then learned the carding and fulling trade, quite a profitable trade in 
those days ; having formed the acquaintance of Margaret, daughter of John Robi- 
son, while the family resided in Montgomery Co., he used to make atrip occasionally 
to her lather's house, then in the wilderness of Rutler Township ; Lycurgus 
remembers hearing his father tell how. on one occasion, he found the father and 
his six daughters at work chopping on one log, the father taking the butt cut, 
Margaret, the oldest, next, and so on to the top ; we leave the reader to imagine 
how slyly Margaret slipped around into the house when she saw her lover's form 
coming. After their marriage, they settled in the woods, in the north part of 
Rutler Township, in 1831, their cabin having no floor, window nor door, and their first 
fire being built on the top of a stump inside the cabin, which had to be burned out 
to allow a floor to be laid ; an older son, John R.. now resides on the old home- 
stead. The subject of this sketch was born Sept. 16, 1832. and grew up on the 
farm while the wilderness was being cleared, and consequently had but little op- 
portunity for book education. He was married, June 21, I860, to Hannah H. 
Rerger, whose parents were from Pennsylvania, and residents of Montgomery Co.; 
they commenced domestic life on his father's homestead ; in 1864, he leased a farm in 
Twin Township, where they resided three years ; in 1S72, he purchased and removed 
to the farm where they now reside. During his life, now past the meridian, Rutler 
Township has been transformed from a dismal wilderness, with here and there an 
opening, to a beautiful and fertile district, in which it is a pleasure to travel or 
reside, and Mr. Hawes has contributed his share toward the improvement ; in 
1878 he built a tine two-stxuy frame house of modern design, which with the fine 
barn and other improvements he has made, makes an inviting and pleasant home. 



BUTLER TOWNSHIP. 669 

Mr. and Mrs. Hawes are substantial, agreeable people ; they have seven children 
living, four sons and three daughters. 

JOHN R, HAWES, fanner ; P. 0. Arcanum ; a Buckeye by birth and an 
old resident of Darke Co. ; is a son of James Hawes, who is mentioned among the 
pioneers of Butler Township ; was born in Montgomery Co. in 1827 ; his parents 
removed to Darke Co. and settled in Butler Township in 1829. John grew up 
during the early years of Butler Township, and, while he received such education 
as was common in those days, was much more proficient in disentangling the 
knots from trees and extracting roots from mother earth than in unraveling the 
knotty questions of books or extracting the square and cube roots ; he had 
acquired a knowledge of the carpenter's trade when 21 years of age, and continued 
to work at that trade for several years. In 1861, his parents being advanced in 
years, he took charge of the farm, which he has continued, and now owns, having 
purchased it after the death of his parents, his father dying in 1862, and his 
mother in 1866. He has continued to reside on the old homestead ever since. 
His father entered this land and moved on to it in 1831 ; it was then a complete 
wilderness, and Mr. Hawes was poor, but he persevered, and had at his death a 
very good home. The son. John, has further improved it since it came into his 
possession. The old log house, now used as a hog-pen, still stands, a reminder of 
the former days. Mr. Hawes also owns 77 acres of land a little east of his home- 
stead, and adjoining the Twin Township line ; this is also under a good state of 
cultivation. He was married in 1860 to Catherine Eliker, a daughter of Henry 
Eliker, of Fairfield Co. They have seven children — Fremont, Lafayette, James 
H., Ida. Emry, Julia A. and Myrtel. 

JOHN HEMP, farmer ; P.O. New Madison ; was born in Frederick Co., Md., Feb. 
11, 1816 ; and came to Montgomery Co., Ohio, with his parents. Henry and Eliza- 
beth Hemp, in the year 1838. His marriage with Elizabeth Brunner was cele- 
brated Nov. 28, 1839 ; after his marriage, he rented and farmed in Montgomery 
County about twelve years ; then removed to a farm he had previously purchased 
in the northwestern quarter of Sec. 21, in Butler Township, where they lived until 
1876 ; he built a fine brick house on the farm, in the southeast quarter of Sec. 
21, where the}* now reside ; they are the parents of nine children, viz., . Ephraim 
C, Wesley B., Jane, John, Emma, William H., Ellen, Margaret and Rebecca. 
Ephraim and Jane are deceased ; the others are all married, except Rebecca, now 
a young lady of 17. When the rebellion threatened to destroy our country, Eph- 
raim and Wesley answered to the call of their county, and went forth, risking their 
lives to defend the honor of our flag. Wesley returned after three years of hard- 
ship, having successfully passed through man}* battles, one of which was fatal to 
his brother. Ephraim fell in that memorable seven days' terrible fighting in the 
Wilderness, when Grant forced the rebels back on Richmond, how or just when no 
one can tell ; he was known to enter the blood}* strife, but no knowledge of him 
afterward ; it is supposed he was so burned that he was not recognized, and so 
buried unknown. Mr. Hemp now has 159 acres in the northeastern quarter of Sec. 
21, besides the home farm of 80 acres in the southeastern quarter of the same sec- 
tion, upon which is a fine brick dwelling, with a neat front yard, ornamented with 
a stone-base iron-frame fence — the result of his energy, industry and economy, 
aided by his devoted wife and family. 

JOSEPH HITTLE, farmer ; P. 0. New Madison ; another of the old residents 
of Darke Co.; is a son of Nicholas Hittle, who was a native of Pennsylvania, born 
in Schuylkill Co., and removed to Miami Co. soon after the close of the war of 
1812, and removed to Darke Co. in 1837, settling in Sec. 3, Butler Township ; Joseph 
was born in Miami Co. Feb. 8, 1823 ; his mother's name was Eva (Boyer) Hittle ; 
her father and also Nicholas Hittle's father were natives of Germany, and both 
came to America before the Revolutionary war, and were both sold on their arrival 
here to pay for their passage, a common practice in those days ; just about the 
time they had completed their term of service, the war began, and Adam Hittle 



670 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

served during the whole period of the Revolution, but Boyer. being crippled, was 
exempt from military service. The subject of this sketch lived on the farm with 
his father until his marriage with Christena Kicker, which occurred Sept. 14, 1843 ; 
she is the daughter of Michael and Catherine (Miller) llicker, natives of Wurtem- 
burg, Germany, and are early settlers of Butler Township ; they settled in Sec. 
9, in 1832 ; Christena was born in Germany, in 1825 ; immediately after their 
marriage they commenced domestic life on a farm in Sec. 10. just across the road 
from his father's place, which he had previously purchased and has since improved 
very nicely, and still owns, but now resides on a farm in Sec. 9, where his wife's 
parents lived, and which he purchased and removed to in 1870 ; he now has 240 
acres of well-improved land, with two sets of good buildings, and is a substantial, 
respected citizen ; he is one of those self-made men. having started with nothing ; 
by hard, persevering labor, amid the difficulties of early life here, he has constantly 
increased his possessions, and is now independent, and will soon retire from the 
field of active farming, but it is hoped the community ma}' have the benefit of his 
presence for many years to come. Mr. and Mrs. Hittle are both worth}' members 
of the Lutheran Church, and respected, useful members of society ; they are the 
parents of nine children, Catherine, born Feb. 27, 1846, (now Mrs. John Johnson) ; 
Mary Elizabeth, born Jan. 9. 1848 (now Mrs. Ezra Bruss) ; George W., born Dec. 
4, 1850 (now married and resides on one of his father's farms) ; Louisa, born Nov. 
30, 1852 (now Mrs. James K. Noggle) ; William J., born Feb. 7, 1856 (now 
married and a resident of Butler Township) ; Jacob, born May 5, 1858 ; Caroline, 
born Nov. 30, 1860 ; Fredrick F.. born Dec. 10, 1863 ; Charles B., born July 15, 
1866 ; the latter four are members of the family household. 

FREDRICK K. HOLSAPPLE, retired farmer ; P. O. Castine ; an old resi- 
dent of Darke Co.; was born in Perry Co., Ind., Nov. 14, 1802. Was married to 
Sarah Morrison Aug. 23, 1827 ; she is an aunt to Silas Morrison, whose biography 
appears in this work. Mr. and Mrs. Holsapple removed to Ohio in 1831; settled 
first in Montgomery Co., near Salem ; came to Darke Co. in 1851 and purchased 
the southwest quarter of Sec. 14, Butler Township, where they have resided 
ever since. This neighborhood was then a swampy wilderness, with here and there 
a small "opening," but no road worthy of the name. Mr. and Mrs. Holsapple were, 
however, true pioneers, and bravely undertook the task of making a home of this then 
very uninviting looking place, and right well have they succeeded ; they now have 
1 60 acres of rich, fertile land, under a good state of cultivation, with two sets of 
buildings. They are the parents of five children, four of whom are living, viz,. 
George and Elizabeth, both married, and both residents of Illinois ; Susan and 
David, now married, who resides on and has charge of his father's farm. 

GEORGE T. HORINE, farmer ; P. O. Castine ; one of the old residents of 
Butler Township ; his father, Jacob Horine, came to Darke Co. from Maryland, in 
1836, and settled in Sec. 27, Butler Township ; he is a descendant of Adam Horine, 
who came from Germany to the New World in the colonial days, and was the first 
white person to cross the mountains with his family, into the Middletown Valley, 
in Maryland ; he purchased land there, at that time, of King George, for 3 cents per 
acre ; he was the father of Tobias Horine, who was the father of Jacob Horine, the 
father of George Horine. The subject of this sketch remained with his parents 
until 23 years of age, receiving but little education. His marriage with Miss Eliza 
Stout was solemnized March 6, 1853 ; she is a daughter of Jacob and Catherine 
(Meckley) Stout, natives of Lehigh Co., Fenn.; Eliza was born in Pickaway Co., Ohio, 
Jan. 29, 1836. After his marriage, Mr. Horine farmed his father's place for several 
years ; in 1866, he purchased the farm upon which they now reside ; during the 
thirteen years that have followed, very material improvements have been made ; the 
farm now consists of 220 acres, in Sec. 28, with a neat, commodious brick building, 
and other improvements to correspond, which makes a very desirable home. Mr. 
Horine is a substantial, respected citizen ; is a member of the Board of Trustees of 
the United Brethren Church ; both he and his estimable wife are worthy members 



BUTLER TOWNSHIP. 671 

■■ >f the church, and useful members of society; they are the parents of five sons, viz.: 
Jacob W., born Dec. 30, 1853 ; Franklin E, born Jan. 27, 1859, died Feb. 26, 1859 ; 
Joseph N., born Dec. 18, 1859 ; William C, born April 11, 1861, and John W., born 
July 29, 1867 ; the last three are attending school ; Jacob W. is married and 
resides on his father's farm. 

ADAM HORINE, farmer ; P. 0. Castine. The subject of this sketch is the 
youngest son of Jacob and Elizabeth (Dutro) Horine, who came to Darke Co. in 
1836, and settled on the farm upon which Adam now resides ; they were among 
the earliest settlers of Butler Township, which was then, with the exception of 
here and there an " opening," a howling wilderness, and a large part of it an almost 
impenetrable swamp. To clear away the forest and drain and renovate the 
swamps, required an amount of energy, labor and endurance which the present 
generation may well be thankful has not been required of them. In the toils and 
privations of the early settlers, Jacob Horine and his excellent wife partook, doing 
their full share. They are worth}' members of the United Brethren Church, and 
helped erect the first church building in Butler Township, thus contributing to the 
moral as well as physical development of the township. Future generations will 
never be able to fully appreciate the blessings coming to them through the influ- 
ence of such characters among the early pioneers, but the present generation may 
pay their tribute of gratitude by handing down a history of the noble deeds and 
sacrifices of their ancestors. The farm upon which Adam now lives presents a 
picture in great contrast to the farm as it was when his parents first came to it. 
Then there was a small cabin, and about 25 acres chopped off — 18 or 20 of which 
were partly cleared — and a small orchard started ; the balance was dense forest 
and swamp, foul with miasma, causing sickness and death. Now there is a neat, 
substantial and commodious brick house, a large barn and other buildings for 
storage, etc., a fine orchard, and, in place of the forest and swamp, are fields 
pregnant with vegetation, and not excelled in Darke Co. for power of production. 
Adam was born in 1812. and has always lived on this same farm. Was married 
to Mary E. Hemp Feb 21, 1867 ; she is the daughter of John Hemp, whose 
biography appears in the Butler Township list ; in August following their marriage, 
he took charge of the old homestead ; the parents, however, keeping house separ- 
ately, in part of the house ; in 1870, his father died ; his mother still keeps house, 
occupying a part of the old home ; she is now in the 73d year of her age ; her mind 
and health remarkably well preserved. Adam was one of those brave and patriotic 
men, who answered to the call of their country. He enlisted in 1862, and became 
a Corporal of Co. H, 110th 0. Y. I., in which he served until the close of the war ; 
during this time he took part in fourteen separate engagements, among which 
were the notable Spottsylvania, Cold Harbor, Wilderness and Cedar Creek, which 
made Sheridan famous. Mr. and Mrs. Horine are both worthy members of the 
United Brethren Church, and useful members of society; they have three children — 
Irvin O., Lola M. and Cora E. 

SAMUEL HORINE farmer ; P. O. New Madison. Is another of that pio- 
neer family of Jacob and Elizabeth Horine ; was born in the Middletown Valle}', 
Md., Oct. 21, 1832, and was about 1 3 r ears of age when his parents came West ; 
he grew to manhood here in Butler Township before the days of good schools and 
graveled roads, and necessarily became experimentally acquainted with many of 
the hardships and privations of the early settlers. He was married June 19, 
1859, to Sarah A. Detro, daughter of Elias Detro, an early resident of Darke Co.; 
she was born in the Middletown Valley, Md., April 26, 1810. and came with her 
parents to Darke Co., in the latter part of the same year ; after their marriage, 
they first lived near what is now Rossville ; in the year 1867. he purchased, and 
they removed to, the farm where they now reside, where he has built a fine, com- 
modious house and otherwise improved the place ; he now has 80 acres of fine 
land in a good state of cultivation, the last tax valuation being $5,000. Mr. and 

AA 



t)72 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

Mrs. Horine are both worthy members of the C. B. Church, and respected, sub- 
stantial people; they are the parents of six children, all sons, three of whom are 
living. 

LEWIS HOWELL, farmer ; P. 0. Castine ; is an old resident of Butler Town- 
ship ; was born in .Middlesex Co., X. J., April 4, 1827 : when he was 4 years of 
aire, his parents removed to Washington Co., Ohio, and in 1840 they removed to 
Preble Co., where the subject of this sketch resided until 1850. He was married 
March 7. 1850 to Abigail Miller ; she is a daughter of Jacqb F. and Dicey (Weaver, 
Price) Miller : Jacob F. was a native of Virginia ; Abigail was born in Preble Co., 
Ohio, in 1830 : Mr. and Mrs. Howell began domestic life in Preble Co.; in 1850, Mr. 
Howell and Mr. G-ilfillan, whose biography appears in this work, purchased the 
farm in the southeast quarter of Butler Township, known as the Mc(iriff place, and 
the}" removed there and remained about four years, when Mr. Howell disposed of 
his interest in that tract to Mr. (iiltillan and purchased and removed to the farm in 
Sec. 22, where then' now reside ; in the twenty-one years past, they have seen and 
aided in making many improvements, both in the social and physical condition of 
Butler Township ; they now have 80 acres of land in See. 3, in a good state of cul- 
tivation, with good buildings, besides the home farm, which consists of 103 acres 
in a good state of cultivation. Mr. and Mrs. Howell are respected members of 
society and substantial citizens and agreeable people ; they have seven children — 
Milton, Oliver, Lurenna E., Robert. Leroy, Theodore and Oscar ; all are at home 
except Milton, who is married, and resides near Gettysburg, and Lurenna E., now 
Mrs. George Trump, whose biograplvy appears in this work. 

WILLIAM JOHNSON, farmer ; P. O. New Madison ; a " Buckeye " by 
birth, and a 12-year resident of Darke County, was born in Butler County in 
1816, and lived there till 1807, when he came to Darke County, purchased and 
settled on the farm in Sec. 4, where he now resides ; he was brought up a farmer, 
but worked about three years during his youth in a flouring-mill, and had but little 
opportunity for education. Was married to Sarah Littlejohn Dec. 22. 1844 : she is 
the daughter of William and Hannah Littlejohn. and was born in Clark County- 
Ohio, Dec. 17, 1826 ; they first began life on a farm in Union Township. Butler Co. :. 
he was a renter, and. after raising one crop, hired in a flour-mill, where he remained 
about three years ; after this he resumed farming, renting from year to year, until 
the spring of 1867 ; having saved a little means, he came to Darke County, where 
land was comparatively very cheap, and purchased the southwest quarter of Sec. 
4, upon which there were a pretty good brick house and other buildings, which have 
been sufficient for his purposes and enabled him to apply his proceeds to the back 
payments ; he now has 160 acres, less the church lot, on the southwest corner of 
his place, in a good state of cultivation ; thus it will be seen that Mr. Johnson is 
another of those men who began without means, and by persevering labor and 
wise management accumulated sufficient to keep him in his declining years and 
have something left for the coming generation : he has been a quiet, industrious 
citizen, not seeking public notoriety, but has quietly supported that which seemed 
right : subscribing to no creed, he has always acted honestly according to the dic- 
tates of his conscience. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson are the parents of eleven 
children, four of whom died in youth, and seven are still living — John and Lot S.. 
both married ; the former resides on his father's place, the latter is a resident of 
Butler County : Harriet M., Sarah X.. Alice. Othilla and Elvira; the latter five 
are members of the present household. 

JOHN KAKX. retired farmer; P.O. Arcanum ; is a native of Ohio, and an 
old resident of Darke Co., and is the son of Henry and Susan (Good) Kara : Henry 
was a uative of Pennsylvania, ami came to Ohio when a youth: Susan was a 
native of Virginia. They were married in Butler Co.. Ohio, and resided there 
several years ; tiny then came to Butler Township. Darke Co.. in 1852, bringing a 
number of families with them, all of whom were connected, and among whom was. 
the subject of this sketch : they all settled in the neighborhood of where John, 



BUTLER TOWNSHIP. 673 

now lives, which is known as " Beach Grove ; " John bought and removed to the 
place upon which he now lives in 1853 ; it then contained 80 acres, about 50 of 
which were under cultivation, and there was a small log house on it ; now Mr. 
Karn has 240 acres, less the school, church and cemetery lots, which are off one 
corner, nearly all under improved cultivation, with three good houses and two 
barns, and he is now preparing to build the fourth house, which will be a neat and 
commodious frame, designed for his residence ; Mr. Karn brought with him the 
religious principles which were implanted in his youth, and has been a leading 
man in sustaining organized Christianity in his neighborhood ; Rev. Voght, who 
was the first Pastor of Timothy's Reformed Church, was his brother-in-law, and, 
indeed, Henry Karn and his sons and sons-in-law, constituted the church in the 
beginning. Mr. Karn has not only been a useful man in the church but also in 
the community, and, while he and his wife are esteemed members of the church, 
they are greatly respected by the community. He was married to Susan Bobenmoyer 
in 1846 ; she is the daughter of Fredrick and Christena Ann Bobenmoyer, and 
sister to Charles Bobenmoyer, whose biography appears in this work. Mr. and 
Mrs. Karn are the parents of one child, William Henry, now married and residing 
with them ; they also raised Mary J., the youngest daughter of Titus and Sarah 
(Bobenmoyer) Shuler ; the latter is now Mrs. E. A. Clarke. 

J. P. LOVE, retired merchant and doctor, Castine ; a native of Virginia, an 
early settler of Butler Township, and one of the oldest early residents now living ; 
was born Aug. 20. 1803 ; his parents designed educating him for the practice of 
medicine, but, after taking a regular course of instruction, he became satisfied he 
did not want to follow the profession, and consequently did not take degrees, but 
after he came to the new settlement of Castine, his knowledge of medicine became 
known, and he was compelled, much against his taste and desire, to practice ; he 
came to Castine in the spring of 1833, and opened a store, keeping a general stock 
of merchandise, which he continued until 1838 ; from 1838 to 1841, he devoted 
his entire attention to the practice of medicine ; from 1841 to 1851, he was again 
engaged in merchandising ; from 1851 to 1855, he lived a retired life, doing some 
medical and some legal business for his former customers, which he could not well 
put off; from 1855 to 1857, he again engaged in merchandising ; since 1857, he 
has not engaged in any regular business, except to look after his property, which 
consists of notes, etc., and valuable real estate property in Michigan. The Doctor 
is one of those enigmas who never married ; has always had a great fondness for 
books, and has spent much time and not a little money acquiring knowledge, in 
its broad sense ; has been acquainted with nearly all the prominent men of Darke 
County, and quite intimate with many of them ; he is still a student for the sake 
of knowledge, and a very kind-hearted man. R, M. Pomeroy, who was a prominent 
boot and shoe dealer of Cincinnati and Boston, and later, President of the Central 
Branch of the Union Pacific R. R., commenced his successful career in a building 
which he rented of Dr. Love, the Doctor boarding with his family, and assisting 
him both with advice and use of means ; a firm friendship has always existed 
between them. The Doctor is widely read, and has a remarkably retentive mind ; 
he can give the name and history of nearly every man who entered land in the 
neighborhood of Castine. 

DAVID R. McCLURE, farmer ; P. O. El Dorado, Ohio ; an old resident of 
Darke Co.; was born in Rockbridge Co., Va., Dec. 7, 1827 ; he became an orphan 
at tha age of 9, by reason of the decease of his father, his mother having died 
when he was quite young ; when he was about 11 years of age, he came to Fair- 
field Co., Ohio, with W. K. McCabe, who was a brother-in-law. Mr. McCabe came 
to Darke Co. in 1844, and David accompanied him, and continued to make their 
house his home until his marriage with Miss Martha, daughter of Thomas Kyle, 
whose biography appears in the Harrison Township list ; their marriage was cele- 
brated Nov. 2, 1854, and they immediately began the duties of domestic life 
where they now reside and have resided ever since, he having purchased 90 acres 



674 BIOGR A PHI CA L SK ETC 1 1 ES : 

of his present homestead previous to his marriage ; he then had a small but com- 
fortable frame bouse and about 30 acres cleared ; he now has 170 acres, 120 of 
which are under cultivation ; in 187"), he built a line frame residence, and had just 
moved into it when the old house took tire and was burned. .Mr. McClure has 
been a quiet, industrious man. an active Republican and a useful citizen ; was 
Lieutenant of Co. B. 150th Regiment (.). X. (J-.; in his youth, he was an associate 
and sehoolmate of Judge David Meeker and Hon. Win. Allen. Mr. and Mrs. 
McClure are highly respected and useful members of society : they have had nine 
children, seven are living — Ann Eliza, born dan. 7, 1856 (now Mrs. Henry Brown. 
of Preble Co.); Cora B.;born Feb. 24, 1858 (now Mrs. Joseph Coppoek. a resident 
of Butler Township ; Luella M., born Feb. 10. 1861 ; William A., Oct. 2 1, 1863 ; 
Frank ti., Nov. 23. 180!) ; Theodore A., Oct. 31, 1871, and Ambrose B., Sept. 7, 
1876. The names of the deceased are Mary Alice, born April 24, 1806, died 
March 14, 1871 ; an infant son, who was born March 22 and died March 24, 1860. 

WM. McGRIFF, farmer, Sec. 14 ; P. 0. Castine; a son of John McGriff, 
who was one of the pioneers of Butler Township. William was born in Butler 
Township in 1814, and grew to manhood during the pioneer days of Darke Co. ; 
before he became of age, he bought his time in order to go to school, and, although 
he had received almost no education during his youth, he soon became sufficiently 
learned to pass the necessary examination in •• reading, writing and arithmetic." 
and began teaching, first in summer, and attending school in winter, then taught 
winters and farmed in summer ; this he continued several }'ears, but when he had 
accumulated enough to get a good start at farming he turned his attention to that 
altogether, and has been quite successful. He was married in 1839 to Mary, 
daughter of Phillip Shank, a pioneer of Twin Township ; after their marriage, 
they began domestic life in Twin Township after the usual primitive style, with 
scarcely any furniture or cooking utensils ; the first fall he killed one hog, which 
he had fattened, partly with corn and partly with acorns he had gathered for that 
purpose. It would seem impossible for a young couple to start in this way now. 
and, indeed, they would be the laughing stock of the community ; yet most young 
couples, in those days started with similar outfits, and many of them, like Mr. 
McGriff, became the substantial citizens of the county. He became a citizen of 
Butler Township about 1840, having at that time purchased a tract, partly in 
Twin and partly in Butler, the building being in Butler ; he has since erected a 
commodious brick house on the same tract in Twin Township, where he now 
resides ; he now has three 80-acre tracts and one 20-acre tract in Butler Township 
and three 80-acre tracts in Twin Township, most of which he has cleared, and all 
of which he has improved very materially. Thus it will be seen he has been an 
important factor in the improvement of both Butler and Twin Townships ; he has 
been an industrious, enterprising, energetic farmer and a good citizen. His wife, 
who belonged to one of the early and respected families of Twin Township, was a 
devoted wife, a kind mother and an intelligent, useful woman ; her decease, which 
occurred Jan. 25, 1879, was a severe affliction, and all the more so on account of 
there never having been any serious sickness in his family previously, they having 
raised a family of live sons and two daughters without a single death, and all but 
the two youngest sons, who are at borne, are married and respected citizens of 
Darke County. 

SAMUEL B. M1NNICH, merchant, P. O. and residence. Castine; one of the 
firm of Minnich & Handel, dealers in general merchandise, Castine. This is the 
most important business firm of Butler Township. Tin' subject of this sketch is 
a native of Pennsylvania, and an old residenl of Darke Co.; was born Dec. 10, 
L824 ; when about 7 years of age, he came with his parents to Montgomery Co., 
Ohio, where he remained till 1847. when he came to Castine and engaged in the 
Lumber business ; operated a saw-mill here twelve years. In 1859, he engaged in 
merchandising in connection with Mr. Bamiel, who had become a partner in die 
Lumber business in 1850 and they have continued to do business together for thirty 



BUTLER TOWNSHIP. 



675 



vears ■ during this time, they have done a large business in the aggregate, and 
altogether quite successful. Mr. Minnich received only such education as the 
common schools of Montgomery Co. afforded during his youth ; lived on a farm 
until 19 years of age. then learned the trade of millwright, and worked at that 
until he came to Castine and engaged in the saw-mill and lumber trade ; he started 
the first merchant mill in Castine, and during the twelve years following the firm 
distributed many thousands of dollars among the farmers in this vicinity m 
exchange for their timber, which stimulated improvements and furnished the 
means. ° Mr. Minnich's marriage with Terressa Sinclair was celebrated in Castine 
Dec 14 1850 ; she is the daughter of John Sinclair, an early settler of Butler 
Township ■ her decease occurred Jan. 3, 1860 ; she had two sons— Joseph W., 
now a teacher, and John W.. now a traveling salesman with Anderson & Maxton 
boot and shoe dealers. Mr. Minnich's marriage with Miss Evaline. daughter of 
Thomas Law. a resident of Butler Township, was celebrated Feb. 9, 1862. Mr. 
Minnich has been Postmaster at Castine continuously since 1861. 

SILAS MORRISON, farmer ; P. 0. Arcanum ; a Buckeye by birth, and an 
old resident of Darke Co. ; he is the son of Nathaniel Morrison, who was a native 
of Virginia and came to Montgomery Co., Ohio, at an early day ; from there he 
came to Darke Co. in 1841. and settled on the farm where Silas now resides ; 
Nathaniel died in 1848. The subject of this sketch was born in Montgomery Co. 
in 1838. and grew to manhood here, when Butler Township was quite new, and 
much of the clearing was done during his boyhood, and early manhood days; also 
all the improvements for which Darke Co. is noted, and of which Butler Township 
has her full share, have been completed since his majority. In the tall of 1862. Mr. 
Morrison enlisted in the 110th 0. V. I., and, although wounded and permanently 
disabled in the battle of Winchester in 1863, where he was taken prisoner, and 
recaptured by the United States forces seven weeks later, he served until after the 
close of the war. Mr. Morrison began teaching during the winter, when 17 years of 
age and continued it for several years before and two years after thenar ; after his 
marriage, he lived a short time at Ithaca, Twin Township, then removed to his father s 
homestead, in Sec. 14, Butler Township, and afterward purchased 80 of the 200 
acres which then constituted the homestead, with the buildings, which are sub- 
stantial and commodious ; he has now become one of the old, substantial citizens ; 
is the present Township Clerk. His marriage with Nancy Ford, was celebrated 
Sept. 2, 1866 ; she is the daughter of Rev. Mordecai Ford, who was an early set- 
tler of Darke Co. Nancy was born in Van Buren Township. July 12, 1838, and is 
the mother of two children — Jacob W. and Frank M. 

JULIA ROSE ; P. O. Arcanum. Widow of the late Samuel D. Rose, and a 
sister to Charles and Benjamin Bobenmoyer, whose biographies appear in this 
work ; she was born in Pennsylvania in 18i5, and was about 17 years of age when 
her parents came to Ohio and settled in Butler Co. She was married in Butler 
Co. in 1834, to Michael Dubbs ; he was also a native of Pennsylvania, and was 
born in 1809 ; he died in Butler Co. in 1845 ; four children were the fruits of this 
union— Henry, born Aug. 10, 1835, now a resident of Preble Co.; Mary Ann, born 
Dec. 25, 1837, now Mrs. Amandus Shuler, of Kansas; David F., born May 12, 
1841, now a resident of Butler Township ; Julia Ann. born Jan. 29, 1846, now 
Mrs. William Heidleberger, of Hamilton, Ohio. Her second marriage was with 
Samuel D. Rose, and occurred in Butler Co. in 1848 ; he was also a native of Penn- 
sylvania ; was born in 1805 ; in 1857, they came to Darke Co. and settled on the 
farm in Sec. 12, Butler Township, where the widow now resides ; Mr. Rose was an 
active, enterprising citizen, possessed considerable business talent, and was engaged 
during most of his residence here in clerking, or trading on his own responsibility, 
at the" same time taking general superintendence of his farm ; his decease occurred 
Jan. 12, 1869 ; as a result of this second marriage, Mrs. Rose became the mother 
of sis children— Samuel T., born March 15, 1849" now a resident of Neave Town- 
ship ; Cecelia, born May 2. 1851, died Nov. 6, 1852 ; Emily J., born April 25. 1854, 



676 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

now Mrs. George Foreman, of Monroe Township; Winfield S., born May 8, 1856' 
now married and resides with his mother and has charm' of the farm ; Josephine' 
born .May 13, L858, now Mrs. Oscar Moist, of Butler Township; Emma Medora' 
born June 25, 1862, now a young lady. 

CHRISTIAN SCHLECHTY, farmer and stock-raiser; P. 0. New .Madison ; a 
life resident of Darke Co.; is the grandson of Christian Schleehty, who came from 
Switzerland to America before the Revolution, and was a hoy at the time the war 
was going on, and who lived near enough to hear the guns of the battle of Bran- 
dy wine ; is the son of Christian Schleehty, who came to Darke Co. and entered 
land near Fort Jefferson as early as 1817, and about three years later was married 
to Susan Noggle, a sister to Michael Noggle, whose biography appears in this work. 
They lived on this land, near Jefferson, until their decease, which occurred, his in 
I860, being in his (55th year, and hers in 1875, she being in her 75th year. The 
subject of this sketch was born in Neave Township July 18, 1821 ; remained with 
his parents during his minority, and continued to have his home there until his 
marriage with Alainanda Morricle, which occurred in New Madison Nov. 22, 1846. 
She was a native of Virginia, and was partially reared by an uncle of Mr. 
Schlechty's ; they began domestic life on the place where they now reside ; he 
then rented the farm of his father, and about three }'ears later bought it ; the 
farm then consisted of 80 acres, almost entirely woods. Mr. Schleehty has cleared, 
ditched and added to it until he now owns 180 acres, 130 of which is under culti- 
vation ; he has also built quite extensive barns for the storage of grain and 
accommodation of his stock, and a good house, which he now occupies for his resi- 
dence. Mr. Schleehty. while farming quite largely, makes a business of raising 
fine stock, of which he shows some excellent specimens of thoroughbreds ; he is a 
reliable Democrat in politics, and a quiet, substantial citizen. Mr. and Mrs. 
Schleehty are the parents of six children — Susan, now Mrs. Napoleon Garland 
and George, both of whom are residents of Butler Township ; Melissa J., now 
Mrs. Sebastian Veitor, of Neave Township ; Franklin P., a young man, and Ellen 
and Laura, children. 

A. I. SHULER, farmer and stock-raiser, also manufactures carriages, bug- 
gies and sleighs ; P. 0. Arcanum. Mr. Shuler was born in Pennsylvania in 1840 ; 
received a good common-school education, also attended one term at the High 
School of Middletown, Penn., and afterward took a course at the Commercial Col- 
lege at Hamilton, Ohio, clerking for different merchants in the mean time ; was 
married to Miss Maggie, daughter of John Bobenmoyer, in 1872, being at that time 
interested in a carriage manufactory at Boyerstown. Penn ; they went there, but 
soon after he sold his interest and returned to Butler Co., where her parents lived ; 
in 1874, they removed to her father's farm, in Sec. 1, Butler Township, and have 
resided here since ; he having charge of the farm and is also manufacturing bug- 
gies, carriages, sleighs, etc.; having a shop on his farm, his expenses are low and 
enables him to put up first-class work at a very low price ; always keeps a stock 
on hand, which he sells on easy terms and gives a warrant. Mr. S., although a 
young man. is already regarded as one of the substantial residents of Butler Town- 
ship : is a member of the G-erman Reformed Church, and both he and his wife are 
intelligent, respected members of society : they have three children — William A., 
Charles (). and Winford B. 

TITUS SHULER, retired fanner: 1'. ( ). Arcanum ; a native of Pennsylvania 
and an old resident of Darke County ; was born in Lehigh County. Penn., in IS]."), 
and lived there until 2.", years of age ; came to Butler County, Ohio, in 1839. 
Was married to Sarah Bobenmoyer in 1842 ; she belonged to the Bobenmoyer 
family whose biographies appear in the Butler Township list ; her decease occurred 
in 1854 ; she left four children — Amandus. now married and a resident of Union 
City : Lucy, now .Mis. David Baker; Samuel, now married, resides with his father 
and has charge of the farm : Mary J., whom Mr. and .Mrs. John Karn raised, is now 
Mrs. il. A. Clarke. In 1855, Mr. Shuler was married to Deborah Bridenstine. of 



BUTLER TOWNSHIP. 677 

Butler County ; immediately after their marriage, they came to Darke County and 
settled in Butler Township, on the farm in See. 12, where they now reside. Mr. 
Shuler came before the era of gravel roads and underground ditches, and has done 
his share toward these improvements, for which Butler Township is justly cele- 
brated • he was once elected Justice, but declined the honor ; he has been a quiet, 
useful citizen ; both he and his wife are worthy members of the Reformed Church 
and respected members of the community ; they are the parents of two children- 
Wilson now a resident of Decatur County, Kan. ; and Franklin, a youth ot 15. 

HENRY SHUMAKER, retired farmer ; P. 0. Castine ; a native of Mary- 
land and an old resident of Darke Co.; was born in 1815 and grew up as a farmer 
k>y • came to Ohio in 1845 ; lived near Germantown one year, then came to 
Darke Co and lived about two years in the Yankeetown settlement ; settled on his 
present place in 1848. As we look over the cultivated and fertile fields on this 
form now it does not seem possible ; but nevertheless, when he came here there 
were but five acres cleared and a small cabin built ; all else was wilderness and 
swamp. It seems wonderful that a single generation, yet living, should have 
accomplished so much, but the evidences of the facts are before our eyes in the 
shape of fields rich with green verdure, promising an abundant harvest ; long 
lines of ditches, with their numerous underground branches reaching in every 
direction tell of the labor by which this very desirable state of things has been 
brought about. Mr. Shumaker is a self-made man, having began life for himsell 
in 18 & 39, with nothing but his energy and strength to rely upon, and has success- 
fully battled with the difficulties of pioneer life, and in making himself, has done 
his full share toward making Butler Township, as it is to-day, one of the most pro- 
ductive portions of Darke Co. Mr. Shumaker now owns 160 acres, 80 in Sec. Ad 
and 80 adjoining in Sec. 24, which is farmed by two of his sons jointly, he having 
retired several years since. He was married in 1839 to Lydia Detro ; she is a 
sister to Mrs. Horine. the mother of the Horine brothers, whose biographies appear 
in the Butler Township list, and is an intelligent, kind-hearted woman. The fruits 
of this union were eleven children, seven of whom grew to maturity, five are mar- 
ried, two are single and reside with their parents. 

DANIEL SPITLER, farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 33 ; P. 0. El Dorado, 1 reble 
Co • he is a native of Pennsylvania ; was born in Adams Co. June 14, 1815 ; is 
the son of Jacob Spitler, who came to Montgomery Co. when Daniel was a little 
boy. Daniel was married to Hester Barst in 1838, and they commenced the duties 
of domestic life in Preble Co., near her home, where they remained till 1873 ; he 
purchased and removed to the farm in Sec. 33, where he now resides ; Mrs. 
Spitler's decease occurred Nov. 4, 1876 ; they were the parents of ten children, six 
of whom are living, viz., Margaret (now Mrs. Moses Brackett, of Union City, Ind.) : 
John (now a resident of Preble Co.; Mary E. (now Mrs. Jessie Foreman, of 
Arcanum) ; Daniel F., William and Clarence ; the latter three are still at home. 
Mr. Spitler' was married the second time, March 28, 1878, to Susannah Shaffer, 
daughter of Jacob Shaffer, of Preble Co.; she has borne him one child— Charles 
C. ; Mr. Spitler is now past the meridian of life, and has been an industrious, 
useful citizen ; he commenced in Preble Co., in 1838, a renter ; he has gradually 
advanced until he purchased the farm he first rented, and afterward sold^ it and 
purchased the place he now resides upon, which consists of 50 acres in Sec. 32. 
and 140 acres in Sec. 33, upon which is a neat, commodious frame house and other 
improvements to correspond, all of which is the result of his energy, economy and 

wisdom. 

GEORGE TRUMP, farmer ; P. O. Arcanum ; a life resident ol Darke County : 
is the son of John Trump, who was a son of Frederick Trump ; Fredericks father. 
Casper Trump, was a native of Germany, and emigrated to America and settled 
in Maryland at an early day ; Frederick was bom in Maryland, and came to Darke 
County at an early day and settled near Castine : John was born in Maryland, and 
married there ; afterward lived in Pennsylvania, and from there to Montgomery 



678 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES 



Co., Ohio, and removed to Darke County about the year 1840; lived about one 
year near Castine. then removed to Twin Township/ The subject of this sketch 
was born in Twin Township Oct. 27, 1847 ; was brought up on a farm, and received 
the benefit of a regular attendance at the district school during his youth, and 
three terms at the Normal School, at Lebanon ; was married to Lurenna Howell 
June 29, 1876, and together they celebrated the 100th anniversary of American 
independence by visiting the Centennial Exhibition at Philadelphia; they also 
visited his father's birthplace. Mr. Trump began teaching in 1869, and has 
taught most of the winters since; his wife was a pupil under him; after their 
marriage, he taught school the first winter, and they kept house in an old loo 
cabin, a relic of pioneer days, which was the only house then vacant near the 
schoolhouse ; in the following spring, he rented her father's farm, in Sec 3 Butler- 
Township, where they now reside ; they first kept house, or rather « stayed " in a 
shop and wash-house of their neighbor, Charles Bobenmoyer, during the spring and 
summer, while the present neat and commodious house was building. Mr. Trumi i 
is a young man, intelligent, energetic and industrious, and has already made a 
start which proves his ability to become, if life and health are spared one of the 
substantial citizens ; he is a member of the Lutheran Church, and both he and hi* 
wile are respected members of society ; they are the parents of two children— 
( arrie A. (deceased) and Lewis 0. 

BAKER VALENTINE, retired farmer; P. 0. Arcanum. A "Buckeye" by 
birth ; was born in Butler Co. and grew up in Warren Co.; after he was grown he 
went to Cincinnati, and, being disappointed in finding employment, made an engage- 
ment to boat on the Ohio River ; after about one year's river experience he 
engaged with his brother Aaron, who then had a grocery in Cincinnati, and remained 
in that city about nine years ; in 1834, he came to Darke Co. and entered five 80- 
acre tracts a little north of Arcanum, and commenced clearing, built a cabin and 
in the year following, having got the cage ready, was married to Miss Matilda 
daughter of Clarke Baker, a native of Warren Co., and an early settler of Twin 
township, Darke Co. After his marriage, he concluded his neighbors were too 
scarce and far between, and sold in part and traded for a quarter of Sec. 13 Butler 
lownship; afterward bought 80 acres of the southeast quarter of Sec 12 upon 
which his present residence is located ; Mr. Valentine is emphatically a self-made 
man. being thrown out upon the world when so young that he has no recollection 
of his parents ; he had to depend upon the kindness of friends until he was old 
enough to earn a living, which he commenced doing while a youth ; he started out 
tor Cincinnati before he was of age, and has battled his way until he has become 
one of the substantial citizens of Darke Co. and a leading man of his neighbor- 
hood^ and is now living a retired life, enjoying, in his later years, the fruits of the 
sacrifices and toils of his earlier years ; both he and his wife are now quite advanced 
m years, being the oldest couple Of early settlers now living in their neighborhood 
but are still in full possession of all their faculties, and remarkably vigorous and 
active; they have three children living, all of whom are married and reside near 
them. 



FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP. 

A NS< m A LDKICH, farmer ; P. O. Laura. Miami Co. To the subject of this 
sketch we are pleased to accord a place in the front ranks of the early pioneers of 
Darke Co ; he was born in Rhode Island Oct. 16, 1820. and is a son of Varnum and 
.Martha Aldrich, natives of the same place, who settled in this township in 1834 and 
were among the first settlers in the township, locating on land in Sec. 33 where they 
have resided continuously for forty-seven years. Thev are the parents of eio-ht 
elnldren. of whom five are living, viz. : Anson, Robert. Betsy, Waldo and Orin • 



FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP. 679 

the deceased are Amanda, Sarah and Lydia. Our subject's early days were spent 
on the farm, and he has had his full share of hardships and privations to undergo ; 
he informs us he has cleared up over 400 acres of heavily-timbered land ; he stayed 
at home till he was 30 years of age, and then settled, in 1850, on the place where 
he now resides ; he owned 80 acres at the time, and has since added by purchase, 
till his present farm contains 158 acres of highly cultivated land, and his improve- 
ments are No. 1 in every particular. He was united in marriage with Miss 
Clara Brown, daughter of Daniel Brown, Nov. 7, 1850 ; three children were given 
to this union, viz. : Lucy, born May 29, 1853, and departed this life Aug. 14, 
1856 ; Erwin, born Dec. 20, 1851, and died Aug. 22, 1871 ; Martha E., born Nov. 
27, 1855, nee Mrs. Dr. Brandon, who resides in Laura. Mrs. Aldrich departed this 
life Sept. 28, 1873 ; she was a member of the M. E. Church, and died as she had 
Lived, trusting in the promises of the Savior. Mr. Aldrich was again united in 
marriage with Mary B. (Morrison) Dorwin, daughter of A. and Nancy Mor- 
rison, June 10, 1875 ; her parents are natives of Franklin Co.. Penn., and were 
among the early pioneers of Ohio; her father departed this life in 1840; her 
mother is still living, and resides in Piqua : they were the parents of six children. 
till living, viz., Jane, John, Nancy, Belle, Robert, and Margaret. Mrs. Aldrich 
had two children by her former marriage with Mr. Dorwin, viz. : Cora, now Mrs. 
(\. W. Horner, and resides in Olney, 111.; Jennie, who resides with her mother^ 
Mrs. A. has been a member of the Presbyterian Church for twenty years, and is a 
consistent Christian woman. 

SAMUEL BILLHIMER, farmer ; P. O. Painter Creek. The subject of this 
memoir was born in Augusta Co., Va., Jan. 8, 1824, and is a son of Jacob and 
Susannah (Erbaugh) Billhimer, natives of the same place ; they removed to Mont- 
gomery Co., Ohio, in 1835 ; Mr. Billhimer, Sr., was born Jan. 22, 1781, and 
departed this life April 9, 1840 ; Mrs. Billhimer was born April 12, 1789, and died 
Jan. 7, 1870 : they were the parents of twelve children, of whom only two are 
living, viz., Solomon and our subject ; the rest all lived to manhood and womanhood, 
then quietly passed away. Our subject was reared on the farm and assisted his 
lather in the duties of the same till his decease, and he then labored for his 
widowed mother's support till his 19th year, when he began life for himself and 
worked for his brother, doing carpenter work by the month for one year ; he then 
followed various pursuits, anything and everything that was honorable, to gain a 
livelihood. His marriage with Esther Miller was celebrated Sept. 13, 1846. Her 
father, Henry Miller, was killed by accident when yet a young man. Mr. and Mrs. 
Billhimer are the parents of ten children, of whom eight are living, viz., George M., 
John, Levi, Susannah, Mary C, Esther. Henrietta and Rachael ; the deceased are 
Alta E. and Samuel. Mr. Billhimer is one of our self-made men, as he began life 
without capital, but energy and good management, combined with the assistance 
rendered by his amiable wife, have made them a good home in which to enjoy their 
remaining years ; he owns 60 acres of land, which is all in a good state of cultiva- 
tion and well improved. They have been members of the German Baptist Church 
for thirty years, and are every-day Christian people, and take a lively interest in 
the church. 

MOSES COATE, farmer ; P. O. Red River. To the subject of this memoir 
we are pleased to accord a place in the front ranks of the early pioneers ; he was 
born in Miami County the 9th day of the twelfth month, 1815 ; his father, Moses 
Coate, was born in South Carolina in the fifth month, 1767 ; his mother, Elizabeth 
Coate, was born in South Carolina the 9th day of the eleventh month, 1776 ; they 
were the parents of twelve children, viz. : Jane, born the 19th day of the seventh 
month. 1795 ; Marv, born the 15th day of the eleventh month, 1797 ; Thomas, born 
the 7th day of the fifth month, 1799; Esther, born the 1st day of the second 
month, 1801 ; Joseph, born the 22d day of the tenth month, 1802 ; William, born 
the 6th day of the fifth month, 1805 ; Margaret, born the 16th day of the fourth 
month, 1807 : Samuel, born the 29th day of the twelfth month, 1808 ; Benjamin. 



680 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES : 

born the 23d day of the ninth month. 1810 : Elizabeth, born the 10th day of the 
ninth month, 1812 ; Moses, born the 9th day of the twelfth month, 1815 ; Jesse, 
born the 1st day of the third month, 1818. Our subject was reared on the farm 
and assisted his father in agricultural pursuits till his 23d year, when he began 
Life for himself and was united in marriage with Elizabeth Brown in 1839. Ber 
parents were natives of South Carolina, and emigrated to Darke Co. in 1822. and 
settled on Ludlow Creek, in Monroe Township. They were the parents of twelve 
children, of whom only six are now living. Mr. Brown was born in 1797. and died 
at the age of 82 years ; Mrs. Brown was born in 1800. and departed this life at the 
age of 66 years. In 1844, our subject settled in Darke Co., in Adams Township, 
where he remained for three years, and then removed to the place where he now 
resides, in 1848. Just after his marriage, they removed to the vicinity of Terre 
Haute, Ind., where they remained over three }'ears, when, becoming dissatisfied, 
they returned to their native State, where they have resided ever since. The 
land where he now lives was a howling wilderness when he first came on it, but. 
through hard work and good management, coupled with frugality, they have made 
a beautiful home and are surrounded by all the comforts of life. They are the 
parents of thirteen children, of whom nine are living, viz., Ezra, Esther, Bethana. 
Nancy J., Samuel, Elwood, Susannah, Emma E., Martha 0.; the deceased are Job, 
Calvin, Edmund and Jesse ; Ezra was a member of Co. B, of the 44th O. V. I., 
and on account of sickness received his discharge and returned home till health 
and vigor were restored, when he again returned to the front and nobly did his 
duty. Edmund was killed by accident when he was in his 13th year ; he was 
•covering corn in the field, and, while passing near a large tree, that had become 
detached from the roots and loosened, it fell as he was passing by, and striking him, 
be was crushed to the earth ; he lingered a few hours in an unconscious state, and 
then passed quietly into the arms of his Savior. Mr. Coate was raised a Friend, 
but has been a member of the Christian Church for forty years — laboring long 
and earnestly in the cause he loves so well. Mrs. Coate is a member of the Ger- 
man Baptist Church of eighteen 3 T ears' standing, and is an exemplary Christian 
woman. Their daughters, Susannah and Emma, are members of the church, the 
former belonging to the German Baptist and the latter to the Christian Church ; 
both are excellent young ladies and are co-workers with their parents in their 
respective churches. Bethana married Noah Arnett in March, 1866 ; Esther mar- 
ried Z. Boggs in 1871 ; Nancy J. married Samuel Hall ; Ezra married Melissa 
Thomas in April, 186(5 ; Samuel was married to Mary Engall in June, 1876. 

ISAAC B. COOL, farmer ; P. O. Laura, Miami Co. The gentleman whose 
name heads this sketch was born in the Shenandoah Valley, Va., April 5, 1842 ; 
his parents, John and Elizabeth Cool, were natives of the same place — lived, died. 
and are buried in the place of their nativity. To them five children were given, 
three of whom are living, viz., Henry, Samuel and our subject. Jacob was among 
the slain at the battle of Chancellorsville ; Mrs. Cool died in May, 1846 ; Mr. Cool 
departed this life in August, 1854. Mr. Cool was married the second time, and by 
this union had two children, viz.. Mary and Margaret, the latter deceased. Our 
subject's boyhood days were spent on the farm, having been bound out to a Rev. 
John Thomas, of Virginia, with whom he remained until he was 18 years of age — 
the stipulated time — and for two years after, which brought him to that period 
in our national existence when our country was struggling in the throes of civil 
war, when he was drafted into the army, His religions belief had inculcated an 
aversion and abhorrence to war. and he could not conscientiously take a part in 
the great struggle then pending, and, by making an intentional mistake, he boarded 
the wrong train and came to Ohio, where his religious belief was respected and 
tolerated. He first purchased '.'2 acres of land in this Township, on which hi' 
lived for two years, when he sold out and bought 40 acres adjoining, which he 
soon exchanged for the farm where lie now resides. Mr. Cool is another of our 
self-made men ; a refugee in a strange land, among strangers, and $3 in 



FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP. 



681 



debt, were the embarrassing circumstances under which he began life. His first 
marriage was consummated with Harriet Kinsey, in February, 1863, and to then- 
union two children were given, viz.: Noah, born in February, 1864 ; Susannah, born 
in May, 1871. Mrs. Cool departed this life in July, 1878 ; she was a member of the 
German Baptist Church, and died trusting in the promises of her Savior. His 
marriage with Malinda Hinegardner was celebrated in December, 1879. He and 
his wife are members of the German Baptist Church, and are exemplary Christian 
people he being one of the Deacons of the church. 

M ARTINDWYRE, farmer ; P.O. Red River. The gentleman whose name heads 
this sketch was born in County Limerick, Ireland, in February, 1822, and is a son of 
'Thomas and Elizabeth Dwyre, natives of Ireland ; his father was a farmer by occu- 
pation and died when our subject was but 6 months old ; at the age of 18, he began 
life for himself, and engaged in farming ; he has many vivid recollections of the 
great famine in Ireland, in 1845-46, and says the County Limerick was better sup- 
plied than many other counties, and the miseries and horrors of starvation did not 
bear so heavily upon them ; among the counties that suffered the extreme pangs of 
hanger and want, M. Dwyre mentions those of Donegan, Leitrim, Westmeath, 
Tyrone, Queens, Kings, Cork and Galway ; he says the suffering in some of these 
counties was severe, and many people suffered the excrucating tortures of hunger, 
and the intensity of the famine swept the whole land. Our subject was united in 
marriage with Mary A., daughter of Nicholas Hartley, March 17, 1847 ; they were 
the parents of eleven children, of whom four are supposed to be living— two in 
Ireland, if living, and a sister of Mrs. Dwyre, living in this country. Our subject 
left Ireland for America May 8, 1847, and landed in Quebec, his voyage occupying 
five weeks and three days ; from Quebec he visited Montreal, St. John's, White- 
hall, West Troy, thence to New York, where he remained one week, from there 
to Honsdale, from there to Lewisborough, N. Y., where he worked on the Erie R. R. 
for about three months, from there to Binghamton,where he took passage on the Erie 
Canal and went to Buffalo, where he remained five months ; thence by steamboat 
he came to Sandusky, Ohio, from which point he came by rail to Springfield, Ohio ; 
here he labored one year on the Mad River R. R., the second road that entered 
Springfield ; from there to Mechanicsburg, where he labored two months on a turn- 
pike ; thence to Bellefontaine for a short time ; thence to Quincy, where he labored 
on the Little Miami R. R, for a full year ; thence to Brinton and worked on the 
road for five or six months ; from there to Westville, where he labored on the railroad 
for nearly one year ; thence to West Milton, where he labored on a road but it was 
never finished ; he also labored on the D. & U. R. R., then back to the Stillwater, 
where he laid down the shovel and bid farewell to railroading, and we believe Mr. 
Dwyre has helped build more miles of railroad than any other man in Darke Co., 
.and, although his labors in this direction have occupied several years, and con- 
stantly underwent the exposure and the hardships incident to such work, he 
is yet hale and hearty, and none enjoy a joke or can tell a better story than 
Uncle Martin ; after he abandoned the railroad, he settled in West Milton, where he 
followed farming, ditching, stone quarrying, chopping, and in fact did anything for 
several years that would bring an honest dollar to his coffer ; in 1860, he removed 
to Darke Co. and leased 20 acres of Darke Co.'s woods, which he had the use of 
for eight years for the clearing, which he accomplished the third season, and with- 
out any assistance ; in 1868, he removed to the north part of the township, and 
rented a farm for cash rent, but only remained one year, when he pulled up stakes 
and returned to Miami Co., where he carried on a farm for two years ; then back 
to Darke Co. again and purchased 63 acres of land, where he now resides, for which 
he paid $45 per acre, and soon after sold part back for $55 per acre ; the 
balance is all in a good state of cultivation ; they are the parents of eight children. 
six of whom are living, viz., Thomas, Michael, Daniel, Francis, Elizabeth and Kate ; 
the deceased are Nicholas and William. 



682 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

JOHN K. FLORY, farmer; P.O. Painter Creek. The gentleman whose 
name heads this memoir is one of Darke Co.'s snceessful and most enterprising 
farmers ; he was born in Montgomery Co., Dee. 8, 1834, and is a son of John and 
Barbara Flory, natives of Pennsylvania, and were among the earl}' pioneers of 
Montgomery Co. ; ins father departed this life in the county of his adoption, his 
mother in tins county, both dying at advanced ages : they were the parents o1 
thirteen children, of whom eight are living. Our subject's youthful days were 
spent in rural life, and until he was 20 years of age did he labor on his father's 
farm, at which age he began life for himself, and followed the occupation his father 
had chosen before him ; in 1851), he removed to Darke Co. and settled on Hid 
acres of land, where he now resides ; hard work and the divine rulings of Provi- 
dence, have made Mr. Flory a successful farmer, and his beautiful farm of 
well-tilled land, containing 240 acres, is ornamented with large, tasty and con- 
venient buildings, which give his premises an imposing aspect. Mr. Flory was 
united in marriage with Elizabeth Stoner. daughter of Abraham Stoner. March 14 
L858 : they were natives of Pennsylvania One child was given to this union, viz.. 
Henry, born Dec. 12, 1859 ; Mrs. Flory died Sept. 6, 1860, and was born Aug. 23. 
1838. He was again united in the holy bonds of matrimony, with Catherine 
(Stauffer) Landis, June 16,1881; her father is a native of Pennsylvania, her 
mother of Virginia ; they were the parents of eleven children, eight of whom are 
living ; Mr. and Mrs. Flory are the parents of ten children, viz.: Sarah, born April 
18,1862; Elias, born June 30. 1863 ; Mary, born Aug. 1 1, 1865 ; Annie, born 
July 4, 1867 ; Daniel, born May 27, 1869 ; Martha, born March 14, 1871 ; John, 
born March 26, 1873 ; Catherine, born Feb. 17, 1875 ; Jesse, born Jan. 14, 1877 ; 
Ira. born June 24, 1879 ; Mrs. Floiy was married to Benjamin Landis, Aug. 30. 
1854; one child was given to this union, viz., Benjamin, born Aug. 24, 1855 ; 
Mr. Landis departed this life June 28, 1855 ; Mrs. Flory was born Aug. 16, 1836.. 
Mr. and Mrs. Flory are members of the German Baptist Church of twenty years 
standing, and are every-day Christian people. 

PETER GRISE, farmer ; P. 0. Gettysburg, Ohio ; was born in Washington 
Co.. Md., in 1834 ; is a son of Jacob Grise, also born in Washington Co., Md., in 
1800, and who, in 1828, united in marriage with Elizabeth Myers, and afterward 
moved to Montgomeiy Co., Ohio, he being deceased and she still living. Our 
subject lived at home in Montgomery Co. until 1855, when he married Malinda 
Wysong, and shortly after their marriage they came to Darke Co.. where he now 
resides ; on coming hei'e, he had a little money and a team of horses ; he com- 
menced lniying and selling land, and now owns 288 aci'es of well-improved land 
in this and adjoining townships, valued at about $10,000 or $12,000. Mr. Grise is 
the father of seventeen children, twelve by his first wife, and five by his present 
companion. 

JOSEPH GBOFF, minister and fanner; P. O. Painter Creek, Ohio. The 
subject of this memoir was born in Pennsylvania in October, 183(5. and is a son of 
Abraham and Nancy Grofi* who are natives of Pennsylvania, and removed to Ohio 
in 1849 ; his lather died in 1870, aged 67 years ; his mother is living and resides 
in Miami Co. Our subject was raised on the farm, and assisted his father in agri- 
cultural pursuits, and in the mean time learned the carpenter trade ; he came to 
Darke Co. in 1873 ; he owns 80 acres of land in Wabash Township, where he con- 
templates making his future home. His marriage with Miss Catherine Reran was 
consummated June 27, 1858 ; she departed this life September 10 of the same 
year: he celebrated his second marriage, with Mary Shoo in November, 1850 . 
they are the parents of six children, of whom all are living, viz.: Allie C. Will- 
iam II.. Charles. Burton, Katie . I. and Anna B.; he has been connected with the 
German Baptist Church for twenty-one years, and he has labored in the ministry 
for six years. 

JESSE U. HYER, carriage and wagon manufacturer. P. O. Painter Creek: 
the subject of this memoir was born in Montgomery Co., Ohio, April 1, 1840, and 



FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP. 



683 



is a son of Absalom and Elizabeth Hyer, natives of the same county ; his father 
was born in August, 1814, and died in September, 1878 ; his mother was born in 
March, 1818, and departed this life in September, 1859 ; they were the parents of 
ten children,' of whom eight are now living, viz., Martha, Jesse, Serena, Noah, 
Margaret, Joshua, Abner and Susanna ; the deceased are Rachel and Maria M. 
Mr Hver, Sr., was a miller, and, in consequence, our subject learned the business, 
which he followed till his 19th year, when he engaged in farm labor till 1862, 
when he volunteered in Co. B of the 110th 0. V. I., Aug. 13, 1862 ; in the battle 
of Winchester, he received a severe wound in the left thigh, the last day of the 
fight which laid him in the hospital for sixteen months, and at the expiration of 
this time he was placed on detached duty in the barracks at Columbus for three 
months, and then returned to his regiment, which was stationed in the vicinity of 
Petersburg, and afterward followed the fortunes of the regiment in the finishing 
campaigns,' and was honorably discharged June 25, 1865 ; he returned to his 
home, and began business in his present location in 1866 ; he has good working 
facilities, and can turn out any kind of a vehicle or sleigh with neatness and dis- 
patch, for Jesse is a strong rival of his cotemporaries. He was married to Sarata 
Snuff ' March 14, 1869 ; her parents were among the early settlers in the town- 
ship • to their union two children have been given, viz., Martha L., born Oct. 3, 
1871*; Walter Scott, born Oct. 18, 1877 ; he has served two terms in the Justice's 
office ' and three terms as Clerk of the township. 

DAVID D. LANDIS, farmer ; P. 0. Gettysburg. The subject of this sketch 
was born in Miami Co. in 1858, and is a son of Daniel and Susana Landis ; his father 
was born in Miami Co., where he still resides ; they were the parents of fourteen 
children, of whom nine are living, viz., Hannah, Barbara, Henry, David, Lydia, 
Sarah, Catherine, Susan and Tener ; the deceased are Johnny, Abraham and Mariah ; 
two died in infancy. Our subject was reared on the farm and assisted in the labors 
thereof till he was 20 years of age. He then united in marriage with Susanna Eli- 
ker, Feb. 10, 1878 ; her parents are natives of Miami Co., now residents of Darke 
Co.; they are the parents of five children, viz., Sarah, Isabelle, Catherine, Simon 
and Amanda. Mrs. Landis is a member of the German Baptist Church, and a 
worthy Christian lady ; they are the parents of two children, viz., Charles E., born 
Dec 20 1878 and an infant not yet named ; Mrs. Landis was born July 31, 18^7. 
CHRISTIAN LANDIS, farmer ; P. O. Painter Creek. One of the old settlers 
of Darke Co., who was born near Canton, Ohio, in September, 1822 ; his parents, 
David and Barbara Landis, were born in Pennsylvania, where they resided till 
after their marriage, when they removed to near Canton, where our subject was 
born ; his lather died in Shelby Co. at the age of 71 years ; his mother departed 
this life in Miami Co. at the a^e of 64 ; they were the parents of ten children, six 
of whom are living, viz.: Catherine, now Mrs. Shively ; Barbara, now Mrs. Shafi'er ; 
Moses, Daniel, Samuel and our subject ; the deceased are John, Elizabeth, David 
and Jacob. Mr. L. was reared a farmer's boy, and in that capacity labored on his 
father's farm till his 23d year, when he began life for himself and followed the 
occupation of his father ; he removed to Darke Co., in Adams Township, m 1848, 
where he purchased 39 acres of land, on which he resided for three years, when he 
sold out and removed to the place where he now resides ; in 1851, he first purchased 
80 acres, on which he erected buildings, and labored faithfully for several years in 
removing the obstructions on his land ; becoming crippled with rheumatism, he 
was obliged to sell 10 acres from the west end, in order to make ends meet ; then 
the "ditch fever" raged in his vicinity, which necessitated a sale of 3 acres more, 
to enable him to perform his portion of the work ; he started in life with no capi- 
tal, and, with only slight assistance, he lias made a good home, in which to enjoy 
his declin'mo; years. His marriage with Catherine Minnich was celebrated Sept. 9, 
1845 ; her parents were natives of Pennsylvania, but became residents of Ohio ; 
they were the parents of eight children, of whom four are now living, viz.: Jacob, 
Catherine, David and Abraham. Mr. and Mrs. Landis are the parents of nine 



684 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

children, viz.: Anna, born Oct. 24, 1846 ; Barbara, born Feb. 14. 1848 ; Mary, born 
July 14, 1849 ; George, born June 14, 1851 ; Elizabeth, born Feb. 4 1854 - 
Malinda. horn Sept. 4, 1856 : David, born July 4, 1858 ; Daniel, born Dee 24 
1860; John, born Sept. 6, 1865; Qeorge died Nov. 20, 1853. They have been 
members of the German Baptist Church for thirty-three years, and' are worthy 
Christian people. 

J AM ES Y. RfcCOOL, farmer, P. 0. Gettysburg. William C. McCool, father of our 
subject, was horn m Virginia in 1803; his wife, Mary, was born in Tennessee in 
1808; they were among the early pioneers of Ohio ; his mother died in 1853 
and his father is still living and resides in Delisle ; they were the parents of ten 
children, five boys and five girls, of whom three sons and a daughter are deceased 
the living are Charity, now Mrs. Shear; Harriet, now Mrs. Yount ; Esther' 
now Mrs. Kress ; Eliza, now Mrs. Shear ; William H., and James V 
Our subject was born Oct. 24, 1828, and was reared a farmer's boy 
and followed agricultural pursuits till 1864, when he removed to Delisle and 
engaged in the mercantile trade and also dealt in grain for four years, and while 
engaged in the business, paid as high as $3.05 cents a bushel for wheat, which we 
believe is the highest figure wheat ever reached in Darke Co., as an article of com- 
modity ; in 1868. he closed out his business in Delisle and removed to Miami Co 
and engaged in farming till September. 1871. when he removed to the place where 
he now resides ; he has 240 acres of fine land, all in a good state of cultivation 
with good improvements ; more than this, everything he possesses is the fruit of 
his own hard labor, as he began life without a dollar, and to-day he is amono- the 
larger landholders in the township, thus showing to the rising generation what 
thrift and good management, coupled with frugality, will accomplish. He cele- 
brated his marriage with Mary A., daughter of William Long, April 1, 1858. Mr 
and Mrs. Long were the parents of ten children— eight daughters and two sons ■ one 
daughter departed this life Dec. 20, 1879 ; the rest are living and comfortably sit- 
uated in life. Mr and Mrs. McCool are the parents of seven children, viz ■ Amanda 
A. (deceased), William H. (deceased), Emma J., Sarah A., Rosey B., Harrison 
M. and Mary E. They are members of the Christian Church of twenty-three 
years, standing, and good Christian people ; they take a lively interest in the 
church, and are among the faithful ones. 

JOSEPH NEFF, farmer; P.O.Gettysburg; was born in Montgomery Co 
Ohio, Jan. 11, 1838, and is a son of Michael and Barbara Neff; his father was 
born m Kentucky in 1800, and his mother in Montgomery County ; they were the 
parents of five children, of whom four are living, viz., Sarah. Eva, Jonathan and 
our subject; Aaron, deceased ; Mrs. Neff departed this life in 1840 : Mr. Neff was 
previously married to a Miss Weaver, and had four children, viz., Abraham 
Michael, Elizabeth and Margaret; and by a third wife he had two children viz • 
George and Susannah ; .Mr. Neff departed this life in 1851. Our subject was reared 
on the farm, and he was deprived of a mother's love and tender care when onlv 2 
years old, and at the age of 13 he lost his father; thus young Joseph was thrown 
almost entirely on his own resources ; he remained on the old home place with his 
brother Abraham till his 18th year, when he was apprenticed to a blacksmith for 
three years, hut only served nine months, on account of dissatisfaction, when he 
left, and afterward finished his apprenticeship with a man by the name of Hecka- 
horn : after this, in L859, he went to his brother-in-law. George Hepner, and worked 
for three years on the farm as laborer. At the expiration of this time, he united 
his destiny and fortune at the marriage altar with Elizabeth Frantz, March 1(5, 
L862; her father was horn in Virginia Feb. 5, 1800; her mother was horn in 
Pennsylvania in 1809, and departed this life April .'!. 1876 ; they were the parents 
of eleven children, of whom eight are living, viz., Mary A.." Catherine. Sarah. 
Ann, Elizabeth, Henry, Jonas and William ; the deceased are Levi. Daniel and 
Lydia. After our subject's marriage, he resumed his trade in Montgomery County, 
which he followed for nine years, and was very successful ; in 1871, he removed 



FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP. 685 

to Darke County, and, on the place where he now resides, he purchased 63 acres of 
improved land, and at present it is in a good state of cultivation, and well 
improved ; he is another of Darke County's self-made men, having began life with 
small capital, yet, by energy and good management, combined with the assistance 
rendered by his amiable and industrious wife, has overcome the difficulties of life, 
and has a good home, and is surrounded by the comforts of life ; they are the 
parents of sTx children, of whom five are living, viz. : Francis W., born April 2, 
1863 and departed this life Aug. 1, 1870; Jonathan P., Sept. 8, 1864 : Abraham 
L., Nov. 12, 1866 ; Barbara A., May 15, 1869 ; Eva M., May 6, 1875. Mrs. Neff 
was born April 28, 1835 ; he and his good wife have been members of the G-erman 
Baptist Church for twelve years, and are greatly interested in their church. 

NATHAN S. PARSON, merchant and Postmaster. Red River. The gentleman 
whose name heads this sketch was born in Pennsylvania in 1813, and is a son of 
Jonathan and Euphemia Parson, also natives of Pennsylvania : his father died at the 
advanced age of 70 years, and his mother when yet in the prime of life, aged 30 ; 
they were the parents of four children, three boys and one girl : William was a mem- 
ber of the 15th Penn. V. I., and was killed in the battle of South Mountain, while 
the reo-iment was making a desperate charge on the strongholds of the enemy ; 
our subject was a member of Co. F, 55th Penn. V. I., having enlisted in October, 
1861 ; this reo-iment was attached to the 10th Corps, afterward transferred to the 
18th Corps, when the 18th and 10th were consolidated and became the 21th Corps, 
and was commanded by Gen. Orel ; the regiment was engaged at Pocataligo, Drury's 
Bluff, Cold Harbor, Petersburg, Cemetery Hill, Appomattox Court House, and in 
fact all the sharp, decisive battles that gave the death-blow to the great rebellion ; 
our subject served three years and eleven months, and never received a scratch, 
but his physical health was considerably impaired by his exposure to army life ; 
he was discharged in September, 1865, and returned to his home in Pennsylvania, 
where he entered in farm labor for four years, and in 1869 came to Darke County, 
near Getty sburo;, where he followed various pursuits till 1876, when he engaged 
in the grocery business in New Harrison for three years, thence to the place where 
he now is doing business ; he was commissioned Postmaster of the Red River 
Post Office in October, 1879, at the establishment of the office ; he carries a good 
stock of groceries and household supplies, and is receiving his share of the public 
patronage. He celebrated his marriage with Mary E„ daughter of Eli Wolf, Feb. 
23, 1872 ; her father is living ; her mother departed this life in 1871 ; they were 
the parents of six children, of whom four are living. Mr. and Mrs. Parson are 
the parents of one child, viz.. Mary D., born May 21, 1873. Mrs. P. is a member 
of the M. E. Church, and is an exemplary Christian woman. Mr. Parson made a 
loan of $700 after his return from the war, and was defrauded of nearly the entire 
amount, as he only succeeded in collecting $20, which brought him to Ohio. 

WILKINS RECK, farmer ; P. 0. Gettysburg. The subject of this sketch is 
one of the permanent settlers of Darke Co. ; he was born in Adams Township, 
near Gettysburg;, Nov. 14, 1841 ; he is a sou of Michael and Mary Reck, whose 
life histories appear on the pages of this work. Our subject was raised in 
Gettysburg, and attended school, after he had attained a proper age, till he was 15 
years old, when his father removed to the farm, and young Wilkins was installed 
there as an assistant at performing the labors of the farm. He assisted in agri- 
cultural pursuits till his 24th year, when he volunteered in the 152d Ohio V. I., 
one hundred-day men ; the regiment was stationed in the Shenandoah Valley and 
took an active part in the Lynchburg raid, as the regiment marched 175 miles in. 
thirty days' time ; they were " bushwhacked " by the notorious Mosby twice, and, in 
the last scratch, one man was killed in Co. H.; here many of the boys' lives were 
saved by the inaccurate aim of Mosby's men — by shooting too high. He was 
honorably discharged from his country's service Sept 14. 1864, and returned to his 
home and engaged in farming. He was united in marriage with Miss Emma B., 
an accomplished daughter of Absalom and Sarah Hoover, Aug. 10, 1865 ; they 



t>86 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 



were natives of Miami Co., and the parents of six children, of whom five are liv" 
ing, viz.. Noah, Eunice, Charles, Celia and Albert ; Mary A., deceased Mr 
Hoove.' was lulled by a falling tree in May, 1858; he went into the woods one 
morning before breakfast lor the purpose of cutting down a tree, and, as supposed 
started for the house as the tree began to sway, calculating it would fall in an 
opposite direction, hut, swinging around, he was caught by the branches and 
instantly killed. The accident happened on the farm where our subject now 
resides. Mr. Reck followed the farm till 1872, when he engaged in the butcher 
business m Gettysburg, which he followed lour years, and was very successful 
handling over $4,000 worth of stock in the first five months of his business- in 
1876, he dealt exclusively in stock, and previous to this winter he has been 
engaged in butchering, and prosecuting his labors on the farm in the summer time 
He only received the advantage of a common-school education, such as the county 
afforded id his day, but by studious habits has acquired a good understandino- of 
things in general, and his correct business habits predict a successful career °He 
has been identified with the offices of the township, and also in the church and 
is taking considerable pains in educating his children, and, with the aptness' they 
display, we predict the full realization of their parents' desires. He has 80 acres 
of land where he resides, all in a good state of cultivation, and well improved ■ 
he and his wife have been members of the Methodist Episcopal Church for nine- 
teen years ; they are observant, Christian people, and take a livelv interest in their 
church, and are laboring for the advancement of Christianity. They are the 
parents of six children, of whom five are living, viz.: Harvey S.,born Oct* 8 1866 ■ 
Harry G., born March 17, 1868 ; Lova P, born Oct. 7, 1870 ; Forrest, born Aug.' 
20, 1874 and died May 5, 1875; Berta F., born April 13, 1877; Celia M. bora 
May 9, lb79. Mrs. Reck was bora March 8, 1847. 

i ^ HI , I ?' AM R0ADS > farmer ; P. O. Painter Creek. The gentleman whose name 
heads this sketch, was born in Montgomery Co., Ohio, in July, 1838, and is a son 
•of Jacob and Barbara Roads, natives of Ohio ; his father is ye*t living ; his mother 
departed this life in 1846 ; they were the parents of sixteen children, fourteen of 
whom are living. Our subject's boyhood days were spent on his father's farm and 
not until he was 25 years of age did he leave the parental roof to become an actor 
on the stage m the great drama of life ; in 1864, he began his career by locating 
in this township on 75 acres of land, where he still resides ; prosperity has 
crowned his efforts, and he is one of the largest landholders in the township hav- 
ing about 300 acres under his control, all of which is in a good state of cultivation 
and highly improved. He was united in marriage with Sarah, daughter of John 
Hittle, Feb. 8, 1863; her parents were natives of Pennsylvania, afterward resi- 
dents of Ohio. Mr. Hittle resides in Dayton ; Mrs. Hittle is dead ; they were the 
parents of five children. Mr. and Mrs. Roads are the parents of six children, viz 
Mary U John 1 . Jacob, George, Jonas and Franklin. Mrs. Roads is a member of 
the German Baptist Church, and a consistent Christian woman 

DANIEL SCHAURER, farmer ; P. O. Laura, Miami Co. The subject of this 
sketch was born in Germany Jan. 10, 1833, and is a son of Frederick and Eve 
bchaurei^ natives of the same place, who lived, died and are buried in their native 
place. Our subject was reared on his father's farm, and assisted in the labors of 
the same till his 21st year, when he emigrated to America, leaving Germany Oct 
2; he landed in New York, his voyage occupying thirtv-four da vs ; he came directly 
to Cincinnati, where he remained two years, and was employed in the iron works 
and mills ; from there he went to Montgomery Co. and followed farming and mill- 
in-' for ten years, thence to the place where he now resides. He first purchased Si) 
acres ol land, partly improved, and by his own enterprise has erected splendid 
buildings, and. with the cheerful surroundings, his home is a very pleasant one ; he 
is one of our self-made men, having began life with only a' small capital/but 
energy and persevering industry have overcome the obstacles in life's pathway and 
their beautiful home is the reward of their toil. His marriage was consummated 



FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP. 687 

with Elizabeth, daughter of Peter and Barbara Shanck, March 10, 1864 ; their life's 
history also appears in this work ; to their union two children have been given, 
viz. : Henry, born March 22, 1865 ; Andrew J., born Oct. 2, 1866. He was a mem- 
ber of the 29th 0. V. I., Co. C, commanded b} r Capt. R. L. Jones, and was enrolled 
Sept. 23, 1864 ; he joined the regiment at Atlanta, Ga., but was soon after stricken 
down with sickness, and laid in the hospitals of Nashville, Chattanooga and 
Atlanta, for about one month, then he was sent to Madison, Ind., and soon after to 
Jeffersonville, of the same State, where he remained some four weeks, from there 
to Camp Dennison for a short time, thence to Columbus, Ohio, and from there to 
Governor's Island, N. Y., where he remained one month, thence by steamer to New 
Jersey, from there to Goldsboro, N. C, and then to various other points, till the 
war closed, when the regiment was ordered to Washington, where they took a part 
in the grand review, and were immediately after sent to Camp Dennison, where he 
was mustered out on the 5th day of June, 1865. He has four brothers and two sisters 
living, viz., Jacob, Peter, George, Michael, Anna M. and Kate ; the four latter 
live in German}'. 

JOHN SPIDEL. farmer, P. 0. Painter Creek. 

URIAS WEAVER, farmer ; P. 0. Red River. Another of the old settlers 
of Ohio ; he was born in Montgomery Co., Ohio, Oct. 18, 1833, and is a son of 
John and Catherine Weaver ; his father was born in Pennsylvania, and emigrated 
to Montgomery Co. with his parents when 7 years of age ; his mother was 
born in Virginia and came to Ohio when quite young ; both are living and reside 
in Jackson Township, Montgomery Co.; they are the parents of seven children, of 
whom five are living, viz., Mary M., Catherine, our subject, John D. and William 
A.; the deceased are Sarah and Malinda. Urias was raised on the farm and 
assisted his father in the duties of the same until he was 26 years of age, when 
he began life for himself, and celebrated his marriage with Hester, a daughter of 
Henry and Mary Bowser, Jan. 1, 1860 ; they are natives of Montgomery Co., 
where Mr. Bowser continues to reside ; Mm. Bowser departed this life in 1859 ; 
they were the parents of four children, of whom two are living, viz. : Hester 
and Elizabeth ; the deceased are Susannah and Allen ; the latter was a mem- 
ber of the 91st 0. V. I., and was among the slain on the bloody field of 
Franklin, Tenn. After his marriage, our subject began life in good earnest by 
engaging in farming, which pursuit he followed for four years, when he closed out 
and purchased a steam saw-mill, which he operated very successfully for ten 
years, when he disposed of the mill and appurtenances and purchased 102 acres 
of land ; his home farm contains 82 acres of choice land and is well improved ; 
he is another of the self-made men of Darke Co., he having begun life heavily 
encumbered, but by strict business integrity, coupled with good management, he 
has kept ahead of the hounds, and has a good home as the reward of his perse- 
verance and industry. They are the parents of ten children, of whom seven are 
living, viz., Romancey A., William C, John H, Oscar 0., Bertha L., Maryetta 
C. and Fernandis G.; the deceased are Franklin H, Clarence L. and Edgar E. 
Our subject has had his full share of township offices, having served as Trustee 
one term, Assessor three terms, and at present is one of the Land Appraisers, thus 
showing the good people of the township have confidence in the executive ability 
of our subject. He and his amiable wife are life-long members of the Lutheran 
Church, and warmly espouse the cause. This organization is presided over by the 
Rev. P. C. Schmogrow, and has a membership in the district of about twenty- 
five. Mrs. Weaver was born in Indiana, Feb. 27, 1842. 

SOLOMON WEILLS, retired ; Painter Creek. The gentleman whose name 
heads this sketch was born in Preston Co., Va.. Feb. 12, 1818, and is a son 
of William and Sarah Weills ; his father was born in Maryland in 1775, and died 
in 1848 ; his mother was born in 1781. and departed this life in 1848 ; they are 
the parents of sixteen children, of whom all are living, so far as is known, except 
four. Our subject was reared on the farm, where he labored till he began his 

BB 



688 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

labors in the schoolroom, which he followed till he was 23 years of age. He 
received his preparatory education in Washington, and studied theology under his 
brother, who was a very eminent minister of the Lutheran Church ; he frequently 
filled his brother's appointments, during his studies, thus gaining a practical and 
theoretical experience at the same time ; he was ordained a minister of the Gospel 
in 1847. his first regular charge being in Washington Co., Penn.; here he labored 
for ten years, and frequently preached to other congregations ; at the expiration 
of this time, he removed to Union Co., Ind., and was placed in charge of the Luth- 
eran Church in Liberty, also St. Paul's Church, in an adjoining county ; here he labored 
for seven years, and was then called to Tippecanoe, where he labored for four 
years, filling two regular appointments, and, he informs us, while on this charge, he 
preached more funeral sermons than in all his previous life in the ministry ; in 
1866, he went to live near Greenville, and was actively engaged for awhile ; thence 
to Adams Township, where he remained one year ; thence to the place where he 
now resides ; he owns 163 acres of improved land, which is in a high state of cul- 
tivation. He celebrated his marriage with Lydia, a daughter of John and Hannah 
Shaffer, May 2, 1844 ; to this union six children were given, viz.: Alpheus, horn 
Feb. 6, 1846 ; Mosheim, born March 4, 1848 ; Henrietta, born March 9, 1850 ; Her- 
man J., born May 23, 1851; Agnes H, born Aug. 21, 1854, died Jan. 13.1868; 
Hazelius. born March 3, 1858; Mrs. Weills died in 1865; he was again united in 
marriage with Martha J., a daughter of Elisha and Eliza Pennv. March 5, 1873. 

JOHN N. WILLIAMS, farmer ; P. O. Pleasant Hill ; the subject of this 
memoir was born in Miami Co., Ohio, in 1839, and is a son of Isaac and Sarah 
Williams ; his father was born in Miami Co. ; lived, died and is buried in the 
count}' of his nativity ; his grandfather, John Williams, was born in Virginia, and 
settled on the farm where our subject's father spent a lifetime, where his eyes 
first beheld the light of day, and where he met the summons of death ; on the 
land where his grandfather located was a place held sacred by the Indians, 
was a place of general rendezvous for all neighboring tribes, and on the same 
spot the early pioneers erected four block-houses, ibiming a square, which gave 
the settlers a place of protection and security from the many attacks of the Indians 
in those troublesome times. Isaac Williams was born in 1810; his wife, Sarah, 
was born in Montgomery Co., in 1820, and is still living ; the land entered by his 
grandfather remained in the family name for nearly three-quarters of a century. 
Our subject was reared on the farm, and assisted in the labor of the same till his 
21st year, when he united his destiny at the marriage altar with that of Sarah, a 
daughter of S. C. Miles, in 1861. In 1864, he volunteered in the 147th O. V. I.. 
one hundred-day men ; served his time and was honorably discharged ; he after- 
ward emigrated to Kansas, where he remained one year to a day, and then 
returned and settled on 117 acres of land in Darke Co., where he resided for six 
years, and then disposed of this land and removed to where he now resides ; his 
brother Daniel was Adjutant of the 61st O. Y. I., and was among the slain at the 
battle of Gettysburg, Penn. Mr. and Mrs. Williams are members of the Christian 
Church, and are exemplary Christian people ; the}' are the parents of four chil- 
dren, viz.. Floy. Perry L.. Daniel W. and Allen. 

GEORGE W. WRIGHT, minister, merchant and Postmaster, Painter Creek. 
The subject of this memoir was born in Montgomery Co., Ohio. Dec. 3, 1835, and 
is a son of Robert Wright, a native of Pennsylvania, who removed to Ohio in a 
very early day ; he is still living, and resides in Miami County, his wife departing 
this life when in the bloom of womanhood ; they were the parents of six children 
three of whom are living, viz. : John. George and Susannah ; the deceased are 
Elizabeth. Barbara and Catherine. Our subject assisted his father in agricultural 
pursuits till he was of age. when he began life for himself, and chose farming as 
his occupation, which hi' followed till 1867. when he came to Painter Creek and 
entered a partnership with his father-in-law, John Hayworth, in a general mercan- 
tile business, which they successfully followed for a period, and at his father-in- 



HARRRISON TOWNSHIP. 689 

law's death he assumed individual control of the business, and is still to be found 
at the old stand, ready to cater to the wants of the buying public ; he was 
appointed Postmaster Nov. 14, 1879 ; he received his education in the common 
schools, which he only had the privilege of attending at certain times, but, by 
making good use of his time and being studious in his habits, he acquired a fair 
understanding, and is well fitted to discharge the many responsibilities incident to 
his ministerial duties ; he began his labors in the ministry in 1874, and was regu- 
larly ordained a minister of the Brethren in Christ Church Nov. 14, 1877. when 
he received a regular charge; in 1878, he was chosen a delegate to a convention, 
held in Pennsylvania in November of the same year, to revise the constitution of 
the church; in 1879, he filled three regular appointments ; this year, he fills only 
two. He celebrated his marriage with Elizabeth, youngest daughter of John 
Hayworth, May 13, 1858 ; her parents were among the first settlers of Darke 
County, both deceased ; Mr. and Mrs. Wright are the parents of nine children, 
seven of whom are living, viz., Aaron, Eliza A., Angeline, John, Simon, Clara M. 
and Forrest ; the deceased are Delmont and Ivens ; Mr. Wright has filled the Treas- 
urer's office of the township for two terms, and is the present incumbent ; he has 
also filled the office of School Director for three terms ; his grandfather was born 
in Ireland, and emigrated to America and settled in Pennsylvania, where he mar- 
ried, and afterward removed to Montgomery County ; the D. & U. R. R. passed 
between his house and barn, and, while attempting to pass from the barn to the 
house, he was caught by a passing train and thrown some sevent} T feet from the 
point of collision and instantly killed, aged 70 years ; his grandmother survived a 
few 3'ears, and departed this life at the age of 95. 



HARRISON TOWNSHIP. 

JACOB ARMACOST, farmer, Sec. 17 ; P. 0. New Madison. 

GEORGE BACON, hardware merchant, New Madison ; was born Dec. 26, 
1826, in Jefferson Co.. N. Y. ; removed with his parents to Michigan in 1834. 
where he remained until 1848, when he went to Cincinnati, and thence to different 
parts of Ohio, locating in New Madison in 1849, and engaged in mercantile busi- 
ness, which he has continued ever since, having now become one of the substan- 
tial business men of New Madison, being one of the firm of Bacon & Aughee. Mr. 
Bacon was married to Clara Aughee Feb. 17, 1850, at the home of her parents, 
near New Paris, Preble Co. They have two children — Orla and Flora. 

JOHN BILLMAN, farmer, Sec. 26 ; P. 0. New Madison. 

T. J. BLOOM, miller ; P. 0. and residence New Madison. The business 
interests of New Madison could not be properly presented without a more than 
passing notice of " The New Madison Mills," of which Mr. Bloom is proprietor. 
He came here in 1 868 ; the business of the mill could then be done in from two to 
three days' run in each week. In 1875. Mr. Bloom determined on improvement ; 
tore down the old mill and rebuilt it, placing an entire new set of machinerj-, 
which included the patent process, and now has a capacity to produce forty bar- 
rels of flour and grind 150 bushels of corn in a twelve- hour run. and is prepared, 
both by experience and improved methods, to produce the very best of flour ; he 
is doing both a custom and merchant business, and such is the reputation of his 
flour, that he sells all of it on orders, thus saving the expense and risk of con- 
signments. Mr. Bloom, although a young man, is already one of the prominent 
and substantial business men of New Madison. He was born in Preble Co. in 
1845 ; his father was a miller, and T. J. naturally grew to be a miller while 3*0 ung 
He enlisted in the three-months service in 1862, and was taken prisoner at Har- 
per's Ferry and held until some time after the expiration of his term of service, then 



690 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

paroled, after which he returned to New Madison and resumed milling. Was mar- 
ried in 1864 to Miss Mary C, daughter of Lewis S. Davis, of Richmond, Ind. ; 
the} r have one child — Charles. 

' WILLIAM BROWN, farmer. Sec. 36 ; P. O. Brinley Station ; was born in Vir- 
ginia Nov. 21, 1807; his parents came to Ohio in 1808, traveling on horseback, 
and first settled in Washington Co., afterward in Clinton Co ; about the time of 
becoming 21, his parents removed to Warren Co., when he began life for himself; 
having had but little education, he worked out by the da}' or month, as he had 
opportunity, until 1840, when he came to Preble Co. and took charge of a farm 
belonging to his sister, her husband having died March 17, 1842. He was married 
to Susanna Shuman ; she was born in Preble Co. Nov. 29, 1823 ; they settled on a 
farm he had previously purchased in Harrison Township, Darke Co. ; after remain- 
ing about two years he removed to Preble Co., where he purchased a farm ; they 
remained here until 1853 ; he purchased 151 acres in Darke Co., where they 
removed and have since lived. Mr. Brown now owns two 80-acre tracts in Preble 
Co., under good cultivation, besides the home farm, which is well improved, and 
altogether worth at least $15,000. Mr. and Mrs. Brown are the parents of eight 
children — Hannah, born Jan. 6, 1843, now Mrs. Milton Thomas, of Preble Co. ; 
Joseph, born Nov. 25, 1844, now living in Preble Co., on Sec. 25, Harrison Town 
ship; Sarah J., born Feb. 5, 1847, now Mrs. Geo. Miller, also of Harrison Town- 
ship ; Wm. S., born April 14, 1849 ; John H, born Oct. 9, 1851 ; Thomas M., born 
July 9, 1854 ; Franklin J., born Oct. 23, 1856 ; Jacob S., born May 12, 1859 ; all 
of whom are now living. 

EDWARD J. BUNCH, retired ; New Madison ; born in Harrison Township 
Jan. 17, 1827. His parents, Nazareth Bunch and Permelia (Simons) Bunch, were 
among the pioneer settlers of Darke, having emigrated from Perquimons Co., N. 
C., in 1824, and entered a quarter-section of land, upon which this son was born, 
reared, and now owns. Mr. E. J. Bunch commenced business for himself in 1853, 
purchasing a stock of goods in New Madison, which business he continued about 
two years, when he sold out. A short time after this a remarkable incident 
occurred ; he was bitten by a rabid dog, and, although the same dog had bitten a 
son of Washington Ubrem, and also a number of cattle, hogs, etc., he alone recov- 
ered, being attended by Dr. G. Miesse, of Greenville. Mr. Bunch and Miss Cath- 
erine Coblentz were married at the home of her parents, in Butler Township, Nov. 
22, 1855; soon after they went on a farm he owned in Harrison Township, and 
have continued to live in Harrison Township ever since, owning different tracts of 
land until 1862, when he purchased the old homestead, where he lived until 1873, 
when he purchased a handsome residence property in New Madison, where he now 
resides ; he has just completed a fine brick building, near the railroad track, which 
he designs for a wai-ehouse. Mr. and Mrs. Bunch are the parents of three chil- 
dren — Eva and Edward, the first having died in infancy. 

CHARLES W. CHENOWETH, farmer, Sec. 5 ;'P. O. Hollandsburg, Ohio ; 
was born in Maryland Sept. 3, 1830 ; in 1838. he came with his parents to Darke 
Co.; they settled in Harrison Township, and afterward removed near Arba, Ran- 
dolph Co., Ind.; his mother now resides there; his father's death occurred in 
1876. The subject of this sketch remained at home with his parents until his 
marriage with Minerva J. Harrison, which occurred Feb. 24, 1853, after which 
they lived with her parents in German Township until the following fall, then 
removed to Randolph Co., Ind.; remained there until 1856, when they removed to 
Harrison Township, Darke Co., and lived on Sec. 3 eight years ; then removed to 
the farm in German Township, upon which her father settled in 1832 ; remained 
there until 1876, then removed to the farm near Hollandsburg, where he now 
resides ; his wife's death occurred here Sept. 28, 1878. The following is an 
extract from the obituary notice, written by her Pastor : " In the death of Sister 
Chenoweth the husband has lost a kind and affectionate wife, the children a lovin g 
and indulgent mother, the church a worthy member, and the community an exem- 



HARRISON TOWNSHIP. 691 

plary Christian character. She united with the Christian Church at Hollandsburg 
in the year 1854, during a meeting held by Father Ashley, and lived a consistent 
Christian life until death summoned her to her reward." She left seven children, 
viz • William A., born Dec. 26, 1854, married to Rosa Thomas in 1877, and now 
resides in German Township ; James A., born Oct. 21, 1857, married to Emma 
Kara Sept. 28, 1879, and now resides in German Township ; Marietta K., born 
Oct 11 1860 (now Mrs. Geo. Sharpe), and resides in Harrison Township ; Wash- 
ington E., born Oct. 14, 1862 ; Morton M., Nov. 6, 1865 ; Ellennora B., Dec. 31, 
1869, and Elmer E., July 1, 1872 ; the four last are all at home and attending 
school. Mr. Chenoweth has been an active, industrious citizen, and quite success- 
ful ; starting poor, he has steadily advanced, and now owns, besides his home farm 
adjoining Hollandsburg, which consists of 87 acres well improved, 178 acres in 
German Township in a good state of cultivation, with fair improvements ; his two 
married sons now live on and farm this place. Mr. Chenoweth purchased the farm 
where he now resides in 1875, for the purpose of getting better church and school 
privileges for his family. He has been a prominent member of the Christian 
Church here, and is now Deacon and one of the Trustees, and is an active, useful 
member of society and a substantial citizen. He was married to Mary A. Felton 

Sept. 14, 1879. 

JOHN DARLAND, farmer ; P. O. New Madison, resides Sec. 11 ; was born 
in Nicholasville, Ky., May 30, 1805, and came with his parents to Preble Co., Ohio, 
in 1810 ; he remained with his parents during his minority, receiving but little 
education ; after he became of age, he worked wherever he had opportunity, making 
his home with his parents until his marriage with Martha Beatley, which occurred 
April 22, 1839 ; he then rented a farm ; two years later he purchased and removed 
to a farm in Wayne Co., Ind. ; in 1865, he purchased the farm upon which they 
now and have since resided. They are the parents of nine children, viz.: Harrison, 
born July 14, 1840 ; Benjamin, born Aug. 7, 1842 ; Oliver, born Dec. 20, 1845 ; 
Thomas, 'born Jan. 10, 1848 ; Margaret J., now Mrs. John Hill, born June 4, 
1853 ; George, born March 27, 1856 ; Mary E., born Aug. 10, 1858 ; John M., 
born Jan. 15, 1862 ; and Dora, born July 30, 1865.. Mr. Darland, as will be seen, 
started with nothing but his own energy and physical strength to rely upon, and 
has gradually advanced, until by his energy, industry and economy, he now has 
230 acres of land, with good buildings ; they have raised a large family, all of 
whom are living, some at home and some in distant States. Mr. and Mrs. Darland 
are both of the quiet, substantial type, highly respected citizens, and he is a useful, 
respected citizen. 

THOMAS J. DAVIS, (deceased) ; was born in Butler Co., Ohio, July 
29, 1834 ; came to Darke Co. in 1854, and engaged in the furniture and under- 
taking business, which he continued until 1867, then started a general store 
at Hollandsburg, which he continued until the time of his decease, which occurred 
Aug. 6, 1879 ; the following extract from the obituary written by one who knew 
him, shows how he was regarded by his neighbors : "Mr. Davis was an active, 
intelligent, useful citizen, esteemed by all who knew him ; was a worthy mem- 
ber of the Masonic Order, and always cherished and sustained all efforts for 
the support and propagation of that which was good and noble." He was married 
to Mary E. Harrison, June 8, 1856 ; she is a daughter of Harvey Harrison, who 
was one of the pioneers of German Township, and a successful physician for more 
than twenty years ; they were the parents of three children, viz., Harvey E., 
Florence J. and Charles C. Harvey E., when about 15 years of age, became deaf, 
the effect of a severe sickness ; he is now a young man and an artist ; the way in 
which he became an artist is remarkable and somewhat romantic ; when he first 
realized that he was permanently deaf, he was nearly beside himself, so great was his 
grief and mortification, and in his desperation the thought came to his mind that 
perhaps he could make a picture, and he immediately proceeded to try ; with 
some common paint, procured from a paint shop near by, a pallet and brush of 



692 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

his own manufacture, a smooth board for a canvass, and a picture of a little girl 
for a subject, he executed his first portrait ; the result so astonished his parents 
and Mends that he was provided with the necessary outfit, and such was his 
delight at finding he could do something, notwithstanding his deafness, that he threw 
his entire energy into his efforts, and, although he never had any instruction except 
such as he could get from books, he now executes a portrait which will compare 
favorably with productions of regularly instructed artists, and proves him to be a 
genius in art. Mrs. Davis and her three children still reside at the home provided 
by the loving and lamented husband and father ; she is an intelligent, modest woman. 

D. B. DENHAM, retired ; P. 0. New Madison ; was born in Denhamstown, 
on the Ohio River, Oct. 3, 1809 ; when about 6 years old, his mother died, and his 
father bound him to J. Lyon, a wagon-maker of Springfield, Ohio, when he was 
14 years old, his master, Mr. Lyon, died, and Mr. Denham then engaged to learn 
the blacksmith trade ; after completing his apprenticeship, he worked as journey- 
man in Troy and Hamilton, Ohio, and different places in Indiana, and in 1838, 
returned to Troy, and married Miss Rebecca Marshall, a native of Pennsjdvania, 
born in Bucks Co., Sept. 6, 1811 ; after his marriage, he continued to work at his 
trade in Troy and Staunton, until 1845, he removed to Pulaski Co., Ind., but not 
being satisfied here, he returned in a few months to Troy, Ohio, and resumed 
blacksraithing in partnership with a Mr. Daily ; in 1858, removed to Darke Co., 
and purchased 127 acres of land in York Township ; after living here one year, 
returned to Troy ; a year or two later, he removed to Dallas, where he worked at 
his trade a short time, after which, he again went on to his farm in York Township, 
but only remained about one year, then removed to Brown Township, where he 
remained until 1866 ; he sold out in York Township and came to New Madison, 
purchased 80 acres in Harrison Township, near New Madison, also several pieces 
of property in New Madison, including the residence in which they now reside ; 
upon one of these lots he built a shop, in which he carried on blacksmithing until, 
quite recently, he sold his shop, tools and stock, and is now living a quiet, retired 
life. Mr. and Mrs. Denham are the parents of six children, only one of whom is 
living — Charles M., a harness-maker of New Madison. The names of the deceased 
are Rachael J., Henrietta, Sarah E., Nancy T., and the first, who died in infancy ; 
Rachael J. was married to Charles A. Reigle, Oct. 9, 1861, Uzeuno and Estell V., 
their son and daughter, are now of Mr. Denham's family ; Sarah E. was married to 
Charles D. Bevington, Nov. 21, 1867 ; Frank W. B., their son, is also with his 
grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Denham. It will be seen by this record that Mr. 
Denham has lived not so much for himself as for others. 

JASON DOWNING, farmer, Sec. 10 ; P. 0. New Madison ; was born in 
Chester Co., S. C, April 14, 1811 ; son of John and Margaret (Faris) Downing, 
both of Irish descent ; Jason came with his parents to Darke Co., in 1817, and was 
raised during the early times, in Harrison Township, and is one of the most intelli- 
gent and best informed of the few now living, who were here at so early a day ; 
his father having been a teacher in South Carolina, he received a fair education ; 
he remained at home until about 27 years of age ; his father had a blacksmith 
shop on his farm, and hired a smith part of the time ; Jason spent considerable 
time in this shop, and obtained a pretty good idea of the trade, but thought he 
would try teaching school ; after one term, he concluded that did not suit him, and 
he learned the brickmason's trade, at which he became very proficient, and has 
followed it more or less all his life, having done some brickwork during the past 
year. Dec. 16, 1841, he was married to Rebecca J., daughter of John and Jane 
Beard, who were pioneers of Butler Township ; after his marriage, they settled on 
the farm upon which they now reside ; he had previously purchased it. put up a 
cabin and made some improvements, but when he was ready to occupy it, he built 
a house, which forms a part of his present commodious dwelling ; the old cabin, 
now used as a sort of shop, is about the only reminder of those early days of hard 
labor and privations he so well remembers. The farm now consists of 120 acres, 



HARRISON TOWNSHIP. 693 

80 of which are under cultivation ; thus Mr. and Mrs. Downing were early settlers 
and are now among the oldest residents of Harrison Township and have contrib- 
uted their full share toward the growth and improvement of Darke to. lney 
are the parents of eight children, viz.: Robert, born Sept. 18, 1843 now married and 
resides in Sec. 9 ; Samuel, bom April 17, 1846, died Aug ,24 1852 ; Margaret J. , 
born Oct. 12, 1848, now Mrs. George W. Miller, of Preble Co.; Sarah C, born June 
1 1851 now Mrs J. E. Armacost, resides in Harrison Township ; George W., born 
Sept. 22, 1853, still at home ; Fanny E.,born April 7, 1856, now Mrs. L. W. Arma- 

3 JAMES L. DOWNING, farmer, Sec. 10 ; P. 0. New Madison ; was born Feb. 
20 1852 on the farm where he has since and at present resides ; he is the son of 
John E and Sarah M. Downing ; John E. was born in South Carolina, and came with 
his parents to Darke Co. when a boy ; Sarah M. (Morrison-Biwley) Downing, 
was born in Preble Co. and came with her husband to Darke Co. in 1833 ; they 
settled upon the farm upon which the son, James L., now lives, his mother living 
with him. the father having died Oct. 27, 1872 ; the Downings were very early set- 
tlers and are noticed at some length in the township history ; the farm upon which 
Mr James L and his aged mother now live, was partly cleared and improved 
by John Tibbs a pioneer of Harrison Township, from whom John E. purchased 
it The old lo* cabin with stick chimney which Mr. Tibbs built, still stands where 
he placed it as a reminder of the limited accommodations and privations of the 
early settlers ; since the time it was built, the dense forest has been cleared away 
and cultivated fields now greet the eye ; a neat and commodious house has been 
built also a frame barn and other buildings for the accommodation of stock and 
storage of grain, implements, etc., evidences of industry, economy and practical 
wisdom Mrs Sarah M. Downing is the mother of nine, children by her first hus- 
band John Brawley, viz.: Thomas S., born May 29, 1836, now married and resides 
in Kansas ; Martha Ann, born Oct. 10, 1837, died Sept. 16, 1838 ; Levi P., born 
Jan 19, 1840, was married to Louisa J., daughter of Patterson Purviance, died 
April 13 1862 ; by her second husband, John E. Downing ; Louisa J., born Nov. 
29 1843' now Mrs. Allen Tyler of Preble Co.; Mary C, born March 19, 1846, died 
D^c 31 1876 ; Melissa E, born Nov. 7, 1849, died Aug. 19, 1876 ; James L., born 
Feb 20' 1852 ; Margaret E., born May 2, 1855, died April 20, 1877 ; infant son, 
born March 9, 1858, died Sept. 6, 1858 ; Florence A., born Dec. 11, 1859, died July 
24 1879 • Ruth A., born August 15, 1862. Mr. Downing is the inventor ot 
" Downino-'s Hand Planter, " which bids fair to excel all other hand planters. In 
politics he has been a lifelong Democrat ; he cast his first ballot for Andrew Jack- 
son • he was a member of the School Board for more than twenty years, and has always 
been an intelligent, useful citizen, and, although somewhat advanced in years, is 
now a very intelligent, social, agreeable gentleman. 

JOHN M. FLAIG, farmer ; P. O. New Madison. He was born Jan io, l&Jl, 
in Wurtemberg, Germany ; emigrated to the United States when 23 years of age. 
and worked at a trade (tanner) in New Jersey for one man seven years ; in 1860 
Mr Flaio- came to Richmond, Ind., near which place he purchased land and farmed 
two years ; then sold and removed to New Paris, where he took an interest in a 
tannery which he soon sold, not liking his partner, and removed to New Madison ; 
rented the tannery now owned by Mrs. Snodgrass, whose biography appears in this 
work which he operated four years, after which he engaged in the grocery and 
provision trade ; this he continued ten years, burning, during this time, many kilns 
of brick and building the walls of most of the fine school buildings which now 
ornament the country in this vicinity ; in the fall of 1874, Mr. Flaig visited his 
old home and other parts of Germany, returning about Christinas : in 187b, ne 
sold his store and purchased a farm adjoining the corporation, which he still owns, 
living in his fine brick residence in town ; of public honors, he has had a full share, 
holdino- one or more town and township offices almost continuously with his resi- 
dence here being at the present time Town Treasurer, Township Appraiser and 



694 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

School Director. He was married to Agnes Straub, in Philadelphia, April 23, 1856 ; 
they were the parents of one child, Joseph, who is now living with his father ; Mrs. 
Flaig's death occurred June 12, 1857. Mr. Flaig and Elizabeth Hambil were 
married in Philadelphia April 17, 1858 ; they have four children — Lizzie, Wilhelm, 
John A. and Henry B., all of whom are living at home ; the mother of Mrs. (Straub) 
Flaig, Mrs. Odela Straub, who was born in 1803, and whose husband died at sea 
during the voyage from Germany, in 1853, is now also a member of this interest- 
ing household. 

WALTER W. FRENCH, retired physician, residence Sec. 10 ; P. 0. Hollands- 
burg. He was born in Jefferson Co., Va., March 1, 1792 ; his father, Samuel 
French, was a teacher, and gave his family more than ordinary advantages ; when 
Walter was about 20, he enlisted in the army, but was mustered out in about six 
months, without seeing any service in the field. Soon after his return, he was 
married to Rachael P. Blue. For several years he acted as collector, at the same 
time reading medicine ; in 1823, they removed to Brownsville, Ohio, and the fol- 
lowing year his wife died, leaving three children — James W., Samuel J. and Mary 
J.; he then returned to Virginia, and her mother took care of the children until 
his marriage Avith Lavina Bailey, after which he purchased a farm in Jefferson Co., 
Va., where they lived until 1838, when he came with his family to Darke Co., first 
settling in Washington Township, and practiced medicine there about six years ; 
then removed to Hollandsburg, where he practiced and also kept store for more 
than twenty years ; in 1869, he was robbed of over $8,000 in cash ; in 1871, he 
purchased and removed to the farm, where he now resides, with his widowed daugh- 
ter, Jane ; in 1874, his second wife died; she bore him six children, viz.: Phoebe 
L.. now Mrs. Robert Little, of Columbus, Ind.; Rachel A., now Mrs. J. G-. Har- 
land, of Union City, Ind.; Elizabeth, now Mrs. D. Ryan, of Hollandsburg ; Emily 
E., now Mrs. J. M. Harrison, of Hollandsburg, and Martha L. and Walter J. B. T 
both deceased ; of his first wife's children, Samuel J. is deceased ; James W. resides 
near Princeton, Ind.; Mary Jane was married Jul}' 16, 1839, to John C. Heironi- 
mus, whose death occurred July 23, 1879, he being 69 3'ears of age ; they had 
eleven children — Elmira L., born April 20, 1840, married to David Tittle in 1872. 
and died July 3, 1877 ; Walter A., born Nov. 29, 1841 ; Eliza J., born Nov. 22, 
1843, now Mrs. Jacob Anderson, of Wayne Co., Ind.; Eliza A., born Dec. 5, 1845, 
died Aug. 6, 1865; Narcissus V., born Oct. 27, 1847, now Mrs. Leander Anderson, 
also of Wayne Co., Ind.; John W., born Feb. 17, 1850 ; Andrew P., born March 
13, 1852, died Aug. 6, 1874 ; Camelius P., born Oct. 25, 1853, died Jan. 19, 1855 ; 
Charles W, born March 7, 1856, now a resident of Wayne Co., Ind.; Minerva C, 
born June 12, 1857, now Mrs. Oliver P. Anderson, also of Wayne Co., Ind., and 
Emma R., born May 24, 1861; Mr. French is an old resident of Darke Co., and 
one of the three oldest men now living in Harrison Township, being in his 88th 
year ; he has been successful as a merchant, and in his day enjoyed a large prac- 
tice as a physician ; he has not practiced any for the past ten or twelve years ; he 
now lives with and is cared for by his daughter, Jane Heironimus, her sons, Walter 
and John W.. farming the place. 

AARON HARTER, grocer and confectioner, New Madison ; one of the old 
residents of Darke County; was born in Butler Township Nov. 15, 1829 ; son of 
Samuel Harter, who was a native of Virginia and came to Darke Count}' in 1818, 
and purchased a farm with a small clearing on it, near what is now New Madison, 
where he lived until his death, which occurred May 13, 1865. Aaron lived at 
home until 38 years of age, receiving while a boy such an education as he was 
able to secure in bad weather during the winter months; after he became "of age, 
he took charge of the farm, and. in their latter days, the care of his parents ; after 
their decease, he continued to live at the old homestead about three years, when he 
sold out and removed to New Madison, owning several different pieces of property 
and changing about somewhat, until, about 1872, he purchased the residence prop- 
erty in New Madison, in which he first lived, and has continued to live here ever 



HARRISON TOWNSHIP. 695 

since. He was married Aug. 14, 1851, to Susan E. Boyer ; she was born in Preble 
County, Ohio, Nov. 8, 1832 ; thev are the parents of two children— William B., 
born May 8, 1852, died July 7, 1861 ; and Alvin R., born Aug. 4, 1857, now 
assisting; his father in the store. 

SOLOMON HARTER, retired farmer, Sec. 12 ; P. 0. New Madison ; one of the 
old settlers of Darke County : he was born in Virginia Feb. 3, 1808 ; is the son of 
Francis Harter, who came to Darke County at an early day, bringing eight sons with 
him, all but one of whom became residents of Darke County ; Solomon was about 8 
years old when they came, and was reared in the wilderness, assisting in clearing and 
improving the farm. July 4, 1830, he was married to Margaret Ullum, who also 
belonged lo a pioneer family ; she was born Aug. 15, 1808 ; about two years after 
their marriage, they settled on the farm where he has since resided ; her death 
occurred July 17, 1862 ; they had five children, only two of whom are living— 
Elam, who resides in Butler Township ; and M. K., who lives on and farms his 
father's place, his father living with him. Mr. Harter has been quite feeble for 
some time, but has had the satisfaction of seeing the wilderness subdued and fine 
farms with substantial improvements take the place of the forest which once 
covered the face of this now fertile region. 

J. A. H ARTMAN, farmer ; P. 0. New Madison. The subject of this sketch 
was born in Lancaster Co., Penn., Jan. 18, 1847; when he was 2 years of age, his 
mother died and he lived with his uncle, John Stauffer, until 1 6 years of age ; then 
came to Montgomery Co.. where his father then lived, and worked in that neigh- 
borhood, principally chopping wood, four years ; then came to Darke Co., and 
worked by the month two years ; then engaged with J. W. Singer, to sell trees, etc.. 
from the Hill Home nursery of Miami Co. His marriage with Mary A. Noggle was 
celebrated at the home of her mother, in New Madison, March 9, 1871 ; she was a 
daughter of John Noggle, and is a sister to George N. Noggle, whose biography 
appears in this work, and is an intelligent lady ; Mr. Hartman had already pur- 
chased a house and lot in New Madison, where they began the duties of domestic 
life ; in the fall of 1873, they removed to a farm in Sec. 17, Butler Township, 40 
acres of which came to her by her parents, and 40 acres he traded his house and 
lot for ; the following year, they sold that place, and rented of Mr. Forkner, in Sec. 
18, Butler Township ; about six months later, he purchased the north half of 
the northwest quarter of Sec. 8, and in the spring of 1875 they removed to this 
place. In the fall of 1877, he traded 15 acres of that place, with the buildings, 
for the 80 acres in Harrison Township, where they now reside. It will be seen 
that Mr. H. is a self-made man ; commencing when a boy by cutting wood by the 
cord, and working by the month, he saved enough to get a home, and has increased 
it, but not without industry and economy, and now owns 140 acres, in a good state 
of cultivation, and, although a young man, is already one of the substantial citi- 
zens of Darke Co. Mr. and Mrs. Hartman are the parents of four children— Kate. 
Edith, Allie, and Ann E., deceased. 

OBADIAH HILL, retired, New Madson ; was born in what was then Balti- 
more Co., Md., March 17, 1790 ; when about 9 years old, was bound out to a weaver ; 
his master, as he was termed, died when he was about 19 years of age, and he was 
free, but voluntarily bound himself at the same trade for three years more, after 
which he wagoned ten years ; he then resumed his trade, continuing ten years, 
after which he came to the West, first stopping near the ground upon which the Ohio 
Soldier's Home is now situated, and lived in Montgomery Co. nearly one-quarter 
of a century, renting one farm of one man for eighteen successive years ; then 
removed to' Preble Co. and purchased 160 acres of land, which he improved, and 
sold six years later at a handsome profit ; he then removed to Darke Co., where he 
has resided ever since, owning and cultivating different tracts of land ; in the fall of 
1876, he purchased a handsome residence property in New Madison, in which he 
and his wife now live. Mr. Hill was married to Eliza Fisher, who was also a native 
of Maryland, inl821 ; they were the parents of ten children, seven of whom are now 



696 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

living — William, Jonathan, Jacob, Mary A., now Mrs. John Ullery, of Kan.; Eliza A., 
now Mrs. Stephen Ullery, of South Bend, Ind.; Jemima, now Mrs. Hickathorn, of 
Da^yton, and Jenny, now Mrs. Henr} r Bougher, of Butler Co.; the names of the 
three deceased are Margaret, George W. and James; Mrs. Hill's death occurred 
near New Madison Sept. 9, 1875, being 7-4 years old ; Mr. Hill and Mrs. Missouri 
(Shannon) Ullery, a native of Pennsylvania, were married Sept. 19, 1876. Mr. Hill. 
although in his 90th year, is in good health, and walks as though onby 50. 

HARVEY HILL, carpenter and builder, Sec. 15 ; P. 0. New Madison ; was 
born in Harrison Township March 15, 1822 ; he is a son of William and Sarah 
(Ferris) Hill, who were among the pioneers of Harrison Township ; he remained 
with his parents until August, 1838, when he began his apprenticeship at the car- 
penter trade ; after serving the full three years, he began for himself and has 
followed carpentering and building ever since, working in this and neighboring 
counties ; Mr. Hill was twice married, first to Martha A. Thomas, Nov. 2, 1845 ; 
she was a daughter of David Thomas and a cousin to William Thomas, whose 
biography- appears in this work ; she was born July 21, 18-46, and her death 
occurred May 11, 1873 ; they had six children, viz.: Hiram J., born July 21, 1846, 
died Aug. 6, 1846 ; Celinda A., born Oct. 29, 1848, now Mrs. Henry Spencer, of 
Red Key, Jay Co., Ind.; Nancy C, born July 13, 1853, now Mrs. John Pitts, of Port- 
land, Ind.; Charles F., born July 20, 1856, now in Rock Island Co., 111.; Morton L., 
born Sept. 17. 1862, also of Rock Island Co., Ill, and William D., born Sept. 12, 1871. 
now at home and attending school ; Mr. Hill's second marriage was with Jane 
(Owens) Mansfield ; she was born in Harrison Township, Jan. 1, 1820 ; her parents, 
Samuel and Sabina Owens, were natives of Kentucky, and pioneers of Harrison 
Township ; she was the mother of three children by her first husband, viz. : William 
W. Mansfield, who was a member of the 62d I. V. I., and after a service of nearly 
four years, died in the service ; Thomas O. and Andrew Jackson, also deceased. 

MILTON HILL, farmer, Sec. 16 ; P.O. New Madison ; one of the oldest residents 
of Harrison Township ; he was born, raised, and has lived all his life on the farm 
where he now resides ; he was born Feb. 10, 1820 ; has been twice married, first to 
Miss Amanda J. Downing, Nov. 14, 1839 ; she was born in Tennessee, Jan. 25, 
1819 ; they had nine children, eight of whom are now living, viz.. Alfred, Joseph. 
Sarah, Melinda, John, Ezra, Martha and Ella. The name of the deceased is Asa : 
his wife's death occurred Feb. 13, 1872 ; his second marriage was with Sarah J. 
Wiley, Feb 1, 1873 ; who was born in Preble Co., June 12, 1826 ; their homestead 
now consists of the old Hill homestead of 80 acres, and 80 acres adjoining in 
Sec. 15, all in a good state of cultivation, with a fine new house and other build- 
ings to correspond ; it would present a picture of great contrast by the side of 
one of the appearance it had forty years ago, for Mr. Hill has devoted his atten- 
tion entirely to the cultivation and improvement of his land, and, while taking a 
lively interest in all that pertains to the public good, has not sought public dis- 
tinction. 

WILLIAM HINDSLEY, farmer ; P. O. New Madison ; another of the old resi- 
dents of Darke Co. ; his father, John H. Hindsley, was a native of Maryland, and 
went to North Carolina when a boy ; was married to Annie Stone, and they moved 
to Tennessee in 1823 ; to Preble Co., Ohio, in 1826, and came to Darke County in the 
spring of 1827 ; he entered land in Sec. 14, upon which the}- lived the remainder 
of their days. The subject of this sketch was born in North Cai*olina, in 1813 : 
accompanied his parents to Darke County, in 1827, and has resided here ever since : 
purchased thi' old homestead in 1848 ; his father's death having occurred in 1847. 
and his mother had her home with him until her decease, which occurred in 1860. 
The present neat and substantial buildings have been erected by him. and the farm 
is now in an advanced state of cultivation, situated on a free gravel pike near 
enough to New .Madison to afford excellent school privileges. Mr. Hindsley may well 
feel a just pride in what has been accomplished by the developments of the past 
fifty years ; he is now nearing the threescore-and-ten period of his life, and has 



HARRISON TOWNSHIP. 



697 



been a quiet, unassuming, but enterprising and useful citizen. He was married in 
1838 to Annie Butt, daughter of Samuel Butt, a native of Maryland, and at that 
time 'a resident of Darke County ; they have nine children— Isabel (now Mrs. 
Jerry Runkle), Mary A. (now Mrs. Joseph Ray), David, Rufus, Franklin, Margaret, 
Eliza, Joseph and Harriet. 

AARON A. IRELAN, farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 6; P. 0. Hollandsburg ; 
one of the substantial men of Darke Co.; was born in Preble Co., Ohio, Sept. 12, 
1818 • he is a son of Moses Irelan, who came from Cincinnati to Preble Co. at an 
early day, and in 1831, settled in Butler Township, Darke Co. Aaron remained at 
home until 1843, receiving but very little education, having to walk five mdes to 
get to the nearest school ; his first business for himself was "huckstering," which 
he followed for a short time, then engaged in the dry-goods trade. He was mar- 
ried to Phebe Tillson Oct. 18, 1846 ; she is the daughter of Isaiah Tillson, one of 
the pioneers of Harrison Township. After their marriage, he continued in the dry- 
goods trade until 1852 ; he became satisfied, that that business did not suit him, and 
sold out and purchased a farm adjoining Hollandsburg ; the following two years, he 
changed around from one to another farm in the neighborhood ; in the spring of 1 864, 
he removed to the farm where he now resides ; he now has 100 acres of land in Ger- 
man Township, in a good state of cultivation, with good buildings, also 40 acres in 
Monroe Co., Ind., besides the home farm, which consists of 290 acres ; this is 
nicely located, and only about one-half mile from the town of Hollandsburg, which 
affords good school and church privileges; the Middle Branch of Whitewater 
passes through the farm, affording excellent and abundant water for his stock, and 
when he gets the house and other improvements, which it is his purpose to build, 
he will have a home of which they will justly feel proud. They are the parents of 
nine children, four of whom are living, viz.: Norman T., resides in German Town- 
rhip • William D., Cora B. and Clara L. Mr. Irelan, though not among the oldest 
citizens, is an old resident of Harrison Township, and has been and now is a quite 
prominent, active and useful citizen ; has administered several estates ; was a 
member of the Township Board of Trustees ten successive years, and afterward 
three years ; also Justice of the Peace for upward of fifteen years, and is now a 
member of the Township Board of Education. Mr. Irelan is a self-made man, 
having gained a knowledge of business by his experience while in the dry-goods 
trade, & the knowledge and experience being about all the benefit he derived from 
that business, but it has enabled him by energy and industry to place himself in 
the front rank among the farmers of Harrison Township. 
LUCINDA JAQUA, retired, New Madison. 

THOMAS KYLE, retired farmer ; P. 0. New Madison ; was born Jan. 4, 1809, 
in Butler Co., Ohio; remained with his parents until his marriage with Eliza Har- 
crader, which occurred Oct. 5, 1835, after which he removed to Preble Co., and pur- 
chased a farm, where he lived over forty years, his wife's death occurring there 
Oct 5 1845 ; they were the parents of six children, five of whom are now living, 
viz • Martha' A., now Mrs. David McClure ; Sara J., now Mrs. William Brown, of 
Preble Co ; Eliza, now Mrs. John K. McCabe ; Maria, now Mrs. Shuman, of Kokomo, 
Ind and Emeline, now Mrs. William Cheeseman, of Butler Co., Ohio ; the name of 
the deceased was Catharine. August 25, 1846, Mr. Kyle was married to Mrs. 
Maria (Hunter) Williams ; thev are the parents of five children, three of whom are 
livino- viz.- Margaret A., now Mrs. Henry Miller, and William J., both of Preble Co., 
and John F., of^Butler Township ; the deceased are Elizabeth, Ellen and Laura B. 
Mr Kvle, now well along in years, has been an active citizen and succeeded in 
accumulating considerable property, and now owns, after helping his children lib- 
erally 165 acres of land in Butler Township, and 240 acres in Preble Co., all in a 
crood state of cultivation, also 249 acres in Cass Co., Mo., and the neat, comforta- 
ble residence in New Madison, in which they expect to spend the remainder of 
their days. 

RILE LAWRENCE, farmer, Sec. 25 ; P. O. New Madison. 



698 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

A. A. LOWDENSLAGER, farmer, Sec. 8 ; P. 0. Hollandsburg. 

DANIEL MILLER, farmer, Sec. 25; P. O. New Madison ; was born in Preble 
Co., Ohio, Nov. 19, 1829 ; son of Geo. C. and Elizabeth Miller, who came to Darke 
Co. in 1831, settling on the farm the son now owns, and which, at that time, was a 
wilderness, the family stopping with a neighbor until a cabin could be built. Here 
the subject of this sketch was reared, attending school in the log schoolhouse y 
when there was a school, and when he could not help at home. Oct. 15, 1871, 
he was married to Rebecca, daughter of Rile Lawrence, who was one of the early 
settlers of Harrison Township. They commenced housekeeping in his father's old 
house, and although the old log cabin still forms a part of their present house, the 
old homestead has been very much changed, and Mr. Miller intends soon to erect 
a fine residence upon the old site ; he has added to the old homestead, and now 
owns upward of 330 acres, 116 being in Butler Township and 48 in Sec. 24, Har- 
rison Township. Although not specially active, Mr. Miller is a stanch Repub- 
lican, and has always taken an interest in the public good. 

JOHN W. MILLS, farmer ; P. 0. New Madison ; a son of Mark T., and 
grandson of, James Mills. James Mills was a native of New Jersy ; married Sarah 
Read, after which he resided in Pennsylvania ; came to Butler Co., Ohio, in 1802; 
was an officer of militia in the war of 1812. The siege of Ft. Meigs was one of 
the engagements in which he and his son, Mark T., then a lad of 17, partook. He 
removed to Darke Co. in 1816 and located in Butler Township, where he resided 
until 1833, when he removed to Ft. Jefferson, and died there the same 3'ear of 
cholera. During his life he was quite a prominent man, an active politician, rep- 
resented his district in the Legislature. Mark T. was a young man when his 
father moved into the woods of Darke Co., in 1816 ; was married here to Lydia 
Burdg in 1821 ; she was the daughter of Anthony and Sarah (Vale) Burdg, who 
were early residents of Neave Township ; after his marriage, he resided in Butler 
Township, on what is now known as the Swisher farm. He was also a representa- 
tive of this district in the State Legislature, holding the office two terms, his first 
being in 1829 ; he was also Sheriff of Darke Co., after which he resided in Neave 
Township a short time, then removed to Washington Township ; located about 
four miles west of Greenville, where his death occurred March 20, 1843. The 
widow is now in the 81st year of her age ; is the wife of Henry Hutton, who was 
among the first settlers near Ft. Black, in 1817. The}* now reside in New Paris. 
John W. Mills was born in Greenville Oct. 14, 1825, his father at that time being 
Sheriff of Darke Co. He was married in 1848 to Melinda, daughter of John and 
Elizabeth Rush. Both Mr. and Mrs. Mills are natives of Darke Co. They have 
four children — three sons and one daughter. 

GEORGE N. NOGGLE, Mayor and Justice of the Peace ; P. 0. New Madison. 
The subject of this sketch is a member of a pioneer family ; he is a son of John 
Noggle, a native of Ohio, who came with his parents from Fairfield Co. to Darke 
Co. about 1816, and at the age of 22 entered 80 acres of land in Butler Township, 
cleared and improved the same, owned and farmed different tracts in this county 
until, by his energy and industry, he owned upward of 300 acres of well-improved 
land, which he divided to his children, and in 1870 removed to New Madison, 
where both he and his wife died ; his decease occurred July 9, 1870 ; hers in 
February, 1875 ; his wife's maiden name was Elizabeth Drulinger ; she was born 
in North Carolina, and came with her parents to Darke Co. at an early day. Geo. 
N. Noggle was born in Butler Township Oct. 3, 1847. He lived with his parents 
until their death ; after he was grown up his occupation varied, sometimes farm- 
ing, teaching, and sometimes clerking, until 1866, when he engaged in the grocery 
and provision trade in New Madison ; was elected Justice of the Peace in 1876, 
which office he still holds, having been re-elected in 1879. Mr. Noggle also holds 
the office of Mayor. He was married Jan. 5, 1871, to Sally Wagoner, an accom- 
plished young lady of New Paris, Preble Co. Mr. and Mrs. Noggle are respected 
and useful members of society. 



HARRISON TOWNSHIP. 



699 



MICHAEL NOGGLE, farmer, Sec. 3 ; P. 0. New Madison ; one of the old resi- 
dents of Darke Co., having been born in Neave Township Jan. 11,1819. His parents 
first settled in Fairfield Co. in 1812, moved to Darke Co. in 1816 ; first settling in 
Neave Township, and afterward on Sec. 15, Harrison Township, where the sub- 
ject of this sketch was reared, married, and lived until after the deatb of his 
parents. Jan. 16, 1840, he was married to Mary Mote ; she was born in Harrison 
Township June 14, 1821, her parents, Jonathan and Susanna (Kistler) Mote, came 
to Ohio and settled in Harrison Township about 1816. Mr. and Mrs. Noggle com- 
menced life on his father's farm in a cabin with a mud chimney, which he built ; 
afterward made a purchase of some land in Wabash Township, built a cabin and 
made a small clearing ; but his father, desiring to quit farming, prevailed on him to 
return to the old place, his parents living with him until their death. His father 
died at the age of 78 ; his mother lived to be 87 years of age. After a residence 
of about seventeen years here, in which many improvements were made and some 
additions to the farm, they sold out, and purchased the farm in Sec. 11, which then- 
son George now owns, and afterward purchased the farm in Sec. 3, where they 
now reside. They have endured many hardships, which would have disheartened 
less courageous or less resolute people, and can relate many interesting incidents 
connected with the early settlement and growth of civilization in Darke Co. ; they 
have from a commencement in a log cabin without means or education, advanced 
steadilv until now ; after having divided more than $20,000 in money, land and 
other property between his children, Mr. Noggle still owns 113 acres of choice 
land in Sec. 3, with improvements which are an ornament to the community and a 
credit and satisfaction to himself and family. Inside the house, where his 
matronly wife presides, is peace and plenty, served with love and prudence. Mr. 
and Mrs. Noggle are the parents of seven children— Phoebe J., Alfred, Ephraim, 
George M., David, Susanna and Jonathan ; the first and last are dead. 
A. L. NORTHROP, farmer, Sec. 13 ; P. O. New Madison. 
C W M OTWELL, M. D., phvsician, New Madison, Ohio ; was born in 
Williamsburg, Wayne Co., Ind., March 4, 1837, the day Martin Van Buren was 
inaugurated President of the United States ; he is a son of Curtis Otwell, M^D., 
whose biography appears in this work ; when 15 years of age, he entered the Ohio 
Wesleyan University at Delaware ; after a four years' course there, he commenced 
the study of medicine in his father's office in Greenville ; three years later, he 
attended a course of lectures at the State University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, 
and returned to Greenville a short time before the breaking-out of the rebellion. 
When the call was made for troops, he enlisted in the 11th O. V. I., as a private, 
but received almost immediate promotion in the medical department ; at the end 
of the three months' term he returned to Greenville, but soon enlisted again as a 
private, and was again promoted, this time to Hospital Steward, and continued 
such, although doing the work of Assistant Surgeon most of the time, until the 
expiration of his term, when he returned to Greenville ; his father and brother 
having <r ne into the service, he took charge of the office and practice of Otwell & 
Son • he°continued practicing at Greenville until July, 1867 ; he then began practice 
alone at Otwell's Mills; in^October of the following year he returned to New 
Madison, where he has since resided and enjoyed a large practice, and is now doing 
his share of business, having become a fixture and almost a necessity to the citi- 
zens of that vicinity. He was married July 14, 1867, to Sarah A. Hecker ; she 
was born in Pennsylvania Feb. 16, 1838; is the daughter of Jacob Hecker of 
Neave Township, and was 12 years of age when her parents came to Darke Co.; 
beincr one of a large family, she studiouslv improved her mind and soon supported 
herself and helped support the family by teaching. They have three children— 
Luella, Jerold A. and Curtis W. . 

WILLIAM POLLY, retired farmer, Sec. 7 ; P. 0. Hollandsburg, Ohio. An 
old resident of Harrison Township ; was born in Butler Co., Ohio, Jan. 15, 1807 ; 
son of William Polly, who came to Harrison Township in 1818, and settled a little 



700 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

south of where the son now resides ; remained on the place until his death, which 
occurred in 1846 or 1847 ; only two of his children became permanent residents 
of Darke County, viz.: William, who is the subject of this sketch, and an older 
brother. William was married July 13, 1829, to Miss Edee, daughter of Elihu 
Harland, a pioneer who settled just over the line in Indiana ; soon after their mar- 
riage he purchased the farm upon which he now resides ; she died here Dec. 13, 
1832, having borne him two children — Annie (now Mrs. J. Gift, of Union City. 
Ind.), and Betsy, deceased. March 22, 1835, he was again married, to Mary 
Immel, a native of Pennsylvania, who was born April 24, 1815; they are the 
parents of the following children, viz.: Elihu, who now resides about one-half mile 
south of his father, and is a substantial and respected citizen ; Catharine, now 
Mrs. A. J. Moore ; Henry V., who now resides near Union City, Ind.; Priscilla r 
deceased; Joseph W., now a teacher in Portland, Ind.; Jacob B., now Superin- 
tendent of the Public School at Versailles ; James M. resides with his father and 
has charge of the farm ; Hannah, deceased, and Emma, now Mrs. James Down- 
ing, of Randolph Co., Ind. Mr. Polly came to Darke Co. when but 11 years of 
age, and has been a continuous resident of the same for upward of sixty years, 
and during all this time has been a contributer toward the improvement of the 
count}- materially, intellectually and morally ; both he and his wife have been 
consistent and active members of the Disciple Church from their youth, and each 
of their children are members of one branch of the Christian church ; his son-in- 
law, A. J. Moore and wife, reside in Sec. 8 ; he was born in Wayne Co., Ind., Dec. 
16, 1831, and was married to Miss Catharine Polly Feb. 20, 1859 ; they are the 
parents of six children. Mr. Moore and wife are both worth} 7 members of the 
Christian Church ; he is one of the Deacons of the Church at Hollansburg. 
Thus it will be seen that Mr. Polly has raised a large family, all of whom, now 
living, are useful members of society. Although now in his 73d year, and 
having suffered the extirpation of his left eye last May, he is enjoying very good 
health, and is an intelligent, agreeable Christian gentleman, and a respected citizen. 

DAVID PUTERBAUGH, farmer, Sec. 7 ; P. 0. New Madison ; a son of 
Abraham Puterbaugh, an old settler of German Township ; the subject of this 
sketch was born in German Township Sept. 8, 1851 ; remained at home with his 
parents, receiving such education as the common-schools afforded, until Oct. 26, 
1872. He was married to Margaret Mackey ; she was born in Jay Co., Ind, 
March 15, 1851 ; after his marriage, he rented a house and a part of his fathers 
farm, where they remained until the spring of 1 878 ; they then removed to the 
farm where they now live ; the}' have four children, viz., Mary E., Martha J., 
George D. A. and Harvey C. Mr. Puterbaugh, though a young man, is a lifetime- 
resident of Darke Co., and will probably remain a resident of Butler Township. 

DANIEL REIGLE (retired) ; P. O. New Madison ; was born in Berks Co., 
Penn., July 3, 1805 ; remained with his parents on a farm until of age, having 
almost no educational advantages ; when about 14 years old, he commenced to 
wagon from Hamburg to Philadelphia, Penn. ; when of age, he commenced for 
himself by hiring to a collier ; he soon became " boss collier," and continued in this 
business in different parts of Pennsylvania until 1831, when he removed to Bel- 
mont Co., Ohio, where he leased a piece of ground, and commenced raising 
tobacco ; in 1833, he removed to Fairfield Co. ; here he purchased 55 acres of 
land, and resumed the culture of tobacco ; in 1839, he went to Adams Co., Ind. ; 
where he purchased 800 acres of land, but the country was so wild and backward 
about settling up that he could not content himself, and, leaving his land, he 
returned to Ohio : in February, 1841, he purchased 164 acres of land in Butler 
Township, for $800, which he improved, and in 1868, sold for $10,000 ; in 1863, he 
purchased 6 acres in New Madison, upon which he built, and removed there the 
following year, where he has since lived, enjoying in a quiet way the benefits of 
his quite large accumulations, all of which he came to by his own exertions, 
having, when he crossed the Ohio River (to use his own expression), " Thirty-five 



HARRISON TOWNSHIP. 701 

dollars in money, one wife, two guns and one dog." Mr. Reigle was commis- 
sioner of Darke Co for two terms, being elected by ninety-four votes, and re-elected 
by over three hundred ; the County Infirmary was built during his commissioner- 
ship He was married to Sarah Bitler, in Pennsylvania, in 1827 ; they had ten 
children four of whom are living— Samuel B., Daniel, Catharine A. (now Mrs. 
Humbert) and Sarah A. ; the names of the deceased are, George, Mary E., 
Rebecca A Charles A., Solomon and Joseph W. S. Mrs. Reigle's death occurred 
in New Madison, June 28, 1872. His marriage with Mrs. Lydia A. Simpson-Burr 
was celebrated in Eaton, Ohio, Dec. 19, 1872 ; Lydia Simpson-Burr is the mother 
of two children— William S. (deceased), and Orlando, now living m Preble Co 

ALMIRA (LAWRENCE) ROBERTS, New Madison; widow of the late 
Samuel R Roberts, whose decease occurred Oct. 28, 1874 ; Mr. and Mrs. Roberts 
were born in Darke County— he Feb. 28, 1827, and she Dec. 19, 1827 ; their mar- 
riage was celebrated in Harrison Township Dec. 28, 1854, and soon after, they 
commenced housekeeping in the house in which the widow and family now live ; 
he owned an interest in the steam saw-mill, of which he in a few years became sole 
proprietor and continued to own and operate until, a short time before his death, it 
took fire and was buined ; he being very sick at the time, the shock was too much 
for his weakened nerves, and he never recovered ; Mr. Roberts was a quiet and 
substantial citizen, specially kind to his family, and won the esteem of all ; he left 
a family of three children— Eldora (now Mrs. Charles B. Whitley), Luanna and 
Jennie M. ; the two latter are still at home with their mother. 
SOLOMON ROYER, farmer ; P. O. New Madison. 

CLINTON RUSH, proprietor City Hotel and Livery Stable, New Madison ; 
was born in Harrison Township Oct. 30, 1831 ; he is a son of John Rush, who was 
one of the early settlers of Darke County ; Mr. Rush resided with his parents in 
Harrison Township until 1855, when he purchased a farm in Butler Township, 
where he lived the following four years ; he then removed to Harrison Township ; 
having purchased a part of the old homestead, he remained for nine years, then 
sold out and again purchased in Butler Township, where he resided six years, then 
removed to Gennan Township, where he lived three years, when he purchased the 
City Hotel property, where he now lives, doing a very satisfactory business ; Mr. 
Rush held the office of Justice of the Peace six years in Butler Township, and 
three years in Harrison; he was married Feb. 22, 1855, to Rebecca J., daughter 
of John Tittle, of Preble County ; they are the parents of four children— John F., 
Rachel A Mary E. and Charles A., the second and last being deceased. 

EMILY (LAWRENCE) SNODGRASS, New Madison ; daughter of Rile 
Lawrence an old settler of Harrison Township, and widow of the late Joseph G. 
Snodgrass, who was born in Preble County March 7, 1830 ; she was born in Darke 

County July 6, 1835 ; they were married July 27, , at the home of her parents 

in Harrison Township ; after living in Preble County about one year, they removed 
to New Madison, where she has lived ever since his decease, occurring here Dec. 
6, 1877 ; immediately after coming to New Madison, Mr. Snodgrass engaged m a 
tannery, 'of which he soon became owner and proprietor, and thus became identi- 
fied with the business interests of the town, and was soon called upon to fill places 
of public trust, being elected Justice of the Peace and Mayor of the town, holding 
the latter office two "successive terms, his decease occurring before the expiration 
of the last term ; he was the father of three children— Olive M., Mary M. and 
Eliza R., all of whom are now living with their widowed mother, he having left 
them in comfortable circumstances. Mr. Snodgrass was one of those who 1 answered 
to the call of his country ; he enlisted in the 110th 0. V. I., and was made Captain 
of Co. H, in which capacity he served until the final surrender ; was in several 
engagements, once wounded and once taken prisoner, but was soon exchanged and 
returned to the command of his company ; after his return to private hie on 
account of a cancer, he was obliged to suffer the extirpation of his left eye-ball 
about six months previous to his death. 



702 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

ANDERSON SPENCER, farmer, Sec. 16; P. 0. New Madison. 
L. B. STEPHENS, farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 13; P. 0. New Madison • 
one of those who, although left alone in the world, has nevertheless become a 
substantial citizen ; was born in Connecticut Jan. 29, 1812 ; his father died when 
he was in his infancy, and his mother emigrated to Ohio when he was about 3 
years of age, leaving him with his grandfather, where he remained until 15 years 
old ; he then struck out for himself, commencing by learning the comb-maker's 
trade, at which he afterward worked in New York City and Cincinnati, Ohio ■ he 
came to New Madison in the fall of 1837, and commenced wagoning from here to 
Cincinnati ; he continued to wagon most of the time until the iron horse sup- 
planted him ; during this time, he also kept " public house " in New Madison 
one year ; he had been economical, and wisely invested his savings in a piece of 
land, and, when wagoning no longer paid, he removed to his farm, and has con- 
tinued farming ever since, owning different tracts of land, and of late giving con- 
siderable attention to stock-raising. Mr. Stephens now owns several houses and 
lots in New Madison, and 80 acres of land adjoining the corporation, upon which 
he now resides. He was married in Cincinnati to Amy Miles Oct. 6,' 1833 ; they 
are the parents of five children, three of whom are now living, viz. William 
Minerva, now Mrs. David Price, of Montgomery Co., and Alfred ; the two' deceased 
are Augustus and George. 

JESSE SWISHER, retired ; P. 0. New Madison ; was born in Preble Co., 
Ohio, March 2, 1807 ; his father, William Swisher, was a native of Pennsylvania] 
but came to Preble Co. at an early day ; Jesse remained at home durino- his 
minority , having very little opportunity to attend school ; when about 23 years 
of age, he purchased a quarter-section of land in Preble Co. Was united in mar- 
riage with Rachael Paddock June 2, 1831 ; she was also born in Preble Co ; they 
commenced life together on his farm, where they continued to reside until 1838 ■ 
they removed to Union Co.. Ind., where he purchased a farm on the Whitewater ■ 
here they remained about twelve years, then returned to Preble Co., Ohio, and 
purchased about 900 acres of land, and went into stock-raising on a lar«-e scale ■ 
this he continued till 1867, when he sold out and removed to°New Madison and 
engaged in the dry-goods business, at the same time buying grain and ho^s which 
he continued until 1875, when he retired, his son, Robert Swisher, bein^h'is suc- 
cessor. Mr. Swisher, while a very active citizen, has also been a very quiet, unas- 
suming man, a good manager, and quite successful, whether as a farmer stock- 
raiser, or merchant. Has raised a large family, and started each liberally' and is 
still in possession of abundant means for himself. Mr. and Mrs. Swisher are the 
parents of ten children, all of whom lived to grow to manhood and womanhood ■ 
eight of them are still living, viz., Henry, Robert. William, Samuel, Minerva now 
Mrs. McQmnney, of Preble Co.; Cyntha, now Mrs. George Scarce; Sarah E ' now 
Mrs. Templeton, of Preble Co.; Samantha. now Mrs. L. R. Kelly, of Richmond ' Ind 
and Angeline, now Mrs. William Carney, of Shelby Co., Ind.; the names of the 
deceased are Annie (Swisher) McQuinney and William. 

-o ^P C J? ERT SWISHER 3 g rai n and stock-dealer, New Madison ; was born in 
Preble Co., Dec. 21, 1845 ; he came to New Madison when 23 years of a»e and 
engaged in the dry-goods trade, also buying grain ; in 1877. he sold his interest in 
the dry-goods trade and has since devoted his entire attention to the grain and 
stock business. Mr. Swisher was married to Miranda Banks at the home of her 
mother in Richmond Ind, April 6, 1869. They have four children— Cora Olive 
Viola and Warren, the first being deceased. Mr. Swisher, although a young man' 
has already become one of the business men of New Madison. 

p t J TT H m. TH0M i VS " dentist > New Madison ; the subject of this sketch is the son 
Of J. 11. lhomas, M. I)., who was a graduate of the Eclectic Medical Institute of 
Cincinnati, and came from Oxford, Ohio, to Darke Co, in 1843, and practiced in 
this county most of the time for thirty-three years ; he was somewhat of a rover 
but practiced at New Madison for fifteen successive years durino- his first resi- 



HARRISON TOWNSHIP. 703 

dence, and five years each at two other periods. His decease occurred at Palestine 
Oct. 25, 1876. J. H. was born in New Madison in 1851 : he received the benefit 
of such educational advantages as the common-school afforded ; during his youth, he 
worked on a farm by the month in summer, and attended school in winter until 
19 yeai*s of age, the last summer being spent in Michigan ; in the fall of 1870. he 
began to learn dentistry, at which he has been engaged ever since ; he has worked 
in Bradford Junction, Covington, Miami Co., Winchester, Ind., Gabon. Decatur 
and Buchanan, Mich.; at some of these places he had an office, and at others 
worked for more experienced dentists, which has given him advantages enjoyed 
by but few dentists of his age ; he resumed dentistry in New Madison in 1 877, 
first working by the piece for his uncle S. A. Thomas ; afterward bought his uncle 
out and located permanently ; after seven years of practice and diversified exper- 
ience, is gradually building up a good business ; unlike most young men operating 
in the country towns, he has experience in his work, as well as knowledge of 
material, and where to get his supplies so as to secure the best at the lowest pos- 
sible price ; he is thus prepared to do first-class work at prices which are inadequate 
for the more aristocratic city dentists. 

WILLIAM THOMAS, farmer, P. 0. New Madison ; resides on Sec. 23. The 
historj 7 of Harrison Township would be incomplete without a sketch of the Thomas 
family ; William is a son of Jonathan Thomas, who was one of a family of thirteen 
children, all of whom grew to manhood and womanhood, and all but one were 
married and raised a family ; he was born in Pennsylvania, Oct. 8, 1792, raised 
in Virginia, and came to Darke Co. in 1816, '-entered" one-fourth of Sec. 24, 
Harrison Township, in connection with his brother Solomon, who is now a resident 
of Preble Co., and 90 years of age. Jonathan was married to Agnes McClure 
Sept. 9, 1819 ; she was born in Kentucky Dec. 23, 1800, and came to Darke Co. 
with her parents, who were the first settlers of Harrison Township ; about a year 
after their marriage, they removed to Sec. 23, the place where William now lives ; 
William was born, raised, and now lives on the old homestead ; his birth occurred 
March 30, 1830 ; he was married to Julia Brodrick Feb. 26. 1852 ; she was born 
in Darke Co. April 7, 1834 ; her parents settled in Harrison Township in 1822 ; 
soon after their marriage, they commenced life on a farm in Sec. 22, where they 
lived about 14 years, then purchased and removed to the old homestead, where 
they have lived ever since ; the farm consists of 239 acres, in a good state of cul- 
tivation, with fine improvements. Mr. Thomas is a self-made man, and has con- 
tributed his share to the substantial growth and improvement of Harrison Town- 
ship ; is a quiet, unassuming man, respected by all ; in politics, is a Republican. 
His father, who is now 87 years of age, and quite feeble, has his home with and 
is cared for by, William and his kind-hearted wife, his mother having died Sept. 24, 
1877, at his sister's; Mr. and Mrs. Thomas are the parents of seven children, 
five of whom are now living, viz.: Florence A., now Mrs. Thomas Eubanks, of New 
Madison ; Roscoe E., Willie L., Oliver H. and Frank E. ; all except the oldest, 
are at home ; the names of the deceased are Horace W. and Eugene E. 

NEHEMIAH TOWNSEND, merchant, New Madison ; the subject of this 
sketch, now a successful merchant of New Madison, was born in Pike Co., Ohio, 
July 4, 1828 ; his father died when he was but 13 years of age ; in 1844, he 
removed with his mother, one brother and three sisters, to Greenfield, Highland v 
Co., Ohio, where they resided several years ; in 1849, they removed to Centerville, 
Wayne Co., Ind., and in 1851 he removed to New Westville. Preble Co., Ohio, 
where he remained until the fall of 1858, when he came to New Madison, and has 
resided here ever since. Mr. Townsend's life has been somewhat checkered, and 
yet, on the whole, quite successful ; he learned the tailor's trade when a boy and 
continued to work at it until after his marriage with Miss Sarah A. Bowen, which 
occurred Oct. 11, 1852 ; after his marriage, he engaged in merchandising, first in 
Preble Co., and when he came to New Madison he started a general merchandise 
store, which he is still conducting with gratifying success. He is a quiet and 



704 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

respected citizen, an intelligent and agreeable gentleman. Mr. and Mrs. Town- 
send are the parents of six children, three are living, viz. : Ella V., Ida M. and 
Will A. ; the names of the deceased are Sarah E., Mary A. and Charles 0. ; the 
three living are all at home. 

EDWARD M. WALKER, deceased; the oldest of the Walker brothers, 
was born in Maryland Feb. 26, 1815 ; his parents came to Darke Co. when he 
was 15 years of age; settled first in Butler Township and afterward in Harri- 
son, on the farm Edward afterward owned, and where he and his father and 
mother all died, and his widow now resides ; his father's death occurred Jan. 
5, 1840, and he then took charge of the farm and managed the business affairs of 
the family. May 29, 1844. he was married to Isabella C. Miller, after which they 
took charge of the house, and his mother and younger brothers and sisters lived 
with them. His mother's death occurred Nov. 26, 1857. Edward M. and Isa- 
bella C. Walker were the parents of eight children — Joseph C, born June 29, 1845; 
died Nov. 24, 1860 : Margaret, born, Sept. 4, 1847, married to A. Gr. Trace, Dec. 
26, 1872, died Sept.' 17, 1873 ; Hannah R., born Nov. 30, 1849, died April 20, 1874 , 
Nancy J., born Feb. 12, 1852 ; Daniel, born March 26, 1854, died Sept. 28, 1855 ; 
John B. W., born July 1, 1856, died Nov. 25, 1860 ; Thos. M. born Dec. 26, 1858, 
and Isabella C, born June 17, 1861. Mrs. Walker died June 26, 1861. Jan. 4, 
1866, Mr. Walker was married to Miss Margaret Cameron, also a native of Mary- 
land, born March 4, 1 831 ; she alwa}'s lived in Baltimore previous to her marriage but 
visited friends in Darke Co. at different times, and became acquainted with Mr. 
Walker and married him. The} 7 had a son, born March 17, 1867. Mr. Walker 
was a stirring, energetic man, and, in connection with his brothers, Christopher 
and Daniel, dealt quite extensively in hogs, shipping many thousands to the East- 
ern markets during the war period. In politics, he was a lifelong Democrat, and 
a man of considerable political influence ; was twice elected to represent his county 
in the State Legislature. When the war broke out, he took an active part in rais- 
ing volunteers. In 1870, the old home was burned, and in the following 3 r ear he 
built a handsome residence on the old site, where his widow and surviving chil- 
dren now reside. His death occurred Dec. 2, 1879. Mrs. Walker is an intelli- 
gent, social lady, and feels deeply the loss of her lamented husband. 

DANIEL WALKER, farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 33 ; P. 0. Wiley Station ; 
was born in Baltimore Co., Md., Nov. 20, 1817 ; son of Christopher and Hannah 
Walker, who came to Darke Co., settling first in Butler Township and 
afterward in Harrison, where their decease occurred — his in 1840, and hers in 1857. 
The subject of this sketch remained at home until 1842, when he was married to 
Miss Nancy, daughter of Elam and Mary Purviance; she was born in Preble 
Co. Dec. 4, 1818 ; they first settled in Preble Co., and after twelve years' resi- 
dence sold out and purchased and removed to the farm on which they now reside. 
Mr. Walker has made and lost a large amount of money during his residence here, 
having dealt quite extensively, for several seasons, in hogs. He now owns 160 
acres in Sec. 34 ; also one tract of 50 acres, and one of 57, in Preble Co., 
besides the home place, which consists of 257 acres of excellent land, finely improved, 
his house and yard being a model for neatness and beauty. He is also a stock- 
holder of the Farmers' National Bank of Greenville. 

CHRISTOPHER C. WALKER, farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 23 ; P. 0. New 
Madison. Of the successful farmers of Harrison Township. Mr. C. C. Walker is 
probably the most extensive stock-raiser ; he makes a specialty of fine cattle and 
Poland-China hogs ; he was born in Baltimore County, Md., Aug. 23, 1829, and 
brought to Darke County by his parents, Christopher and Hannah (Marshall) 
Walker ; they first settled in Butler Township ; he l-emained at home until 
after he became 21 years of age, receiving sueh an education as an attendance 
of two to three months in the year at the common schools of that day would afford ; 
in 1851, he entered as equal partner in a store at Braff'ettsville, and soon afterward 
his brother Daniel purchased the other hall', and they continued the business 



HARRISON TOWNSHIP. 705 

together about seven years. Jan. 27, 1854. he was united in marriage with Miss 
Mary C, daughter of Thomas C. and Nancy Brawley, natives of Virginia and 
pioneers of Darke County ; Miss Mary was boi - n in Harrison Township Oct. 20, 
1834 ; they first kept house in Braffettsville ; in 1858, Mr. Walker became dis- 
satisfied with his store experience, sold out the store, and they removed to a farm 
near Braffettsville ; in 1862, he purchased and they removed to the farm upon 
which the} r now reside ; from 1862 to 1866, he was engaged with his brothers Edwin 
and Daniel in buying and shipping hogs, but the decline in price caused them to 
lose heavily, and they abandoned it, and he has since devoted himself to farming 
and raising stock, the latter being a specialty ; during the last year, he has erected 
a fine barn, 60x48 feet, with an L 54x40 feet, the whole conveniently arranged for 
the accommodation of stock ; this barn needs only to be seen to be appreciated ; 
it is the best the writer ever saw on a farm. Mr. and Mrs. Walker are the parents 
of nine children, viz. : Nellie, born April 29, 1855 ; Lon C, Feb. 27, 1857 ; Minnie, 
Oct. 28, 1858 ; Douglas, May 21, 1860 ; Thomas O, Jan. 20, 1862, died Aug. 7, 
1862 ; Harry G., born June 29, 1863 ; Nancy, April 17, 1865 ; a daughter born Dec. 
15 and died Dec. 29, 1867 ; and Mary, born Dec. 6, 1868. Their family, with two 
exceptions are grown to manhood and womanhood, and are still under the paternal 
roof. Mr. Walker now owns 75 acres in Preble County and 150 in Harrison 
Township, besides the home farm of 400 acres ; his residence is situated on an emi- 
nence bordering the beautiful little valley of East Fork, a branch of the White- 
water River ; this branch runs through a portion of the farm and aifords excellent 
and abundant water for his stock. Mr. and Mrs. Walker are sociable, agreeable 
people, and highly respectable citizens. 

JACOB WALKER, farmer, Sec. 15 ; P. 0. New Madison. 

MBS. JANE WHITE, proprietress of hotel ; P. O. Hollandsburg ; was born 
near Hollandsburg March 6, 1832 ; is the daughter of James Stewart, who is now a 
resident of Wayne Co., Ind ; her mother's death occurred when Jane was but 
14 years of age ; has always been a resident of Darke Co. Was married to 
Benjamin S. Tillson Sept. 16, 1849 ; his decease occurred March 6, 1864 ; 
they were the parents of two children, viz. : Rebecca A., born March 6, 
1851, now living with her mother, and Laura A., born March 26, 1853, 
married to J. R. Hill Nov. 2, 1872, and died Sept. 24, 1875. Mrs. Tillson 
was married to John White June 10, 1866 ; his death occurred March 8, 
1870, in the same residence in which Mr. Tillson's death occurred six years 
previous. They had one child, viz. : Vandalia, born Aug. 12, 1867 ; now resides 
with his mother. Mrs. White remained at the old homestead until December 
1873, when she purchased a residence in and removed to Hollandsburg, where 
she engaged in millinery a short time ; afterward converted her residence into a 
hotel, which she is now conducting with reasonable success. Mrs. White is a very 
intelligent lady and possesses considerable business ability. 

JAMES M. WILLIAMS, M. D., physician, Hollandsburg, Ohio. Among 
the successful physicians of Harrison Township is Dr. Williams. He was 
born in Virginia Dec. 11, 1842 ; was brought to Montgomery Co., Ohio, by his 
parents in the year 1847, and grew to manhood there, receiving a good common- 
school education ; when 18 years of age, he began teaching, and soon after to 
read medicine ; afterward attended lectures and graduated at the Eclectic Medical 
Institute at Cincinnati May 21, 1869, and immediately began practice ; he first 
practiced in Palestine, German Township; in January, 1871, he removed to Hol- 
landsburg, where he has since continued the practice of his profession. Dr. Williams 
is entitled to the appellation of a self-made man, haviug earned by teaching the means 
to secure his medical education ; he started in practice with nothing but his knowl- 
edge, skill and industry to rely upon, and has persevered under difficulties until he 
now has a very satisfactory and constantly growing practice. His marriage with 
Harriet E. Renner, of Preble Co.. was solemnized March 3, 1864 ; she was born 
in Preble Co. Sept. 3, 1846. They are the parents of five children, four of whom 



706 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

are now living, viz. : Gladus A., Samuel R., Win. C. and Liston V. ; the name of 
the deceased was Lucilla G. 

ECKHART WORCH, merchant tailor, New Madison ; one of the old, reliable, 
substantial business men of New Madison ; was born in Schlierbach, Germany, in 
1821 ; came to America in 1842 ; landing at New York, he started West by boat ; 
when about eleven miles from Columbus, Ohio, his money being exhausted, he 
was compelled to leave the boat ; he made his way the best he could to Dayton, 
where his genial ways and perseverance soon won friends and secured employment ; 
after a stay of about twelve years in Dayton, during which he had acquired a know- 
ledge of business, and also become able to transact business in either English, 
German or Hebrew, and acquired a reputation for industry and integrity, which 
he has never lost, and which has been of great service to him during the years in 
which he has been engaged in business, he came to New Madison in 1853 ; began 
the merchant tailoring business in 1854, and has continued in it ever since, having 
a growing and profitable trade ; he now has a good stock of clothing and gents' 
furnishing goods, notions, etc., and is still an active, wide-awake business man ; he 
was prominent in organizing the Reformed Church here, and is still an active sup- 
porter of the Gospel. A review of his life is not out of place here : Starting in 
this country a "raw Dutchman" without experience, money or friends ; in twelve 
years, he had gained such a knowledge of language and business, and such a repu- 
tation for industry and integrity, that a well-known firm in Cincinnati offered with- 
out solicitation to sell him any amount of goods he needed, and allow him to pay 
for them when sold. The letter in which this offer was made was written in Ger- 
man, and has been preserved by him, and he now feels a just pride in showing it 
to friends. From this start, secured by his active and persevering efforts while in 
the employ of others, he has gradually risen to a prominent business man, at the 
same time developing a character as a merchant and Christian citizen which is as 
creditable as it is honorable ; he now occupies the corner which was owned and 
occupied by that most excellent pioneer citizen, Ernestus Putman, the founder, and 
in its early day, the fosterer of New Madison. Mr. Worch has been twice married. 
His marriage with Petronella Frederick was celebrated in Dayton, July 1, 1846 ; 
she was also a native of Germany, born in Dittlesheim, Canton of Worms, in 1824 ; 
her death occurred in New Madison, in 1874 ; she was a consistent Christian 
woman, a kind mother and an affectionate wife ; they had seven sons, four are now 
living, viz. : Franklin H., now a resident of Cincinnati ; Charles D., a telegraph 
operator ; Lewis A., now learning the trade of jeweler in Richmond, Ind., and Philip 
F., who assists his father in the store. The marriage of Mr. Worch and Mrs. Sarah 
(Wagner) Bowman, was celebrated Jan. 22, 1880 ; she is the daughter of William 
Wagner, of German Township, and was married to Jacob Bowman, whose death 
occurred in 1873. 

MICHAEL ZEECK, blacksmith and edged-tool manufacturer, New Madison. 
One of the old residents of Harrison Township ; he is the son of Adam and Mary 
(Shaffer) Zeeck, natives of Virginia ; his grandfathers, on both the father's and 
mother's side, came from Germany, and were soldiers in the Revolution ; the sub- 
ject of this sketch was born in Wayne Co., Ind., Feb. 22, 1814 ; during his minority 
he learned the blacksmith's trade of his father, who made a specialty of edge-tool 
manufacturing; in 1835, he came to New Madison, opened a shop, and has lived 
here ever since ; by industry and economy, he has succeeded in accumulating con- 
siderable property. He was married Oct. 25, 1838, to Fanny, daughter of John 
and Jane (IJ.dlard) Beard, who were early settlers of Butler Township ; she was 
born Oct. 2, 1822 ; her death occurred in 1879, after a severe and protracted ill- 
ness, dining which her husband devoted almost his entire time to her care and in 
attention to her wants; Mr. and Mrs. Zeeck were the parents of eight children, six 
of whom are living, viz., Mary J., Rebecca B., Sarah P., George A., Abigail L. 
and John A.; the names of the deceased are Catherine E. and Nancy A. Mr. 
Zeeck has taken quite an interest in the public affairs of his county, and has been 



NEAVE TOWNSHIP. 707 

somewhat prominent ; he has served as Commissioner two terms, and held town 
or township offices, either one or both, almost constantly since he first became a 
citizen of New Madison, in 1835 ; was one of the petitioners for the incorporation 
of the town, and afterward served in nearly every one of the different town offices. 



NEAVE TOWNSHIP. 



NOAH ARNOLD, farmer ; P. 0. Jaysville ; another of the few remaining 
early settlers of Darke Co. ; is the son of William Arnold, who was a brother of 
Moses, and was born in South Carolina, and came to Darke Co. in 1816 ; entered 
332 acres in Sees. 11 and 32, of Greenville Township, which he improved and 
resided on for sixty years, and it is now the property of his children and still undi- 
vided. The subject of this sketch was born in Warren Co. Feb. 6, 1816, about six 
weeks before his parents came to Darke Co., and he has resided in this county 
ever since he first entered it, living on the farm continuously until he was 23 years of 
age ; then tried merchandising a short time, but not being pleased with the business, 
resumed farming, which he has continued ever since ; has been an enterprising and 
useful citizen ; was Justice of the Peace nine years, and has been a Notary 
Public for the past twenty years ; is still active in both public and private 
enterprises ; was one of the charter members of the Farmers' National Bank 
of Greenville, and is one of the present Board of Directors ; has charge of 
his father's old homestead, besides superintending his own homestead, which 
contains 240 acres in an advanced state of cultivation, with fine improve- 
ments ; he has acted on the maxim, " If a man would have a good home, let him 
have a good wife, for it is certain he has both." He was married in 1839 to 
Emily Stingley, daughter of George and Barbara Stingley, who were early settlers 
of German Township ; her death occurred in 1848 ; they had four children — Isaac 
N., Mary J., Effie A. and George ; Isaac was a soldier in the late war, and lost an 
arm at Atlanta ; has been in the employment of the Treasury Department at Wash- 
ington for several years ; Mary J. is now the wife of H. N. Arnold, of Greenville ; 
Effie A. is now Mrs. L. E. Chenoweth, of Greenville, and George is married and a 
resident of Nebraska. Mr. Arnold was again married, April 11, 1850, to Martha 
(Larimore-Banfield) Bierly, daughter of Hugh and Nancy (Martin) Larimore, who 
came from Pennsylvania in 1817, and settled in the Arnold neighborhood, and are 
now both deceased ; Martha was twice previously married ; her first husband. John 
Banfield, was killed by a falling tree, while both wei-e passing through the woods 
by a bridle-path during a storm ; she escaped unhurt, although the horse upon 
which she was mounted was quite severely injured. Mr. and Mrs. Arnold have one 
child — Margaret E., now Mrs. William H. II. McCool, railroad agent and merchant 
at Jaysville. 

GEORGE ARNOLD, retired farmer ; P. 0. Jaysville ; one of the oldest 
residents of Neave Township now living ; he was born in South Carolina in 1800, 
and was eighty years of age on the 1st day of March ; his fathers name was Moses, 
and he was a native of North Carolina, and a resident of South Carolina from the 
time of the Revolution until 1807 ; was married there to Rachel Lynch, and 
removed to Ohio, settling in Warren Co. ; in the fall of 1815 or spring of 1816, he 
came to Darke Co., prospecting, and selected a quarter-section in Sec. 1 3, which he 
entered, and in the fall of 1816, George, then a young lad, in company with his 
brothers Aaron and David, and in company with their oldest sister Lydia, who 
afterward became the wife of James Townsend, came to this land and erected 
three cabins, one for the father and one for each of the two older boys, who were 
both then manned ; this tract was divided between the father and two sons ; in 
the following spring, the father and David removed their families into the cabins. 



708 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES- 

and began the work of making a home in this then wilderness, there being no 
house nearer than two miles, but plenty of Indians, and more wolves and bears 
and a few panthers : deer were then more plentiful and easier found than are squirrels 
now ; there was no road excepting the Milton road, via which they came, 
cutting their own road from that to their cabins ; it is difficult to imagine that 
such was the condition of this section within the life of one generation, and very 
few people have lived to see so great improvements as have been made within the 
lifetime of this venerable resident. George was married in Warren Co., Feb'. 26, 
1820, to Mary Dines, daughter of Chambers and Millie (Cole) Dines ; she was born 
in Kentucky Nov. 4, 1800, and her parents removed to Warren Co. when she was 
quite young. Mr. and Mrs. George Arnold came to Dai-ke Co. soon after their 
marriage, and began life here in pioneer style ; they now reside in a brick dwell- 
ing, which stands in the same yard in which stood the cabin in which they first 
kept house ; they having passed through the hardships, toils and privations of 
pioneer life, and taken part in the improvements of the past half-century, during 
the latter half of which there has been a remarkably rapid development and 
improvement of the count}', both public and private. They have raised a family 
of five children, one son and four daughters, viz., Amelia (who is now Mrs. 
Michael Floyd, and resides in Kansas), Lydia (who is now Mrs. Henry Houk, and 
resides in Missouri), Rachel (now deceased, was Mrs. Jacob Shiverdecker, and 
resided in Darke Co.), Mary (also deceased, was the wife of Samuel Schlechty). 
John C. is the onby son ; was born in 1826, and grew to manhood here, during the 
days of hard work and little education. He was married in 1847, to Mary E.. 
daughter of William and Maria (Heath) Shepherd ; her mother, now a widow, 
resides in Twin Township. Mr. J. C. Arnold, with the exception of about five 
years, has always resided on the farm where he was born and now resides, and is 
now an old resident of Darke Co. ; Mr. and Mrs. J. C. Arnold have a family of 
nine children — George W., Mary M., John H, Rachel J., Millie S., Winfield. 
Amanda B., Martha and Charles M. His aged parents also reside with them, 
and having served the world in their day and generation, now quietly await the call 
to the spirit land. 

W. N. BROWN, farmer ; P. 0. Delisle. Another life resident of Darke Co. ; 
is a son of Caleb, and grandson of Phillip Brown ; Phillip was a native of Tennessee, 
and married into a family by the name of Schleigar, and was one of the first set- 
tlers of this neighborhood ; Caleb was then a boy ; after he grew up he married 
Mary, daughter of Jacob and Sarah (Xeal) Miller, residents of Union Co., Ind ; 
Mr. and Mrs. Phillip Brown resided on an 80-acre tract in Sec. 36 ; he was a lead- 
ing and useful citizen ; his house, which was a hewn-log structure, was considered 
above the average, and was used for several years for church services ; he and his 
wife both lived to be nearly 90 years of age ; Mr. and Mrs. Caleb Brown resided on 
an 80-acre tract in the same section adjoining his father's ; his death occurred 
in 1876, he being 70 years of age ; his widow, now about 70, lives with her son at 
the old homestead. The subject of this sketch was born in 1839, on the farm 
where he now resides and has resided all his life ; he now has about 200 acres in 
Sec. 36, including both the tracts owned by his father and grandfather ; thus the 
memories and labors of two generations past cluster around this homestead. Mr. 
Brown was married in 1863, to Sarah Judy, daughter of David Judy ; her death 
occurred iu ] S 7 .' i : they bad two children, one living. Frank. Mr. Brown's mar- 
riage with Miss Elnora Bell Byers, was celebrated Dec. 6, 1870. 

W. S. DUNN, farmer; P. 0. Jaysville ; is the son of Isaac and Julia A. 
(McGrew) Dunn ; he was ;i native of Kentucky, and of French descent; she was 
of Irish descent, and a native of Virginia ; they were married in Butler Co.. Ohio, 
and came to Darke Co. soon after the treaty of Fort Greenville, and were the first 
family that ventured into the wilderness west of Greenville after the war. Here 
the subject of this sketch was born in 1817, and here he lived until he was 16 
years of age ; then his parents removed to Randolph Co., Ind. ; he remained with 



NEAVE TOWNSHIP. 7 °9 

his parents until 21, then returned to Darke Co., and worked in the vicinity of 
€oTtowu about three years and partially learned the wagon-makers trade. 
Xbout ; S2 time a little incident occurred which was the occasion of his changing 
Ms home He was somewhat of a horse-trader, and made a trade with a Method- 
ist meachei in which he was badly cheated, and the youngsters ot the neigh- 
borhood b\ red him so over being worsted by a preacher, that he straddled the 
horL and left that neighborhood: and never resided there afterward He finished 
MrapprenUeeship at wagon-making in Palestine and then went to Butler Co 
and was married there in 1855 to Matilda, daughter of Isaac and Marj Watson. 
Tfter his^arriage, Mr. Dunn resumed farming, and has continued farming ever 
since first reXg and. after five years he purchased a farm in Butler Co where he 
remained unU 1876. when he sold out in Butler Co. and purchased and removed 
tolC in Sec. 13, Neave Township, where he now ^resides W1 th his on ^ son. 
who has charge of the farm. Mr. Dunn was one of a family oT twehe children 
Us T»rente came into the wilderness of Darke Co. poor, and he had to depend 
unon himself entirely, and has made his property by his own exertions and man- 
2£"« »-ing received any legacy, except .about $800 ^ which his wife 
received from her parents. Her decease occurred in Butler Co. Nov. lb,m 
They had two children-one still-born, and the other a son Henry H. He was 
married to Susannah Young, of Preble Co., and now has charge ol the home and 

farm. He has one child— Matilda. - t»„„: j Q1ir i M«r 

HENRY CxEBHART, farmer ; P. 0. Greenville ; is a son ol Daniel and Mar- 
garet Oebhart, whose biography appears in connection ^J:**^J£? t 
subject of this sketch was born in 1837, on the farm, a part of which is his present 
home; he remained on the farm with his parents until about 25 years ot_ age , 
whUe visiting a cousin in Fountain Co., Ind, they took a notion to ^ethe^Wes^ 
rndwentfirrt to Kansas, then to the Black Hills region; also^sited drtnrt 
narts of Utah Idaho. Oregon, Montana, and returned to Darke Co. alter an 
evfntfu absence of nearly four years, well satisfied to live in Darke Co^ He was 
marr ed tf 1869, to Catherine Billman, daughter of John Billman, whose biog, 
rapliappears.in the Harrison Township list ; after their marriage, they rested 
at l hs old home, his father's death having occurred the same year; after Jhe 
farm was divided, he built on his portion, where he now resides ; he has 63 acres 
which he is improving and rapidly making into a pleasant home. 

C B HARTMAN. farmer; ■ P. 0. Weavers Station; a native ol Pennsyl- 
vania •' was born in Lancaster Co. in 1816 ; is the son of Christian and Ann Hart- 
nan a descendant of the Hares, Brubakers and Kreiders, who were among the 
lery krifest settlers of that part of Pennsylvania. The subject of this sketch grew 
to manhood on the farm in Pennsylvania ; when about 22 years of age, he m com- 
nanTwith four other young men, went West on a trip of adventure and sight- seeing ; 
ihey toveledover a large portion of the then Western country, saw the Indians m 
t to native wilds, came°near starvation on the sand plains, but returned to Penn- 
sylvanmafter three years" wanderings, satisfied to live in the civilized portions ol 
our country; he came to Ohio in 1856; settled first in Montgomery Co.; came 
to Darke Co in 1865. just in time to take part in the public improvements which 
Z suddenly 'brought this county from the last to the first in the State in point ol 
hnproved highways. Mr. Hartman. though not a very old resident, takes a very 
Sve interest in public matters, especially politics ; he is an active and reliable 
Democrat and useful citizen. He was married in 1845, to Catherine Immel, a 
S of Pennsylvania ; they had three children-J. A., whose biography appears 
?nthe mSson Township list, Franklin, of Montgomery Co.. and Louisa, now 
Mrs D A ucamp. of Pennsylvania. Mrs. Catherine Hartman's death occurred 
[n 1851 • his marriage with Catherine O'Donnel was celebrated in 1854 , she was 
i native of Ireland, and came to the United States when quite young ; they have 
nine cMMren-William, Caroline, Ella. Allen D.. Clement L. V., Kate. Christian 
B., George W. and Andrew J. 



710 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

DAVID HEFFNER, farmer ; P. 0. Weaver's Station ; a native of Pennsyl- 
vania, was born in Berks Co. in 1817 ; his father was a farmer, but David was 
made teamster as soon as he was old enough to hold the lines, and teamed, from the 
time he was 15 years of age, seventeen years. Jacob Heffner came to Darke 
Co., with his family, in 1849 ; David was then single, some called him a bachelor, 
and came with the family ; they settled in Neave Township on the farm where 
George D. Miller now resides. In 1850, David was united in marriage with Miss 
Ann, daughter of Jonathan, and sister of John Niswonger, whose biography 
appears in this work ; she was born in Pennsylvania, in 1822, and came with her 
parents to Darke Co., in 1829, and grew to womanhood here, in the days when 

"Girls made no great show 
In order to catch a beau, 
But were learned to work tow, 
Spin it and weave in row." 

As a sample of woman's occupations in those days, Mrs. Heffner, while a girl at home, 
spun 1,500 cuts of yarn and wove 300 yards of cloth, from spring to winter, besides 
helping about the housework. Mr. and Mrs. Heffner have resided in this town- 
ship ever since they first began housekeeping ; came to their present place, just 
north of Fort Jefferson, in 1872 ; they have two children, one son and one daughter 
— Jonathan and Sarah C, now Mrs. L. Wilt, of Butler Township. 

JOHN KECKLER, farmer ; P. 0. Weaver's Station ; is a Buckeye by birth ; 
was born in Fairfield Co. in 1826 ; was raised on a farm and learned the black- 
smith's trade when grown, and worked at it several years ; came to Darke Co. in 
1861 ; resided in Neave Township ; purchased the farm where he now resides in 
1871. Nearly all the public improvements made in Darke Co. have been done 
since his residence here. Mr. Keckler is one of the substantial citizens, and has 
occupied several public positions of responsibility. His marriage with Catherine 
Friesner was celebrated in 1851 in Fairfield Co. ; they had three children — all 
now married ; two — Ephraim and Elizabeth — are residents of Darke Co. Mrs. 
Keckler's decease occurred in 1856. Mr. Keckler and Mrs. Julia A. (Dunaway) 
Reynolds were married in Allen Co., Ohio, May 26, 1859 ; she was born in Penn- 
sylvania in 1828 ; her marriage with Geo. Reynolds was celebrated in Wells Co., 
Ind., Jan. 17, 1851 ; his death occurred in Allen Co., Ohio, in 1857. Mr. and 
Mrs. Keckler have five children — Simon B., William H, John W., Emma and 
James W. ; all are still members of the family household. 

JOHN LANDIS, farmer ; P. 0. Delisle ; an old resident of Darke Co. ; son of 
Jacob Landis, who settled in Darke Co. in 1828, on the farm where Joshua Town- 
send, whose biography appears in this work, now resides ; the old block-house, 
built there during the Indian difficulties, was still there in good condition, and 
John remembers sleeping in it repeatedly ; his father used it for a loom-house 
during the days of " home-spun " clothing. The subject of this sketch was born 
in Pickaway Co. in 1818; was married to Elizabeth Stutsman, of Montgomery 
Co., in 1844 ; after their marriage, he lived on his father's place, in Neave Town- 
ship, until, in 1849, he purchased, and they removed to, the farm in Sec. 26, where 
they now reside ; thus it will be seen Mr. Landis has been a resident of Neave 
Township more than a half-century ; has witnessed and contributed his full share 
toward the improvement, public and private, moral as well as physical. Both he 
and his estimable wife are worthy members of the German Baptist Church ; also 
two of their grown children. They have eight children — David, a resident of 
Michigan ; Andrew, a resident of Greenville ; Lydia, now Mrs. A. Rodgers ; Abra- 
ham ; Mary, now Mrs. Harvey Shover ; Jacob ; Frances, now Mrs. Lewis Price, and 
John, Jr. 

J. N. LOWRY, farmer and stock-dealer; P. O. Weavers Station; is a son of 
Reuben Lowry, who was one of the early settlers of Neave Township ; Reuben 
was always very fond of hunting, and, when game became scarce here, he became 
restless and went to Kansas, in 1861, and in 1865, removed there, and has resided 



NEAVE TOWNSHIP. Ill 

there ever since. The subject of this sketch was born in 1843, and grew to man- 
hood on the farm, and, when his father went to Kansas, he farmed the place, and, 
when his parents moved to Kansas, he purchased a portion of his father's land, 
including the homestead, and has resided here all his life; he now has 190 acres 
in the northeast part of the township, the undivided half of 150 acres near Ft. 
Jefferson, and 72 acres in Sec. 30, besides the homestead, which is in Sec. 31, and 
contains 96 acres ; besides superintending these farms, Mr. Lowry deals quite 
extensively in stock, and is the foremost man of his age in Neave Township, if 
not in the county ; he was married in 1865 to Miss Louisa, daughter of David 
Studabaker ; they have two children — Minnie and Harry E. 

SAMUEL LUDY, farmer ; P. 0. Weaver's Station ; one of the old residents 
of Darke County ; was born in Pennsylvania in 1811 ; he remained at home on 
the farm during his minority, then came to Ohio, first stopping in Montgomery 
County, where he remained several years working by the job or month ; in the mean 
time visited Darke County, and entered an 80-acre tract of land in Butler Township. 
He was married to Elizabeth Miller in 1836 ; she was born in Pennsylvania ; is the 
daughter of William and Susannah Miller, who came from Franklin County, Penn., 
to Montgomery County, Ohio, in 1829, and to Darke County in 1839 ; Mr. and Mrs. 
Ludy began domestic life in the spring of 1836, on the land he had entered in Butler 
Township, with very limited means, and had to struggle amid the difficulties 
common to the early settlers in this region ; after a residence of twenty-six years, 
they reluctantly parted with this home and removed to a farm in Sec. 4, which he 
purchased from her father ; they came to their present pleasant home in 1869 ; 
having been identified with the county from the days of pioneer life, through the 
tedious and toilsome days of progress and the burdensome period of modern im- 
provements, which have brought this county so rapidly forward to the front rank 
in points of public enterprise and general productiveness ; they may justly feel a 
pride in enjoying, as they evidently do, the present comforts of a pleasant home, 
with pleasant surroundings ; they have been active, useful and respected people ; 
have raised a family of eleven children — Susan, William, Jacob, Samuel, Nathaniel, 
Nicholas, Elizabeth, now Mrs. Jacob Judy ; Maria, now Mrs. Daniel Burket ; 
Sarah, now Mrs. Jacob Nyswonger, a resident of Iowa ; James and Silas ; the last 
two and first are single, all the others are respected heads of families. The five 
oldest sons — William, Jacob, Samuel, Nathaniel and Nicholas — were soldiers in 
the late war, Jacob being a " veteran," having served four years, William three, 
and the others different shorter periods. 

WILLIAM MILLER, farmer and stock-raiser ; P. 0. Delisle. Mr. Miller 
belongs to a pioneer family ; was born Nov. 29, 1837, on the farm upon which he 
now resides ; he is a son of Samuel and Nancy (Howell) Miller, and grandson of 
David and Catherine (Studabaker) Miller ; David Miller was a native of Bedford 
County, Penn., but emigrated to Ohio at an early day, locating for a short time 
in Clinton County, afterward in Miami County, and finally came to Darke County 
and located in Neave Township soon after the war of 1812. Samuel Miller was 
born in Clinton County, Ohio, March 25, 1805 ; was a youth when his parents 
came to Darke County, and grew to manhood here in pioneer days ; married Miss 
Nancy, daughter of Joshua and Christena (Mikesell) Howell ; Joshua was a native 
of Virginia, and Nancy was born in Maryland ; they came to Darke Count}' about 
the year 1821, and he became a leading and influential citizen; was Sheriff and 
also Commissioner during his residence here ; both he and his wife lived to four- 
score years, and resided in Michigan at the time of their decease ; after his mar- 
riage, Mr. Miller rented four years, then entered one quarter of Sec. 24, Neave 
Township, which was then all woods, and upon which he hurriedly built a cabin, 
into which he moved his family before it was " chinked," not waiting even to place 
a floor or hang a door ; the first night after their arrival, there was an addition of 
several kittens to their supply of domestic animals, but, it being a cold March 
night, the} r all froze, to the great grief of the children ; by perseverance and toil, 



712 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

amid privations and difficulties known only to the pioneer, he succeeded, by the 
assistance of his family in securing a home and adding 154 acres to the original 
tract ; in his later years, he retired from active labor, and the farm was carried on 
by his sons, under his supervision, he having raised a family of eleven children 
seven of whom are still living ; his death occurred Nov. 1, 1856 ; his widow is 
now the wife of William McCool, and resides in Delisle. William Miller remained 
on the old homestead until 1864, renting of his mother after his marriage with 
Miss Margaret M. Frye, which occurred Aug. 1, 1861 ; she is a daughter of 
Andrew and Rachael (Wilson) Frye, who resided near Fort Jefferson, and had a 
family of eleven children, only three of whom are now living. (See biography of 
H. W. Frye.) In the spring of 1864, Mr. Miller purchased 80 acres in Greenville 
Township, upon which he resided about four years, then sold it and removed to 
her father's place near Fort Jefferson ; six months later, he purchased 120 acres of 
the old homestead, including the residence, and again took up his abode on the 
spot where he was born and spent his youthful days. Mr. Miller has been School 
Director five years and Trustee ten years, a compliment to his judgment and to 
the interest he takes in education and the general welfare ; his home is a pleasant 
place, and his hospitality unbounded ; Mrs. Miller is a worthy member of the M. 
E. Church, and a conscientious Christian woman. They are the parents of three 
children— Ollie R., born Sep. 1, 1863, now an interesting miss ; Charles A., May 
4, 1866 ; and one who died in infancy. May both Mr. and Mrs. Miller live lon'o- 
and enjoy much of the fruits of their labors, and hereafter reap a rich reward for 
their disinterested kindness and hospitality, conferred alike on friends and 
strangers, is the wish of the writer. 

GEORGE D. MILLER, farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 16 ; P. 0. Greenville 
Among the early pioneers of Darke Co., the gentleman whose name heads this 
sketch is accorded a place in the front ranks ; he was born in Warren Co., Ohio 
Nov 20, 1818, and is a son of George Miller, a native of Pennsylvania, who came 
to Warren Co., Ohio, in 1817, and to Darke Co., in 1824, locating in Harrison 
Township, where he lived until his death, which occurred September, 1866 at the 
advanced age of 75 years. The subject of our sketch came to Darke Co. with his 
parents and is consequently among the oldest continued residents of the county ■ 
he remained with his parents and assisted in agricultural pursuits until he attained 
his majority, when on account of ill health he abandoned farming, and the follow- 
ing fourteen years he devoted his attention to school teaching and studying ; in 1851 
he resumed farming in Harrison Township, and on Dec. 22, 1865, he removed upon 
his present place, where he has since lived ; he has 250 acres of good land, under 
a good state of cultivation, with buildings second to none in the county ; o'f town- 
ship and county offices, he has had his full share, having held the office of 
Township Assessor eight years, Township Clerk six years, Justice of the Peace nine 
years ; he was elected to the Constitutional Convention to represent the interest 
of Darke Co. in 1873, and in 1877 was elected County Commissioner, which office 
he now holds ; he has been continually in office since 1845— which fact is a suffi- 
cient guarantee that his services have been alike satisfactory to the people and 
creditable to himself. His marriage with Elizabeth Rush was celebrated Augusl 
1850 ; she was born in Darke Co. in 1825 ; they are the parents of four children 
now living, having lost one by death. The living are Emily, Minerva Jane, Henrv 
D. and \ olney ; Mrs. Miller was a daughter of Asa Rush, one of the early 
pioneers of Darke Co. 

LYDIA MEYERS. Delisle ; widow of William H. Meyers (deceased) ; Mrs 
Meyers was born in Darke Co. in 1844; is the daughter of Henry and Rachel 
111 man ; was married to William H. Meyers in 1865 ;^he was the son of Joseph 
and Lavina Meyers ; was born in Butler Co. in 1844 ; he began domestic life where 
the widow now resides, and has resided ever since, except 'about one year's resi- 
dence in Twin Township. Mr. Meyers, during his short residence, contributed 
much toward the general improvement of the neighborhood, besides bearing his 



NEA.VE TOWNSHIP. 713 

share of the burden of graveling the road ; he had just completed a neat and com- 
modious dwelling when his death occurred, in 1877 ; he was Township Trustee 
several years, and was a respected, useful citizen ; they had two children— Edwin 
E. and Sylvester A. ttt ... _ . 

JOHN E NORTH, farmer and teacher ; P. 0. Weavers fetation ; one ol the 
rising young men of Neave Township ; is a son of Allen and Mary A. (Fry) North ; 
\llen North (deceased) was a resident of Neave Township for many years, and 
Was a very active and successful citizen ; his father at one time owned a tract of 
land upon which a part of the city of Indianapolis now stands ; here Allen was 
born- his father died while he was yet a boy, and his mother married again ; 
through the intemperance of his stepfather, the family was made poor and Allen, 
though a vouth, was the main support of his mother for several years. At the time 
of his marriage, an old horse constituted his capital, at the time ol his death he 
had accumulated about $20,000 worth of property, mostly real estate, beside, 
a policy of $10 000 on his life ; the widow now resides at the old homestead, in 
Wc ' 7 6 The subject of this sketch was born in Neave Township, in 1851, and 
<rrew to manhood on the farm, receiving an ordinary common-school education ; 
has tauo-ht district school winters for the past eight years, farming thrashing, etc 
•during the remainder of the year ; has been Township Assessor, and is the present 
Township Clerk. He was married in 1876 to Mary C, daughter of (xeorge Howes; 
they have one child— George Allen. _ 

JOHN NYSWONGER, farmer; P. O. Weavers Station; is a son ol Jona- 
than Nyswonger, who was born in Pennsylvania July 9, 1790 ; resided in Pennsyl- 
vania and came to Darke Co. at an early day ; both Jonathan and his father were 
soldiers in the war of 1812 ; John's mother, Elizabeth (Clarke) Nyswonger was a 
sister to the mother of J. N. Lowry, whose biography appears in this work, and 
was born in Pennsylvania in 1797. The subject of this sketch was born m Greene 
Co Penn Oct 3 1817; his father emigrated to Darke Co. in 1829, and John 
grew to manhood here during the early days of Neave Township ; he remembers 
well when he went to "Noffsinger's Mill," and waited his turn at the crank to bolt 
the family grist He was married in 1843, to Susannah Ault, a daughter of John 
\nlt who was a native of Pennsylvania, and an early settler of Darke Co. ; Mr. 
Nyswonger had purchased 40 acres of the farm where he now resides, made an 
- opening" and built a log house previous to his marriage; here they began 
domestic 'life and by perseverance, amid discouraging circumstances, they now 
have a pleasant home, around which cluster the memories of half a century ; he 
now has 101 acres in the home farm. 26 adjoining Ft. Jefferson, 90 in Iowa, and 
160 in Missouri, and, although he is quite advanced in years, is still vigorous and 
actively engaged in farming. Mr. and Mrs. Nyswonger are the parents of eleven 
children ; three are deceased ; three sons, Hiram H, William K and Elijah, are in 
California ; Jacobis a resident of Iowa ; Rebecca is now Mrs. William Eubank, of 
Harrison Township ; three— Alfred, Addie and Susan E. are members ol the family 

household. .,, , „ T , n . .,,. m , , 

N L C PHILLIPS, farmer ; P. O. Jaysville ; the son ol Joseph Phillips, who 
is one of the few men who lived to see their fourscore years ; he is the son of John, 
Phillips who was born in Hamilton Co., and was a soldier in the wars ol 1791, 
1793 and 1812 • he was one of those who was left behind to escort the provision 
supply and so escaped that terrible battle, Sinclair's defeat, in which all his com- 
rades were slain, except two, and they were wounded. Joseph was raised on a 
farm and when about 19 years of age, went to the cabinet-makers trade, at which 
he served the usual three years' apprenticeship, but never followed the business or 
did much at it afterward ; he now has a clock, the case of which he made and 
took in payment for his work ; he worked at carpentering at Cincinnati Ohio, one 
year and then commenced farming ; he first rented, and when he was able bought. 
80 acres in the woods of Hamilton Co.; he owned a mill property which he oper- 
ated several years : they came to Darke Co., in the spring of 1857. and settled in 



714 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES : 



Sec. 13, where he has resided ever since. He was married in 1822 to Nancy Con- 
rey ; she was born near Lexington, Ky., in 1801 ; they are now one of the few 
couples who have lived to pass their golden wedding anniversary, he being in his 
83d year, and still in possession of all his faculties, and she being in her 79th year 
and more feeble than her husband, having had a paralytic stroke, but is still 
vigorous in mind. The son, N. L. C, was born in Hamilton Co., in 1839 ■ he 
assisted his father in the mill until they came to Darke Co., and then assisted on 
the tarm until about 20 years of age, and then engaged in a daguerrean room to 
learn the art ; after about one years' experience, finding that it affected his health 
he quit and resumed farming ; he spent about two years here on his father's place,' 
and then removed to Miami Co., where he owned 40 acres of land, and remained 
there until 1S79, when he returned to his father's place, and now has charge of the 
homestead and care of his aged parents. He was married in 1864 to Rachael H 
Coppock, daughter of William Coppock, deceased, who was an early resident of 
Miami Co.; they have six children, Ida 0., W. Z. D., James A., Nancy Rosetta, 
Wesley J. and Clara A. 

JACOB KEEKER, farmer ; P. 0. Arcanum ; a son of George M. and Cathe- 
rine Rieker, natives of Germany and early residents of Butler Township ; Jacob is 
a brother-in-law to Joseph Hittle whose biography appears in the Butler Township 
list ; he was born in Germany in 1829, and was only 2 years old when his par- 
ents brought him to the United States; they settled in Butler Township in 1831 
he grew to manhood on the farm and has continued to farm ever since, residing 
part of the time in Butler and part in Neave Townships ; he came to his present 
farm about seven years ago ; he has justcompleted a very neat and commodious 
residence, which is well finished, and is the most elegant residence in the neighbor- 
hood. He was married in 1858 to Elizabeth, daughter of Daniel and Margaret 
Gebhart, who were married in Montgomery Co. and came to Darke Co. about the 
same time that xMr. Rieker's parents did. Mr. and Mrs. Rieker are worthy mem- 
bers of the Reformed Church, and useful, respected members of society ; they have 
had two children, both of whom died in infancy. 

ALFRED ROBESON, farmer ; P. O. Arcanum ; the subject of this sketch is the 
son of Andrew Robeson, and grandson of John Robeson, who were early settlers of 
Butler Township ; Alfred was born in Butler Township, in 1841, and has always 
lived in the neighborhood of his birth ; he remained on the farm with his parents 
during his youth, and began teaching in winter when about 18 years of age, and 
continued winter, teaching and cropping, etc., during the summer, for about ten 
years ; he purchased his present farm which contains 120 acres. He was married 
in 1 808 to Nancy Clarke ; she is the daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Clarke 
formerly residents of Butler Township but now of Arcanum ; they began domestic 
hie. soon after their marriage, on the farm, in Sec. 35, where they now reside ■ Mr 
Robeson is a life-resident of Darke Co., and, although a young man, is already one 
of its substantial citizens ; he is a worthy member of the Masonic Order, and she is 
a worthy member of the Reformed Church, and both are respected members of 
society. 

GEORGE SCHLECHTY, fanner and Justice of the Peace ; P. O. Weaver's 
Station ; a son of Christian Schlechty, who was a native of Berks Co., Penn and 
came with his parents, Christian, Sr., and Barbara Schlechty. to Darke Co. ; he was 
married here to Susannah Noggle, and resided on the farm in Sec. 33, which the son 
George now owns. The subject of this sketch was born in Neave Township, in 
1M4. and grew to manhood here amid the difficulties and limited opportunities of 
the ear y residents ; his father had a tan-yard, and George came in for his share 
of work at that trade, but, when he became a man, preferred farming, and has farmed 
ever since ; he now has the farm upon which his grandfather settled, about the 
year 1816 ; he also owns the tract upon which his father first resided after his 
marriage Mr. Schlechty is the present Justice of the Peace for Neave Township 
and is a leading and useful citizen ; he was married on March 10, 1859, to Arebecca 



NEAVE TOWNSHIP. 



715 



Winders, a native of Indiana ; they have six children— Willis M., Edson V., Levi D., 
Charles A., Jasper N. and John F., all of whom are members of the present house- 
hold. _ , „ , ,.,, 

AAIION SWANK, farmer; P. 0. Weaver's Station ; a " Buckeye by birth ; 
was born in Montgomery County in 1834 ; is a son of George and Susanna Swank ; 
when about 10 years of age, he became fatherless, and was cared for by his mother 
and older brothers ; after he became of age, he learned the carpenter's trade, and 
worked at it several years. He was married in 1858 to Mahala Baker, and they 
removed to Indiana, but soon returned to Montgomery County, where Mrs. Swank's 
death occurred in 1866 ; they had no children ; in 1869, he married Mrs. Martha 
(Neely) McCool, a daughter of William Neely, who was an early settler of Neave 
Township ; he has since resided in Darke County ; came to his present residence, 
in Sec. 34, in 1872 ; they have five children— William Jacob, Lilly May, Hester, 
Emma and Julia Ann ; Mr. and Mrs. Swank are worthy members of church, and 
useful, respected members of the community. 

DAVID THOMPSON, farmer ; P. 0. Greenville ; another life-resident of 
Darke Co.; is the son of Thomas Thompson, who was a native of Virginia and 
came to Darke Co. with his father, David Thompson, in 1814, who entered the land 
in Greenville Township, now owned by David Studabaker ; Thomas, who was a 
youno- man when his parents came here, was married to Elizabeth, daughter of 
Abram Studabaker. and they resided near Hill Grove, in Washington Township, 
several years ; he then traded his property for a property in Randolph Co., Ind., 
and removed there and remained until his death ; his wife's death occurred 
near Hill Grove. The subject of this sketch was born near Hill Grove, in 1832, and 
when about 16 years of age, having lost his mother, he struck out for himself and 
worked at farming, teaming, or anything he could get to do, until his marriage 
with Eva Neal, which was celebrated Aug. 21, 1853, after which he rented and 
farmed several years, one year in Illinois, but not liking it out there returned and 
farmed the Hunt place four years ; was Superintendent of the County Infirmary 
six years ; then purchased his present farm and removed to it in 1866 ; his wife's 
death occurred Dec. 26, 1874, after which he sold off his personal property, 
rented his farm, and resided in Greenville ; his marriage with Catherine E. Lot 
was celebrated Jan. 9, 1877 ; they remained in Greenville until the following 
November, when he had completed his present neat and commodious residence, 
they removed here and have remained ever since ; Mr. T. has seen the rough of 
Darke Co.; began here a boy, poor, and gradually worked his way up, until he 
accumulated enough to purchase his farm, which he has improved considerably, 
although his health has been quite delicate for several years past. 

WILLIAM THOMPSON, farmer ; P. 0. Greenville ; another life-resident of 
Darke Co.; is a brother of David Thompson, whose biography appears also in this 
township list ; William was born in Washington Township, in 1836 ; was brought up 
a farmer, and commenced farming with a brother in 1855, and continued to rent and 
farm until 1866, when he took charge of the County Infirmary, remaining five 
years ; then came to the farm in Sees. 15 and 16, which he had purchased previous 
to his'superintendency of the Infirmary, and upon which he has continued to reside 
ever since, uniting stock-raising with farming ; he now has 122 acres of improved 
land, well 'supplied with stock, etc.; he also has a business property on Broadway, 
in Greenville, which he rents. Mr. Thompson was married in 1 857 to Miss Amanda, 
daughter of Caleb Neal, who was an early resident of Neave Township ; the fruit 
of this union was two children — Alice and Vinora. 

JOSHUA TOWNSEND, farmer ; P. 0. Greenville ; is the son of William 
Townsend, who was a native of North Carolina, and was married to Mary 
Edwards, a native of Tennessee ; they came to Darke Co., at an early day. The 
subject of this sketch was born in Darke Co. in 1824 ; he was left fatherless at 
the age of 4 years ; his mother had two other sons, both younger than Joshua, but 
she managed to keep the family together, and by hard labor and some assistance 



716 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

from her father, Eli Edwards, she managed to live until Joshua had grown up ; 
when he was about 20 years of age. they went on to a farm whieh the father 
had purchased, but had not cleared, and Joshua and his two younger brothers 
undertook and did make a living by leasing cleared land close by. until 
they got their own under cultivation ; the next brother younger got married 
first, and then Joshua and his younger brother bought the other out ; after- 
ward Joshua bought the whole place and continued to farm there until 1855 ; 
having been elected Sheriff of Darke Co., he removed to Greenville, and held 
the office two terms ; afterward he removed to Jaysville and engaged in the stock 
trade ; in 186-1, he purchased a farm and commenced farming again, but continued 
the stock dealing, until, within a few years past, he has turned his attention 
entirely to farming ; he now has over 1,000 acres of improved land, all in Neave 
Township. Mr. Townsend was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention 
at Charleston, in 1860, and is a leading and highly respected citizen. He was 
married in 1852 to Mary A. Bierly ; she was born in Montgomery Co., Ohio, and 
resided at the time of her marriage with her stepmother, who married Noah 
Arnold, a resident of Neave Township ; they have had eight children — J. H., now 
married and a resident of Neave Township ; William H, Frank B., Miranda B.- 
Charles E., Mary M., Ellen J. and Lillie May. 

ABIJAH H. VANDYKE, farmer ; P. O. Greenville ; was born in Hamilton 
Co., Ohio, in 1823 ; is the son of Andrew E. Vandyke, who came from Pennsylvania 
to Hamilton Co., Ohio, where his death occurred in 1840. The subject of this 
sketch, when about 17 years of age, began to learn the wagon and carriage makers 
trade, at which he worked several years, then engaged in different occupations 
until 1860, when he became a resident of Darke Co. and rented the Hunt farm 
three years, then purchased the farm in Sec. 14, which is now his homestead. In 
1868, he was elected Sheriff of Darke Co., and re-elected in 1870; after serving 
the two terms asSheriff, he returned to his farm, and has resided on it ever since ; 
he has been an active, useful citizen, and most of the modern improvements of 
Darke Co. have been made since he became a resident here. He was married in 
Hamilton Co., to Sylvia Lawrence, daughter of Levi Lawrence, deceased, who was 
then a resident of Michigan, and formerly of Glendale, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Van- 
dyke are the parents of six children, four sons and two daughters. 

NATHANIEL W. WILSON, farmer and stock-raiser ; P. 0. Greenville. Among 
the old settlers of Darke Co., the gentleman who heads this sketch takes a place in 
the front ranks ; he was born in Butler Co., Ohio, May 18, 1832 ; he was a son of 
Andrew P. Wilson, born in Kentucky July 2, 1801, and, with his parents, came to 
Butler Co. when 4 years of age. He was married, in the same county, to Sarah 
Allen, June 10, 1828 ; she was born in the Territory of Indiana April 10, 1808 ; 
in 1834, they came to Darke Co. and located in Harrison Township, and followed 
farming until the decease of Mr. Wilson, which occurred Sept. 6, 1852. Mrs. 
Wilson is now living upon the old farm, where she has lived for a period of forty- 
five years. The subject of this memoir remained upon the home farm and engaged 
in agricultural pursuits until Dec 27, 1854, when he was united in marriage with 
Mary E. Rush ; she was born in Harrison Township, Darke Co., Oct. 11, 1836 ; 
they have seven children now living, having lost three by death ; the living are 
Margaret M.. John K., William G., Sarah E., Charles A., Nathaniel Elmer and 
Andrew P.; upon the marriage of Mr. Wilson, he commenced farming for himself 
in Harrison Township, until the fall of 1871. He has served the county as its 
Sheriff for four years in succession, being first elected in 1871, and re-elected in 
1873, and in 1875, he purchased a farm two miles south of Greenville, upon which 
he lived until February, 1878. when he sold and purchased his present place, 
where he lias since lived ; he now has 270 acres, with a good farm, located three 
miles from Greenville, on the Ft. Jefferson and Greenville pike, valued at some 
$15,000, nearly all of which he has accumulated by his own exertions. Mrs. 
Wilson was a daughter of Asa Rush, who was born in Bedford Co., Penn., April 



BROWN TOWNSHIP. 



717 



25 1799, and came to Darke Co., in 1812, and was among the first settlers of 
Darke Co.: he married Margaret Hill ; she was born in South Carolina June 16 1 
1801, and died June 1856. Mr. Rush died May, 1871. 



BROWN TOWNSHIP. 



L C ANDERSON, physician and surgeon, Dallas ; P. 0. Ansonia ; born in 
Montgomery Co., Ohio, Jan. 15, 1850 ; he was the oldest son of John Anderson, 
who was born in Pennsylvania Sept. 10, 1821, and emigrated to Montgomery Co., 
then to Preble Co., and in 1863, he came to Darke Co., and located in Twin Town- 
ship and in 1865, he came to Ansonia ; he died in Sydney May 30, 1869 ; he was 
married to Marv A. Hulse Feb. 15, 1819 ; she was a native of Montgomery Co. ; 
was born June 15, 1 830, and died Aug. 22, 1861. The subjectof this memoir obtained 
a good common-school education, and in the spring of 1871, he commenced the 
study of medicine with Dr. W. E. Hooven, and after a study of three years, including 
two terms of lectures at the Miami Medical College, he graduated from the above 
place in the spring of 1871, and, upon the 23d of March, he formed a partnership 
under the firm name of Hooven & Anderson, which partnership continues the same, 
with a yearly increase of practice. His marriage with Olive Tullis was celebrated 
April 29, 1875 ; she was born in Darke Co. Feb. 15, 1851 ; they have one child, 
John Milton, born June 21, 1876. 

HENRY B AUGHMAN, retired farmer ; P. O. Ansonia ; one of the early 
pioneers of Darke County ; born in Germany Dec. 20, 1822 ; he emigrated with 
his parents to America, landing in Baltimore in the fall of 1832 ; after living in 
Virginia three years, they came to Ohio and located in Richland Township in the 
fall of 1835; his father, John H. Baughman, was born in Germany, and, upon 
locating here, entered Government land, upon which he lived some thirty years ; 
he died in Brown Township, in September, 1875 ; Mrs. Baughman died about the 
year 1858 ; they were the parents of eight children, of whom three sons and two 
daughters are now living. Henry remained with his father until 15 years of age, 
when he started in life for himself by hiring out as farm-laborer, the first year at 
$4 per month and the second year at $8, and the following seven years he cropped 
with his former employer, Jacob Studabaker; he entered first 160 acres of canal 
land for which he paid $300 ; after farming the same a few years, he disposed of 
40 acres for $1,000, and now has the balance left ; he has refused $800 for 8 acres 
of the same land ; he now owns nearly 300 acres, with good buildings, aside from 
his residence and lots in Dallas. Mr. Baughman commenced in life without 
means and, after years of toil, has placed himself among the large landholders 
and successful farmers of Darke County, and accumulated a handsome fortune ; 
in 1865, he rented his farm and purchased a residence in Dallas, where he has 
since lived, retired from active labor. His marriage with Mary Studabaker was 
celebrated in Darke County in 1846 ; nine children were born to them, of whom 
two sons and six daughters are now living, viz., Emily (now Mrs. Walter Reed), 
Caroline (now Mrs. Joseph Reed), Juliette (now Mrs. Jefferson Hostetter, of 
Dallas). Mary Ann, Franklin, Ida, May and Lawrance ; the deceased died in 
infancy. Mr. Baughman has been a member of the Presbyterian Church since 
childhood ; his wife and nearly all the family are also church members. When 
Mr. Baughman first located here, the place where Dallas now stands was a wilder- 
ness and he assisted to erect the first building in the town. 

WILLIAM BAUGHMAN, retired farmer ; one of the early pioneers of 
Darke Co. ; born in Germany March 24, 1827 ; when 5 years of age, he emi- 
grated with his parents to America, landing in Baltimore in 1832 ; they went to 
Wheeling, Va., where they arrived without means, and remained ihree years ; 



7 1 B BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

they came to Darke Co. in 1835 ; here his father, John H., died, September, 1875 ; 
his wife having died about the year 1858. In October, 1848, William Baughman 
•was united in marriage with Catherine Bertz ; she was born in Germany, and is 
a sister of George Bertz, whose sketch also appears in this work ; ten children 
was the fruit of this union, of whom five sons and two daughters now survive, viz., 
Solomon, Mary J., George W., William, Lucy B., Charlie and Augusta. Upon the 
marriage of Mr. B., he farmed upon rented land four years ; he then bought 40 
acres, upon which he lived nine years ; he now owns 256 acres in Brown and 
Richland Townships, with good farm buildings, also his residence and some im- 
proved business property in town. Mr. Baughman commenced life without means, 
and has by his own hard labor, energy and industry, placed himself among the 
large landholders and successful business men of Brown Township, being a 
partner in the popular hardware firm of Bertz, Schlemmer & Co. 

GEORGE BERTZ. hardware dealer, firm of Bertz, Schlemmer & Co., Anso- 
nia, Ohio. The gentleman whose name heads this sketch is another of the 
self-made men of Darke County ; he was born in Saxony, Germany, April 6, 1835, 
and was a son of John Bertz, who was born in Saxony, Germany, in 1803, and died 
in 1844. He was married, in Germany to Anna Magdalena Doud ; she, with five 
children, emigrated to America in 1847 ; she died in Richland Township Sept. 13, 
1848. The subject of this sketch emigrated to America with his mother, and, upon 
her death, was taken by William Baughman, by whom he was kindly cared for 
and raised until he attained his majority, and for compensation to this date 
received $100 ; the following seven years his wages ranged from $75 to $100 
yearly; in 1864, he went to Nebraska and purchased 160 acres of land in Otoe 
CouUvy, and for four years was engaged in the restaurant and baker business in 
Nebraska City ; his brother now resides upon the above farm, which he has under 
a good state of cultivation ; in 1869, Mr. Bertz returned to Ansonia and engaged 
in the dry-goods trade, and in 1873 he engaged with William Baughman in the 
agricultural trade, and in the fall of 1874 they erected their brick store and added 
their present business, which they have since successfully followed ; a card of their 
business appears among the business cards of Ansonia ; in 1875, he was elected 
Township Trustee, which office he has since held, and is also serving his second 
year as Councilman of Ansonia ; has been a member of the church since 12 years 
of age, and a member of Lodge 605 I. O. 0. F. since 1875 ; has never made use of 
tobacco in any form, and is a strong champion of the cause of temperance. 

HEZEKIAH W. FRY, Sec. 21, Ansonia; one of the oldsettlers of Darke 
County ; born in what is now Neave Township, near old Fort Jefferson, Jan. 
26, 1835 ; he was a son of Andrew Fry, who was born in Pennsylvania and 
emigrated to Darke County somewhere from 1820 to 1825, and settled in the 
woods, when; he was engaged in farming in connection with his trade, which was 
a wheelwright ; he was also local preacher of the Methodist Church, was Justice 
of the Peace for many years, and held other township offices ; he died about the 
year 1871 ; he married Rachel Wilson ; she was born in Hamilton County ; she 
died a few years after the death of her husband. The subject of this sketch received 
a common-school education and assisted his father on the farm until March 19, 
1857, when he was united in marriage with Ellen J. Guy ; she was a native of 
Pennsylvania, born April 10, 1836 ; they have three sons and two daughters 
living, having lost two daughters by death ; the living are Agnes, Albertice, 
Benjamin F., Alonzo M. and Grace A. Upon the marriage of Mr. Fry, he farmed 
upon rented land four years, and in 1861 he purchased 160 acres of his present 
place, where he has since lived ; he has now 210 acres, with good farm buildings, 
under a fair state of cultivation. He has taken a deep interest in the cause of 
religion, having been a member of the M. E. Church for a period of a quarter of a 
century ; his wife and eldest daughter members of the same church. 

DANIEL GARRISON, farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 29 ; P. O. Woodington ; 
another of our old settlers ; born in Montgomery Co., Ohio, Feb. 17, 1836. His 



BROWN TOWNSHIP. 



719 



father. Leonard, was born in Pennsylvania in 1803 ; came to Ohio, and, after a resi- 
dence of several years in Montgomery and Butler Co.'s, came to Darke Co. in 
1844, where he died in July, 1871 ; he married Maria Bake; she was born in Butler 
Co. and died when the subject of this sketch was an infant. Daniel Garrison 
came to Darke Co. with his father in 1844, and was raised to agricultural pursuits, 
and employed as farm laborer until about 24 years of age. when, upon the 20th 
of September, 1860, he was united in marriage with Mary Niswonger ; she was born in 
Montgomery Co. Jan. 30. 1840 ; they have four children now living, viz. : Elmer 
E., born Oct. 7, 1861 ; Joseph N., born Sept. 23, 1864 ; Viola May, born July 9, 
1870, and Ada B., born Nov. 15, 1877 ; Leonard A. was born July 21, 1867, and 
died Jan. 6, 1870. After the marriage of Mr. G. ; he farmed upon rented land 
twelve year's, and in 1872 he purchased his present place of 65 acres, where he 
has since lived : he is one of our self-made men ; commencing in life without 
means, he has secured all of the above property by his own hard labor, energy 
and industry ; he, with his wife, have been members of the Christian Church for a 
period of about thirty years. Mrs. Garrison was a daughter of Joseph Niswonger, 
who was born in Montgomery Co., where he now resides ; her mother was 
Anna W. Henderson ; she was born in Ohio, and died some twenty-six years ago ; 
upon the 3d of June, 1877, Mrs. Garrison was stricken with paralysis, depriving 
her of the use of her left side ; since which time she has been unable to perform 
only her light household duties ; she has, however, borne her afflictions with 
that fortitude which is characteristic of her true Christian life. 

L. C. GABVER. dealer in groceries and provisions, Ansonia ; born in Wash- 
ington Co., Md., Oct. 21, 1842 ; in 1848, he came to Columbus, Ohio, and in 1851 
to°Montgomery Co. ; in August, 1852, came to Darke Co. and located in Richland 
Township ; here his father, Isaac Garver, met his death by an accident at a barn 
raising, one of the timbers falling upon him late in the clay, causing his death, 
after 'a few hours' suffering, upon May 3, 1854. The subject of our sketch was 
then thrown upon his own resources, and labored at such employment as he could 
obtain until Sept. 7, 1861, when he enlisted as a private in Co. K, 34th O. V. I. 
(1st Ohio Zouaves), for three years ; he was in many severe battles, among which 
we mention the battle of Winchester, both battles of Fayetteville, Raleigh and 
Charlestown, Va., the whole campaign of the Shenandoah Valley, Martinsburg 
and the Lynchburg raid, and many others ; he was one of the 1,200 who were 
detailed to make a raid to destroy the V. & T. R. R. ; they made the trip of 
upward of 400 miles in six clays, traveling over mountains and valleys, 
through a dangerous country, traveling by day and night ; they encountered many 
dangers ; at one time found themselves in the rebel camp ; often, while riding at 
nio-ht, some of the poor soldiers, with their horses, were thrown over precipices ; 
they arrived at Wythevilie on Saturday, July 18, 1863. and immediately attacked 
the town, which was garrisoned by a force of rebels, lodged in the buildings, 
equally as large as the Union force ; after severe fighting, in which the Union 
forces lost heavily in killed and wounded, the place was captured ; in this engage- 
ment Mr. Garver was severely wounded ; being the chief target for many rebels, 
he received eight bullets upon his person at one volley ; he managed to crawl to 
some secluded place, was taken prisoner and remained in rebel prisons until 
March 24, 1864, when he was paroled, having served in rebel prisons eight 
months, suffering all the cruel treatment and starvation extended to our Union 
soldiers ; after receiving his parole, he lay in the Hospital until the September fol- 
lowing, when, his term of enlistment having expired, he returned home, and the 
following spring engaged in farming, continuing the same until 1874, when, on 
account of failing health from the cruel treatment received while in rebel prisons, 
and suffering from his wounds, he abandoned farming, came to Ansonia, and 
engaged in the above business, which he has since successfully followed. In 
politics, he is a strong Republican, and always votes as he fought. Upon the 23d 
of May. 1865, he was united in marriage with Charlotte Warvel ; she was born in 



720 BIOGRAPHIC \L SKETCHES: 

Darke Co. Dec. 13, 1847 ; they have four children by this union — John H. W. r 
born June 18, 1866 ; Cordelia M., April 10,1869; Leonard M. and Lizzie M. 
(twins), Nov. 8, 1873. The business card of Mr. Garver will be found in the 
directory of Ansonia. in another part of this work. 

ORLANDO J. HAGER, contractor and builder, of the firm Riffle & Hager, 
P. 0. Ansonia ; residence. Dallas ; another of our old settlers ; born in Montgomery 
County upon the 12th of November, 1847 ; he is a son of James W. Hager, who was 
born in the same county, and came to Darke County in 1851, and now resides in 
Richland Township. The subject of this sketch came to this county with his parents 
when only 3 years of age, and located, in Richland Township, where he was raised to 
agricultural pursuits until 19 years of age, when he started out in the world to seek 
his fortune, and, upon the 13th of August, 1867, commenced to learn the carpenter's 
trade, and for one year received wages of $1 per day, and the second year his 
wages were $1.25, the third, $1.50. and the remainder of the time he received 
$1.75 ; he worked for the same party for nearly five years, when he returned to 
Darke County, and for two years was employed b} T John Longnecker, at his trade T 
at Pikesville ; he then engaged one year in agricultural pursuits, and, upon the 
17th of February, 1874, he located in Dallas and started in the carpenter business, 
and the following year, associated with Silas Riffle, under the above firm name, 
which business he has since followed. Upon May 1, 1873, he was married to 
Elizabeth Warvel ; she was born in Darke County Sept. 25, 1853 ; they have one 
child, viz., Pearl I., born Nov. 11, 1876; Mrs. Hager is a daughter of John H. 
Warvel, one of the early pioneers of Darke County, whose sketch appears among 
the biographies of Greenville Township, in another part of this work. 

J. R HOLLAND, retired farmer, Sec. 31 ; P. 0. Woodington ; one of the old 
settlers ; born in Montgomery Co., Penn., Jan. 19, 1807 ; his father died when he was 
about 2 years old ; he then lived with his mother until 16 years of age, when he was 
apprenticed to learn the printer's trade, which he followed in Philadelphia until 21 
years of age, when he went to New Orleans, then to Cincinnati, Ohio, and followed 
his trade some fifteen years ; the last work at his trade was on the Cincinnati 
Enquirer; he was then appointed Deput}^ Marshal, which office he filled two years ; 
he devoted one year to running a power-press at Indianapolis, which was the 
first power-press run in Indiana, under the revised statistics, the printing 
office being located opposite Browning's Hotel ; he then followed the groceiy 
trade some three years in Cincinnati, and in 1858, disposed of his store and 
stock and came to Darke Count}', and purchased 260 acres in Brown and 
Greenville Townships, upon which he then located, and where he has since lived ; 
he now owns 360 acres, under a good state of improvement ; of township and 
school offices he has had his full share, having been Count}' Commissioner 
six years. Township Trustee five years, and also held some other petty offices ; 
upon the location of Mr. Holland here, he followed farming and stock-raising until 
1877, when he retired from active labor, his son managing the farm. His marriage 
with Harriet M. Ricketts was celebrated in Philadelphia ; she was born in Penn- 
sjdvania. and died upon the old homestead in May, 1877 ; they were the parents 
of five children — Laura (now Mrs. Crosson, of Union City). Mary Ann (now Mrs. 
John Atchinson, of Paris, Ky.), Ada (now Mrs. George Lindermond), Charlotte 
(now Mrs. Ginther) and Charles S. (living at home). 

DR. ISAAC HOSTETTER, deceased, one of the early pioneers of Darke 
Co., Ohio ; born in Lancaster Co.. Penn.. Nov. 30, 1810 ; he received his pre- 
paratory education at Lancaster. Penn.. and graduated from the Jefferson Med- 
ical College, Philadelphia, in the } T ear 1834 ; he emigrated from Pennsyl- 
vania to Montgomery Co., Ohio, and, about the year 1835, commenced the prac- 
tice of medicine, and, in 1830, came to Darke County and located in Richland 
Township, where he followed his profession, in connection with farming, until 1849, 
when he left his farm and removed to Beamsville, erected a good residence and 
continued to practice until within a short time of his death : he was elected to 



BROWN TOWNSHIP. 721 

represent the counties of Miami, Shelby and Darke in the General Assembly of 
Ohio during the session of 1844-45 ; the above counties, at that time, constituted 
one district ; he was also Major General of the Ohio State Militia, his uniform 
and sword now being held by his son, Dr. Samuel A. Hostetter, and valued very 
highly by him as an heirloom ; the Doctor was one of the first practitioners of the 
county, the practice of medicine at that early day being attended with difficulty 
and hardships, extending over one-half a degree of latitude and longitude, travel- 
ing on horseback and dispensing his medicine from his saddle-bags ; he was mar- 
ried in Montgomery County, to Hannah Hager ; she was born in Hagerstown, Md., 
Nov. 5, 1813, the above town being named in honor of her grandfather ; they were 
the parents of four sons and three daughters, viz., Hiram H., Salinda A., Elizabeth 
C, Samuel A., Thomas J., Nancy E. (deceased) and Franklin P. In 1859, the 
Doctor received a stroke of paralysis, which was followed, in February, 1861, by 
a second stroke, and the following month, March 2, he passed down the dark 
valley, respected and beloved by all who knew him, and one of whom his cotem- 
poraries could truly sa} r , His life was not a failure, nor did he live in vain. Of 
their children, the eldest son, Hiram, lost his life while serving his country during 
the late rebellion ; being taken prisoner, he was taken to Libby Prison, where he 
died after seven months ; the oldest sister, Salinda, is married, and lives in Mis- 
souri ; Elizabeth C. is also married, and lives in Missouri ; Dr. Samuel has been a 
member, for four years past, of the Ohio Legislature, and is now, with Thomas J., 
engaged in the drug trade at Ansonia ; Frank P. is engaged in the stock business, 
in Kansas. 

G. C. HULSE, farmer and grain-dealer ; residence Dallas ; P. 0. Ansonia ; 
born in Montgomery Co., Ohio, April 16, 1832, and was raised to agricultural pur- 
suits upon the home farm, until 25 years of age, when he removed to Preble Co. 
Oct. 1, 1857 ; he followed fanning here until Nov. 20, 1872, when he came to 
Darke Co. and settled at Ansonia, and purchased a farm of 46 acres, and laid out 
the west part of the town ; he then engaged in purchasing and shipping grain to 
Cleveland and Eastern markets until 1875, at which time he retired from the above 
business. He then gave his attention to farming, and in the fall of 1879 he again 
commenced the purchase of grain, which business he intends to follow ; his ware 
house is situated on Plum street, where he has a switch of 400 feet connecting his 
warehouse with the railroad ; he owns 100 acres in Brown Township, besides his 
brick residence, warehouse, storehouse, and some lots in town. His marriage with 
Sarah Bonham was celebrated June 1, 1860 ; she was born in Darke Co. June 29, 
1844 ; they were the parents of eight children, viz. : Wilbur, born July 27, 1861 ; 
Ida, born Aug. 11, 1863, died June 18, 1864 ; David, born Jan. 2, 1866 ; Charles' 
born March 5, 1868; Anna, born Aug. 2, 1871; Russel, born Nov. 28, 1873: 
Edwin, born May 4, 1875 ; Earl, born Oct. 8, 1878. Mr. Hulse was a son of David 
Hulse, who was born in New Jersey Aug. 13, 1794, and came to Ohio about the 
year 1820, and followed farming and weaving until his death, which occurred Nov. 
24, 1844. He was married in Butler Co., Ohio, to Bebecca Bussell, Jan. 22, 1824 ; 
she was born in 1807, in Butler Co., and is now living with her son at Ansonia, at 
the age of 72 years, enjoying good health, and in possession of all her faculties, 
and able to assist in light household duties. Mrs. Hulse is the daughter of Wm. 
Bonham, one of the old settlers of Darke Co. ; he was born in New Jersey in 1815, 
and came hereabout the year 1836. He married Bebecca Bittenhouse, who was 
also a native of New Jersey; thev are both now living. 

D. F. HUNTEB, blacksmith and wagon-maker, Ansonia ; born in Darke Co. 
Ohio, Sept. 29, 1835 ; he was a son of Wm. Hunter, who was born in Warren Co., 
Ohio, and came here about the year 1825 and located in Greenville Township. 
He died about the year 1841 ; he was a member of Warren Lodge, No. 24, of 
Piqua, Ohio, for a period of one-fourth of a century. D. F. experienced a farm- 
er's boyhood, and at 18 years of age he went to Warren Co., Ohio, and learned 
and worked at the blacksmith's trade some four years, and in 1858 he came to 



722 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

Ansonia and started the above business, which he has since followed. He was 
married to .Mary A. Dill May 0, 1859 ; she was born in Butler Co., Ohio, Sept. 25, 
1837 : tiny wore the parents of three children, of whom two now survive — Martha 
L. and Cora M. Mrs. Hunter's father was John H. C. Dill, who was born in Ger- 
many March 16, 1805, and emigrated to America when quite young. He married 
Martha C. Liegment Nov. 17, 1834 ; she was born in Germany Oct. 23, 1815, and 
died March 7, 1858. Mr. Dill died April 2, 1865. 

WM. B. MKNDENHALL, retired tanner, merchant and farmer, Sec. 32 ; P. 0. 
Woodington ; born in Preble Co. June 22, 1820 ; he learned and worked at the 
tanner's trade until 20 years of age, when he came to Darke Co., in 1840, and 
located upon Sec. 32, Brown Township, where he purchased 4 acres of land for 
$20, and in the purchase of the same incurred a debt of $5 above his capital ; he 
then followed the tanning business until 1853 ; upon July 4, 1847. he, with his 
brother, started the first store at Woodington, and continued his merchandise trade 
with different partners until 1876, when he disposed of his interest and retired 
from active business. Mr. Mendenhall came to Darke Co. with a capital of $15 — 
he now owns 400 acres of land, with four sets of farm buildings ; also the ware- 
house at Woodington, all of which he has accumulated by his own energies. To 
him was given the honor of naming the station at Woodington ; he was its first 
merchant and Postmaster, first Justice of the Peace, and Township Trustee one 
year. He was married in 1839 to Mary Bailey ; she was born in Preble Co. in 
1820 ; they were the parents of eight children, of whom four are now living, viz. : 
Rebecca A., now Mrs. W. H. Ganger ; Hannah E., now Mrs. H. T. Martin ; Thomas 
A. and Aleria B. 

ISAAC E. MILLER, farmer and Justice of Peace, Sec. 30 ; P. 0. Hetslerville ; 
one of the old settlers of Darke Co., Ohio ; was born in Adams Township April 8, 
1840 ; he was a son of John P. Miller, one of the early pioneers of Adams Town- 
ship, where he lived until his decease, March 4, 1 841 ; he married Elizabeth 
Martin ; she was born July 23, 1819, and is now living in Adams Township, at the 
advanced age of 60 years ; her parents were among the early pioneers of the same 
township. Isaac E. Miller received his early education in an old log schoolhouse ; 
the writing-desks consisted of boards laid upon pins, inserted in holes bored in 
logs ; their benches were also of a very rude nature ; his father died when he was 
1 j-ear of age, after which he was raised b} T his grandfather, and lived with him 
until he was 21 years of age, when he started in life for himself ; he attended select 
school at Jaysville and Gettysbui'g, and followed teaching in the winter. Upon 
the 9th day of October, 1862, he was united in marriage with Sarah J. Sword, born 
in Miami Co., Ohio, Jan. 26, 1841 ; they have four children, viz.: Hannah E.,born 
July 22, 1863 ; John W., born Feb. 11, 1866, ; Jonathan D., born March 7, 1869 ; 
George C, born April i5, 1874; after his marriage, Mr. Miller followed school- 
teaching in winter, and farming in summer, until April 12, 1864, at which date he 
came to Brown Township and located upon his present place, which he had pur- 
chased the year previous at Sheriff's sale, for which he paid $1,610, and where he 
has since lived ; he now owns 117 acres, with good farm buildings. He is a Dem- 
ocrat in politics, and, while he has not aspired for office, he has held the office of 
Justice of the Peace twelve years during his residence here, also a Notary Public 
for six years. 

J. J. PETERS, farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 28 ; P. O. Ansonia. One of the 
old settlers ; born in Germany March 31. 1836 ; at 3 years of age, he emigrated 
with his parents to America and to Ohio ; his father, J. J. Peters, Sr., was born in 
France in 1795, and was a soldier under Napoleon several years ; his youngest son 
now has the gun and sword carried by his father during his service ; he was the 
father of fourteen children, and raised and brought them all to America ; he pur- 
chased a farm in Ohio, upon which he lived until his death, which occurred Dec. 
15, 1878, aged 83 years 8 months and 13 days ; his physician's bills during his life 
amounted to $250 ; he married, in France. Mary K. McKala ; she died upon the 



BROWN TOWNSHIP. 723 

old home farm in the spring of 1871. The subject of this memoir remained with 
his father until 21 years of age, when he started in life for himself and farmed 
upon rented land for four years in Darke Co., and in 1862 he purchased 80 acres 
of his present place, to which he has since added until he now has 160 acres of 
land, well improved, all of which he has secured by his own hard labor, energy 
and industry, and has, by the above means, placed himself among the large land- 
holders and successful farmers of Brown Township ; he is now serving his second 
term as Township Trustee, is a member of Ansonia Lodge, No. 488, A..F. & A. M., 
and has held an office in the lodge for two years ; he is also a member of Ansonia 
Lodge, No. 605. I. 0. 0. F., and Past Grand of the same. His marriage with 
Eliza J. Baughman was celebrated April 1, 1861 ; she was born in Brown Town- 
ship, and is the daughter of J. Baughman, who emigrated from Prussia ; he was 
a brother of William and Henry Baughman. whose sketch appears among the biog- 
raphies of Brown Township ; her mother was Maria Riffle, a sister of David and 
Silas Riffle, whose biographies also appear among the sketches of Brown Town- 
ship ; they have three children living, having lost four by death ; the living are 
Mary E., Florence B. and Rachel L. 

NOAH D. POLING, farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 1 ; P. 0. Ansonia ; born 
in Perry Co., Ohio, Dec. 31, 1831 ; he was the second son of Daniel Poling, who 
was also a native of Perry Co., Ohio, born in 1809, and has lived in the same town- 
ship for a period of seventy years. He married Maria Spoon ; she was born in 
1814, and died in July, 1878, aged upward of 63 years ; they were the parents of 
thirteen children, nine now living — Noah D., remained with his father until he 
attained his majority, when he started in life for himself, and for four y ears worked 
for one man, most of the time running a saw-mill in Fairfield Co. Upon the 16tli 
of December, 1855, he was united in marriage with Louisa E. Burstler, of Fair- 
field, Co., born July 20, 1834 ; they were the parents of thirteen children, of whom 
eleven are now living, viz., Isaac, George W., William T., Anna M., Harriet A.. 
Louisa E.. Frank, Jacob, James H, Gertrude M. and an infant ; the deceased were 
infants ; upon the marriage of Mr. Poling, he worked as farm laborer one j'ear, 
after which he farmed upon rented land until 1861, when he came to Darke Co.. 
and, after farming upon rented land two years, purchased 63 acres of his present 
place, and, in the fall of 1864, removed upon the same, where he has since lived ; 
he now owns 120 acres of well-improved land, and his brick residence, erected in 
1876, is admitted to be the best in the township ; Mr. Poling commenced life with 
no capital save a strong arm and willing hand, and has, by his own hard labor and 
correct business habits, placed himself among the large property-holders and suc- 
cessful farmers of Brown Township. He is a Republican in politics, and has held 
the office of Constable for several years ; in the spring of 1864, he enlisted in the 
152d 0. N. G., took part in several engagements in Virginia and Maryland, and 
was mustered out of service at Camp Dennison at the exph'ation of his enlist- 
ment. 

SILAS RIFFLE, contractor and builder (firm of Riffle & Hager, Dallas), 
Ansonia ; one of the old settlers of Darke Co. ; born in Richland Township, 
April 27, 1828 ; he was a son of Jacob Riffle, who was born in Randolph Co., Va., 
in 1793 ; came to Montgomery Co., Ohio, with his parents in 1796. He married 
Maty Van Sco}'k, and followed farming until 1818. when he came to Darke Co., 
and located in Richland Township, and was the second white family of the town 
ship ; his father came from Virginia to Ohio with two children upon a pack-horse, 
Jacob being one of them, then 3 vears of age ; upon the above land Jacob Riffle died in 
the fall of 1853 ; Mrs. Riffle died in February, 1852. At 20 years of age, Silas com- 
menced to learn the trade of a carpenter, and has since followed the same, with 
the exception of four years in the saw-mill business ; he has assisted largely in the 
building of Dallas, and by his superintendence and labor half of the town has been 
constructed. In 1875, he associated with Orlander Hager, since which time he has 
conducted the business under the above firm name. He is a strong Republican, and 



724 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

has been Assessor four years, Township Trustee one year, and held some other petty 
offlee. His marriage with Emetine Fogger was celebrated in 1852 ; she died in 
1854 ; in 1859, lie married Leah Schultz, a native of Dauphin Co., Penn., born March 
i':!. 1832 ; they have two (laughters and one son by this union — Florence M., born 
Nov. 5, 18(50 (now teaching in the public schools of Dallas) ; Elmer 0.. born Dec. 
27, 1862 ; Grace, born Nov. 18, 1863. 

DAVID RIFFLE, retired farmer, Dallas ; P. 0. Ansonia ; one of the early 
pioneers, and among the oldest continuous residents of Darke Co. ; born in Mont- 
gomery Co., Ohio, Nov. 2, 1816 ; he was a son of Jacob Riffle, a native of Ran- 
dolph Co., Va., born in 1793, and emigrated with his parents to Montgomery Co., 
Ohio, in 1796, and in the year 1818, came to Darke Co., and located in Richland 
Township (this was the second white family of that township), and here he lived 
until his decease, which occurred in the fall of 1853, his wife having died in February, 
1852. David Riffle was raised to agricultural pursuits, and followed school-teaching 
until 1841, when he came to Ansonia and purchased a farm and engaged in farm- 
ing in summer, and school-teaching during the winter ; he taught the first school 
in District No. 1 for three j-ears ; he has been almost continually in office for a 
period of forty years, having held the office of Justice of the Peace or Notary 
Public for that length of time, and has held all the township offices in Brown 
Township ; his advantages for obtaining a school education were very limited, but, 
by devoting his spare time to study, he has been able to obtain a good education, 
and became master of the common branches of stud}', as well as surveying, and 
for several years did surveying in Brown Township ; he has a recollection of his 
early phvymates, who were little Indian children, with whom he passed many 
pleasant hours. Upon March 8, 1841, he was united in marriage with Mary 
Beeler, a native of Butler Co., Ohio ; they were the parents of ten children, of 
whom live are now living, viz., Emma, James K., Sephrene, Mary J. and 
William E. 

J. H. ROUSH, grain-dealer and manufacturer of staves, hubs, headings, etc., 
Dallas ; P. 0. Ansonia ; another of our old settlers ; born in Juniata Co., Penn., 
May 6, 1829 ; he received a common- school education, and was raised to agricul- 
tural pursuits until 22 years of age, when he came to Ohio, and located in Allen 
Co. in 1851, and was engaged in different pursuits until 1854 ; he then moved to 
Montgomery Co., and followed merchandising at West Baltimore until Janu- 
ary, 1858, when he came to Darke Co., and engaged in the merchandise business 
some two years, after which he followed different branches of business until the 
fall of 1872, when he commenced buying grain, which business he has since fol- 
lowed, his shipments for the year 1878 amounting to upward of 120,000 bushels 
of corn, and about 50,000 bushels of wheat ; when he located here there were 
some eighteen buildings of all kinds, no streets, no sidewalks and no turnpikes ; 
he has represented nearly every branch of business known in Ansonia ; he was 
Postmaster several years, his highest salary amounting to the enormous sum of 
$84 per year : he was agent of the C, C, C. & I. R. R, for eighteen years, and 
received for his service a salary of from $15 to $85 per month ; in 1876, he asso- 
ciated with two of his sons, and purchased the stave manufactory, which is now 
carried on under the name of the Ansonia Stave Co., the lirm being composed of 
.). II. Roush, William A. Roush and Charles A, Itoush. and they are extensively 
engaged in the manufacture of the above articles ; the style of the firm as grain 
dealers being. J. 11. Roush & Son, John A. being the partner. The marriage of 
J. II. Roush with Mary ,1. Anderson, was celebrated Dec. 30, 1851 ; she was born 
in Juniata Co.. Penn., Dec. 13, 1830 ; they have five sons— James II.. Charles A., 
William A.. John A. and Prank; all live at home, with the exception of Charles 
A., who is married, and resides in Ansonia. 

JOHN S. ROYER, Dallas, 1'. O. Ansonia; Principal of the Dallas School ; 
born in Union Co.. Penn., -Jan. 31. 1845; here he received a good common-school 
education, and at 15 years of age commenced teaching at 80 cents per day, for a 



BROWN TOWNSHIP. 725 

term of four months ; until about 19 years of age, he followed teaching during the 
winter, and assisted his father upon the farm the remainder of the year ; in 1864, 
he emigrated to Ohio, and located at Pleasant Hill, Miami Co., teaching the graded 
school at the above place one year ; in 1865, he came to Darke Co., and taught 
the Graded School No. 9, in Adams Township, for seven years ; in 1 874, he came 
to Dallas, and accepted the position as Principal of the Dallas School, since which 
time it has increased from 100 to upward of 180 scholars ; he has been the Prin- 
cipal for five years, and now has a contract for three } r ears. He has been twice 
married ; his first wife wasLutie Mitchell ; the}' were married April 18, 1867 ; she 
was born in Iowa ; she died in Darke Co., in 1869, leaving one child, Minnie A., 
born April 9, 1868 ; his marriage with Malinda Gr. Wenrick was celebrated Jan. 
30, 1873 ; she was born in Darke Co. May 5, 1852 ; they have two children, Estella 
M., born July 24, 1876 ; Isaac II., born July 6, 1879 ; in December, 1878, he was 
appointed one of the examiners of the public schools for Darke Co., which position 
he now holds. 

HENRY SCHLEMMER, firm of Bertz, Schlemmer & Co., hardware mer- 
chants. Ansonia ; born in Hesse, Germany, March 23, 1842, where he received 
a good education in German, and in 1860, emigrated to America, landing in Balti- 
more ; coming directly West, he followed blacksmithing two years in Cincinnati, 
and in October. 1862, enlisted in the 47th O. V. I. ; he was in many hard-fought 
battles, among which was the siege and capture of Vicksburg and Atlanta, battle 
of Chattanooga, and with Sherman's arm}* on his march through Georgia to the 
sea, arriving at Savannah to spend the Christmas of 1864 ; he then marched 
north, through the Carolinas, and was with Sherman's army at the surrender of 
Johnson, after which, he marched through Richmond to Washington, where, after 
the grand review of the army, he returned to Columbus, and received his discharge, 
having served in the Union army nearly three years ; he was wounded at the bat- 
tle of Jonesboro, but kept at his post ; he then followed blacksmithing in Cincin- 
nati until 1867, when he came to Ansonia and followed his trade until 1879, when 
he became a partner in the above firm. Mr. Schlemmer arrived in this country 
with a capital of only $7 ; he has made one trip to his native country, upon a visit 
to his parents, with whom he remained three months ; his father, John Schlemmer. 
was born in Hesse, in 1804 ; he married Maltha Disher ; they are the parents of 
six children, three of whom are now living in Germany, and three in America. In 
1868, George Schlemmer was united in marriage to Mary Baughman, a native of 
Darke Co., and a daughter of Simeon Baughman, one of the early pioneers ; they 
have five children, viz., John, George, Frank, Augustus and Elizabeth. 

FRANCIS M. TULLIS, resides in Dallas ; manufacturer of tile, Ansonia ; 
born in Brown Township, DarkeCo., Ohio, Sept. 26, 1854 ; he was the youngest 
son of Milton Tullis, who was born in Miami Co., Ohio, March 29, 1813. He mar- 
ried, in Ohio, Sarah Marshall, Sept. 5, 1848, who was born in Pennsylvania Feb. 
20, 1816 ; they came to Darke County about the year 1849, and located in Brown 
Township, near Dallas ; followed farming and merchandise till his death, which 
occurred Aug. 26, 1863. Mrs. Tullis died Jan. 12, 1870 ; they were the parents 
of five children, of whom three are living — Francis M., Cordelia A. (now Mrs. Dr. 
Samuel Hostetter), and Olive D. (now Dr. L. C. Anderson), all living in Dallas ; 
Francis M. obtained a common-school education, and followed clerking in Dallas 
until the spring of 1877, when he engaged in farming, and in the fall of 1878, pur- 
chased the tile factory of Reed & White, at Dallas, and has since devoted his 
attention to the above business, manufacturing tile of the best quality ; his sales 
the first year amounted to some $3,000 ; his business card will be found in the 
business directory of Ansonia. in another part of this work ; he has, aside from his 
factory, a farm of 42 acres joining the corporation of Dallas, and his lots and resi- 
dence in town. His marriage with Margaret A. Burket was celebrated May 29, 
1877 : she was born in Darke Co., Ohio, May 15, 1857. 



726 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES : 

JAMES S. WEBSTER, merchant, Ansonia, resides in Dallas. The subject 
of this memoir. :i native of Fayette Co., Ohio, was born Jan. 1, 1820 ; he was 
a son of l>r. James Webster, who was born in Pennsylvania, and emigrated to Ohio 
and Fayette County in 1804. two years after its admission into the Union as a 
State ; be was consequently one of the early pioneers of the State ; he followed 
the practice of medicine a short time in Fayette County, and in 1815 he was 
elected Sheriff of the county, and about the year 1829, was Associate Judge, which 
office he held several years, after which he was Treasurer of the county for four 
years. The latter part of his life he devoted to the carding and fulling of wool at 
his factory at Washington ; his death occurred January. 1837 ; he was married 
in Kentucky, to Amelia Dauson; she died previous to her husband. J. S. Webster 
worked in the woolen-mill of his father, until the decease of the latter, after which 
lie followed farming some two years, when he engaged in the trade of harness- 
maker at Mt. Sterling until I860, when he came to Darke County, and. after fol- 
lowing his trade one year in Greenville, purchased a farm of 114 acres in Green- 
ville Township, three miles south of Dallas, and followed farming until the spring 
of 1879. when he rented his farm and purchased a residence in Dallas, and engaged 
in the general merchandise with T. B. White. His marriage with Pamelia Loof- 
bourrow was celebrated June 18, 1845 ; she was born in Fayette Co., Ohio, in 1827; 
eight children were born to them ; five are now living — Nathan A., produce mer- 
chant, of Greenville ; William, living at home ; Hannah, now Mrs. T. B. White ; Lin- 
den, clerk in his father's store ; Laura, living at home. Mr. Webster has been a 
member of the Baptist Church for a period of fifteen years ; Mrs. W. also a mem- 
ber of the same church. 

THOMAS B. WHITE, firm of T. B. White & Co., general merchant, Ansonia ; 
another of the old settlers of Darke Co.; born in Brown Township, Darke Co., upon 
the 23d of July, 1842 ; he was a son of William White, of the State of New York, 
who came to Darke Co. in 1822 : the maiden name of his wife was P]sther Stahl ; 
she came to Richland Township with her parents about the year 1820. and is now 
living upon the old homestead, a little north of Ansonia ; Mr. White died in 1864 ; 
Thomas B. White was raised to agricultural pursuits until 19 3-ears of age, when, 
upon the 6th of August 1862, he enlisted in the 94th 0. V. I., and went forward to bat- 
tle for the Union ; in his first severe engagement, he, with a large part of his regiment, 
were captured, but he, with many others, escaped and again joined the Union arm}-; 
he was then engaged in the battle of Penyville, and at the fight of Stone River 
Dec. 31, 1862 ; he was severely wounded, and lay in hospital until Ma}-, 1863. 
when he received his discharge on account of disability ; he then returned home. 
and, on account of his wounds, lay idle until the fall of 1864, when he engaged in 
school-teaching for three 3'ears, and in the fall of 1868. he engaged in the general 
merchandise trade at Ansonia, which he has since successfully followed ; in 1878. 
he associated with J. S. Webster, under the above firm name, carrying a large and 
complete stock ; a card of their business will be found in the business directory of 
Ansonia, in this work. His marriage nuptials with Hannah Webster were cele- 
brated in 1875 ; she was born in Madison Co., Ohio, and is a daughter of J. S. 
Webster, whose sketch also appears in this work ; they have one child, Lucy F.. 
bora Dec. 15. 1876. 



VAN BUREN TOWNSHIP. 727 



VAN BUREN TOWNSHIP. 

LAWSON ALLEN, farmer ; P. O. Arcanum ; was born in Centerville, Mont- 
gomery Co., Ohio, in 1842 ; his parents were John and Susannah Allen ; John 
was born in the same place as his son, and his wife, Susannah, was born in Scioto 
Co., Ohio, in 1822 ; they were the parents of twelve children, and only four are 
living, viz., Lawson, Jeremiah, Joseph M. and Mary. Lawson Allen, the oldest 
and the subject of this sketch, was united in marriage on April 22, 1868, to Mariah 
Montgomery, daughter of Robert and Harriet Montgomery ; Robert was born in 
Pennsylvania and his wife in Virginia, came to Ohio and settled in a very 
early day ; Mr. Allen lived and followed farming in Montgomery Co. until Octo- 
ber, 1873, when he moved upon his farm where he now lives ; they have only one 
child born them, a girl, now 11 years of age. named Florence; Mr. Allen owns 89 acres 
of fine land, about 60 acres of which are in good cultivation. He was one of the 
patriots of the war of the rebellion, and enlisted in the 131st 0. V. I., Co. I., under 
Col. John G. Lowe, and served till honorably discharged. Mr. Allen is not one of the 
earliest settlers, but has been here about six years, and is one of the representative 
men of Van Buren Township, and will, we are satisfied, be an accession and credit 
to the neighborhood in which he lives ; he is an active member of the M. E. Church, 
to which he has belonged since 1867 ; thus, while living and toiling for this world, 
he is also preparing for that better one beyond. 

S. W. ALLREAD, farmer and merchant; P. 0. Delisle ; the son of Isaac and 
Lucy Allread ; Isaac was born in Maryland, and moved with his parents to North 
Carolina, where he remained till he came to Butler Co. when he was 18 years of 
age ; he was in the war of 1812, and served all through it, and then returned 
safely home. Lucy, his wife, was born in the State of Vermont, and came with 
her parents to Butler Co., Ohio, when 9 years of age ; they were united in mar- 
riage in 1816, and raised seven children, four boys and three girls. Mr. Allread. 
the subject of this sketch, was the eldest of his father's family ; he left home when 
1 1 years of age, and worked at various places until 16 years of age, when his 
father bound him out to Capt. Samuel Dick, till 21 years of age. in Butler Co., 
Ohio, where he lived till he became of age, then worked for him two years longer 
for wages ; he then worked here and there and rented farms till he was 27 years 
of age, which was in 1843. when he was united in marriage with Martha Ann Van 
Lieu, who was born and raised in Butler Co.; they followed farming in that county 
for twelve years, or till 1855, when they moved to Darke Co., Van Buren Town- 
ship, where he still followed the life of a farmer for four years, when he entered 
into the mercantile trade, which, together with farming, he has followed to the 
present time ; he has bought and sold several farms, and by these transactions 
made considerable money ; he is now the owner of 87 acres of good land in 
Delisle, where he now lives ; he is associated in the mercantile trade in Delisle 
with W. Reed, and is also carrying on an extensive trade in buying and shipping 
grain. Mr. Allread started in life a poor man, and with but little education, and 
has worked his way up to the possessions and prominence he now has — all accom- 
plished by his good management and industry ; he is now 63 years of age. with 
good health, and will doubless still climb upward and onward, and enjoy the 
society of his family ; he is the father of nine children, seven now living, viz., 
Isaac F., Elvira, Oliver M., George D.. Amanda, John E. and Tabitha J.; five are 
married and two single at home. Mr. Allread has taken quite an active part in 
political matters, being a stanch Democrat, and having held several offices of 
trust, as Township Trustee, Assessor and Treasurer, and in the county has been 
Infirmary Director for six years, thus showing that he has the confidence of the 
community. 



728 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

CHRISTOPHER BRINEY, fanner and Justice of the Peace : P. 0. Delisle ; 
was born Jan. 2, 1811, in Warren Co., Ohio ; his parents were Adam and Euphemy 
Briney, who came froih Pennsylvania, at an early day. and located in Ohio; Squire 
Briney came to Darke Co. in 1835, being among the earliest settlers of the 
county. He was married in 1835, to Mary Mills, daughter of John V. and Eliza- 
beth Mills ; she was born in Pennsylvania in 1810, and emigrated to this county 
with her parents when quite an infant ; to them have been born fourteen children, 
eight of them are now living, viz.. Ellen, Emeline, Adam, Silas P., Herod M. and 
Tsrael (twins), Mary E. and Joseph M. Squire Briney lost his wife by death 
Sept. 15, 1874. In about three years after Squire Briney's marriage, being in 
1837, they moved on the farm on which he now lives and commenced to open out 
a farm and make a home, with no capital but a few dollars ; he has now 260 acres 
of land, and, his sons and daughters all being grown up and married, he has 
divided up and deeded a portion of land to each child, simply reserving a life 
estate and control of the same during his lifetime, thus giving each child a better 
start in life than he had when he commenced : this has all been accomplished by 
his energy and industry, and made from the wilderness, which then, in his early 
commencement, existed through this section, for which he deserves great credit, 
as one of the pioneers. Squire Briney has always been an active politician, and 
always held office since he lived in the township, such as Township Trustee, Clerk, 
Supervisor, School Director, etc.; has been Justice of the Peace for twenty -one 
years, thus showing the prominence and confidence he holds in the community in 
which he lives. He is now 69 years of age, and of course the most active part of 
his life is spent, but he has left a record and history of success and confidence for 
his children and future generations worthy of their imitation. 

JACOB M. BROWN, farmer; P. O. Delisle ; was born the 1st of April, 1833, 
in Darke Co., on an adjoining farm in Neave Township ; he is the son of Caleb 
Brown, who was born in Tennessee, and with his father came to Indiana, near 
Liberty, in about 1812, where they remained about one year, and then came and 
located in Darke Co., where they remained till the death of his father ; at that 
time it was a perfect wilderness, there being but two or three settlers in the neigh- 
borhood, and of course had to pass through all the hardships incident to such a 
life. Mr. Brown, the subject of this sketch, was united in marriage with Elizabeth 
Eddington, in 1854, daughter of Charles Eddington, who with his father, were 
among the first settlers of the county ; since which three children have been born 
to them, and all are now living. Mr. Brown has been a very prominent man in busi- 
ness, having, in connection with his labors on the farm, carried on quite an extensive 
trade in grain, buying and shipping very largely, last year shipping over 400 car 
loads ; also buying and shipping much stock, and was at one time quite extensively 
engaged in merchandising, all of which has given him an acquaintance and prom- 
inence in the community second, perhaps, to no other man in the township ; he is 
also one of those who has amassed a fair and comfortable competency by his own 
industry, hard labor and careful management of business, and who as an example 
of a devoted and industrious worker and careful manager, stands forth as a bright 
and shining" light, Worthy of the admiration of all young men. 

JOHN II. CORWIN, farmer; 1*. 0. Arcanum ; was born in Warren Co., Ohio, 
in 1819 ; he was the son of Mathias and Margaret Corwin ; Mathias was born in 
Kentucky ; his father's name was Joseph Corwin, who was a native of Pennsylvania : 
Margaret's father's name was Shnorf, and he was a native of Germany. Mr. Corwin. 
the subject of this sketch, was united in marriage in 1842, with Maria Weaver. 
daughter of Larken and Susan Weaver, who arc further spoken of in the sketch of 
William Weaver ; they first settled in Preble Co., Ohio, but moved from there to 
this county in 1855, and located upon the place on which he now lives; they have 
had born to them six children, five of whom are now living, viz.: Mary Jane, born 
Jan. 30, 1843 ; Mathias, born April 24, 1847 ; Abigail, born April 13, 1849 ; Susan 
M., born Nov. Ill, 1853, and William 0., born June 28, 1860 : and all are married 



VAN BUREN TOWNSHIP. 729 

and settled in life except the youngest, who is still single and living at home. 
When Mr. Corwin located in 1855 upon his present farm, there was but very little 
cleared up; he had to commence and clear up and improve, and in doing so, of 
course went through all the hardships incident to the opening of a farm in a new 
country, and particularly so, as he started with the small capital of 80 acres of unim- 
proved land ; but by Lard labor and diligently attending to business, he has 
increased in property and wealth, until now he is the owner of 535 acres of land, 
with good buildings, and everything for the convenience and comfort of life ; and, 
in connection with this, he has paid $2,100 for free pikes, and $1,600 for ditching 
and draining ; this has all been accomplished since 1855, which has certainly been 
sufficient to declare Mr. Corwin a model farmer and business man ; Mr. Corwin 
has always taken an active part in political matters, being a stanch Republican, 
but has never desired or held office ; we feel justified, in summing up this brief 
sketch of Mr. Corwin, to say that he is most truly a representative man of Van Buren 
Township, and one worthy of imitation by all young men, for all generations in 
future, and desire thus to place his record upon the pages of this history, there to 
remain for all time to come. 

WILLIAM DAVIS, carpenter, Arcanum ; was born in Butler Co., Ohio, in 
1821 ; he is the son of Hugh and Christi Ann Davis ; Hugh was born in South Car- 
olina, and his wife in Virginia ; they came to Ohio, with their parents, in a very 
early day, so early that at that time they could enter Government land, near Cin- 
cinnati, at $1.25 per acre. Mr. Davis, the subject of this sketch, came to Darke 
Co. in 1856 ; he was married in 1849, to Mary Ann Shaffer, daughter of David and 
Susannah Shaffer, who were born in Pennsylvania ; Mary Ann came with her 
parents to Ohio in an early day ; they are the parents of eight children, seven of 
whom are living, viz., John W., David, Susanna. William H., Pharan. Mary Jane 
and Thomas. When Mr. Davis fii*st came to this county, he located in Butler 
Township, where he remained one year, and then moved to Van Buren Township ; 
he located at his present place of residence in 1861 ; when he came here, he opened 
out in the woods, and built a small house, and, in order to move into it, had to cut 
a road through the woods to get to his house ; he has 1 acre of land, and since he came 
there has cleared it up and built a comfortable house and barn, so that he has a pleas- 
ant little home. He has always followed the trade of a carpenter, and has had the 
pleasure of seeing the country improve around him, and the old log buildings of 
the early settlers disappear, and fine frame and brick buildings take their place ; 
and he, as a good mechanic, has had a goodlv share of the work to do. 

WILLIAM DREW, farmer ; P. 0. Delisle ; was born in Van Buren Township 
in 1834, and is the son of Robert Drew, who was born in New Jersey, March 29, 
1807, and moved to Darke Co. about 1825, and located here when there were but 
few settlers in the township. Mr. Drew, the subject of our sketch, was the third of 
twelve children, five sons and seven daughters, nine of whom are now living. Mr. 
Drew was united in marriage to Mary Bitner, daughter of John Bitner ; she was 
born in Darke Co. March 9. 1837; they first settled at Delisle. on the place now 
owned by S. W. AUread, where they remained two yeai'S ; then moved to a farm in 
the neighborhood for a short time, then back again, and engaged in merchandising 
about six months; then sold out and moved to present place of residence, where 
they have since resided and followed farming, except two years, in which he was 
in mercantile trade in Delisle. They are parents of nine children, six of wrnom are 
now living, viz., Rosetta, Abraham. Franklin, Elmer, Nora and Edward. Mr. 
Drew has gained a good competency, being owner of 280 acres of excellent land, 
all except 80 acres of which were made by his own energy and industry. Mr. 
Drew is at present Township Treasurer, thus showing not only that with his indus- 
try and perseverance he has accumulated quite a property, but also has the con- 
fidence of the community in which he lives, by the trust they have placed in his 
hands ; this being another example to the rising generation of what indefatigable 
industry, together with honorable dealings with his fellow-men. may accomplish. 



730 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

Mr. Drew is n member of the United Brethren Church, with which he has been 
identified since 1807. 

POLLY FORD ; P. 0. Jaysville ; Polly Ford was the wife of Mordecai 
8. Ford, who was born in Kentucky in 1807, and came to this county with 
his mother when quite young, his father having died while in the Indian war. 
Mr. Ford remained with his mother until the year 1820, when he was united in 
marriage with Polly Tillman, daughter of John Tillman, and located near her 
father's, just over the line in Preble Co., where they lived about two years, then 
bought the land upon which she now resides ; they moved hei'e into a little, log 
house, and just a few trees cleared away, so as to give a foot-hold for future labor 
in clearing up a farm ; Mr. Ford took hold with an indomitable will to make a 
home and to try to gain some of the comforts of life ; and coupled with this, and 
during the most of his life, while struggling for the temporal interests of his family. 
he was not unmindful of his spiritual interests, and those of his family and the 
community in which he mingled, having given his life early to Christ, and taking 
upon himself as his disciple to preach the Gospel to his dying fellow-men. in which 
work he remained until his death ; he also realized the importance of education, 
and was engaged more or less as a teacher in the public schools ; he educated and 
qualified each and every one of his children, who all became teachers. During all 
these labors, Mr. Ford brought his farm of 100 acres most of it into good cultiva- 
tion, erected a good brick house, barn and other buildings convenient and com- 
fortable ; all this was done by indefatigable toil and industry ; and finally, his 
labors being done, at the call of his Divine Master, whom he had served so 
long and faithfully, he departed this life Nov. 23, 1867, to reap the reward of his 
labors in that better land ''from whose bourn no traveler returns," and where no* 
toils or cares ever come. They were the parents of fourteen children, nine of 
whom are now living, viz.; John, Henry, Delilah, Nancy, Worley, Martha, Ro} r ston, 
Mary and Lydia A. M.; all married and settled in life except John, Mary and 
Lydia, the two latter remaining at home with their mother; four of the sons 
became practicing physicians. Mrs. Ford is now 70 years of age, enjoying very 
good health, and may live many years yet to enjoy the fruits of their united 
labors, and the society of her kind and loving children. 

LEVI FOURMAN, farmer ; P. 0. Arcanum ; was born in Darke Co., in 
1852 ; is a son of John and Sarah Fourman ; John was born in Pennsylvania and 
Sarah in Montgomery Co., Ohio ; they came to this county in an early day, as 
given in sketch of John Fourman in this book. Levi Fourman was married in 
1876 to Sarah Reichard, daughter of William and Nanc} r C. Reichard, who were 
from Preble Co., Ohio ; they have one child, viz., Lily Florence ; Levi is the fifth 
child of John Fourman, who when married, located where he now lives, upon 80 
acres of fine land given him by his father, and upon which he has built a good two- 
story frame house, and a large barn and other buildings for convenience and com- 
fort, and is now as well fixed to live comfortable and happy as many who have 
toiled for years to make their home ; and, if he follows the footsteps of his father 
in industry and good management, he will in all probability become a wealthy and 
prominent citizen of his township. 

JOHN FOURMAN, farmer ; P. O. Arcanum ; was born in Pennsylvania in 
1820 ; his parents were John and Catharine Fourman, both natives of Pennsyl- 
vania. Mr. Fourman came to this county with his parents, where they lived and 
died : he was the second in a family of eight children, all of whom are living. He 
was married in 1845 to Sarah, daughter of Jacob and Sarah Raker, both born in 
Pennsylvania. John and Sarah Fourman have had born to them fifteen children, 
twelve of whom are now living, viz., Susannah, Jacob, Henry, Levi, Sarah, Sam- 
uel, Ananias. David, John. Allen, Emanuel and Elizabeth. They located on the 
farm, where they now live, in 1846 : they cut the first stick of timber, made an 
opening, and built a small frame house with lumber sawed from a mill of their 
own •■ put up" when the} T first entered the county ; from this beginning they toiled 



VAN BUREN TOWNSHIP. 



731 



on enduring the hardships and deprivations, gradually making improvements, 
till now he has 241 acres of land ; he at one time had 1,000 acres of land, but has 
given to his children, to settle on, all but the 241 acres, which he still owns ; thus 
showino- what an immense amount of labor has been performed, what an amount 
of property accumulated, and what a fine start he has given his children in life. 
This industrious and useful life of theirs will stand upon record on the pages of 
this history as a memorial for their children and their children's children, for all 

time to come. . 

GEORGE MARKER, farmer and gunsmith ; P. 0. Gettysburg ; was born in 
1830 in Montgomery Co., Ohio ; his parents were Jacob and Sarah Marker ; Jacob 
was born in Maryland in 1803, and Sarah in Montgomery Co., Ohio ; her maiden 
name was Shively, and she was born in 1809 ; they came to this county in 1835. 
Mr Marker the subject of this sketch, was married, in 1852, to Lydia Ebert, who 
was born in 1835 ; she was the daughter of William and Mary Ebert, who came 
from Pennsylvania at an early day ; they have had born to them eleven children, 
ei<dit of whom are now living, viz., Isaac, Luther, Mary Elizabeth, Anna Jane, George 
Calvin, Dora Margaret, Jacob Wm. and Lewis Hiram. They located upon the 
farm where they now reside, containing 55 acres of land, with not a stick of tim- 
ber cut ; cleared out a small piece of land, put up a log cabin, and thus made a 
foothold to what is now their home, and then continued to work on, clearing up 
and improving, as time and means would permit, till now they have a good farm- 
house, a large^'fine barn, and other buildings convenient and comfortable, 40 acres 
cleared and^well cultivated. When he commenced life, he had about $700, and 
from this start he has accumulated a handsome property by hard labor and indus- 
try, which we can place upon the pages of this book as a worthy example to the 
voung and rising generation. 

J. B. MEHAFFIE, farmer; P. 0. Delisle ; was born in Cumberland Co., Penn., 
May 27, 1826, being the eldest of seven children, three boys and four girls, the broth- 
ers dying shortly after reaching their manhood, unmarried, and leaving no heirs ; but 
the four listers are all living ; his parents were John and Elizabeth Mehaffie ; they 
are natives of Pennsylvania, the former was born in 1800, the latter in 1803 ; his 
grandparents were John and Martha Mehaffie ; the grandfather was a cosmopolite, 
beino- born upon the Atlantic Ocean, his parents being then on their way from 
Ireland to America, he being one of four children ; the grandmother was born in 
Juniata Co., Penn.; her maiden name was Hoag ; the grandfather was born about 
1763, and the grandmother about 1770 ; the grandfather dying about 1838, and 
the grandmother in 1846 ; the father of the subject of this sketch, died in October, 
1854 ; his mother is still living. Mr. Mehaffie came to Preble Co., Ohio, in 1851 ; 
remained about three years, then returned to Pennsylvania, where he was united 
in marriage, in the same year, to Eleanor, daughter of John and Margaret Vanasd- 
len, both natives of Pennsylvania ; her mother was the daughter of William and 
Rebecca Steele, who emigrated from Ireland in an early day, and came to this 
county with one child ; Rebecca Steele was the daughter of Taggart ; Mr. Mehaffie 
returned with his wife to Preble Co., Ohio, where they lived about three years ; then 
moved to Montgomery Co., where they remained till August, 1872, when they came 
to Darke Co., on the farm on which they now reside ; Mr. Mehaffie was favored 
with a good education, and before he was of age he took the honorable and useful 
occupation of teaching school, which occupation he has followed every year for 
thirty years, not missing one winter during that time, but what he was in the 
school-room ; during this time, when not engaged in teaching, was raising tobacco 
and farming ; the farm upon which he now lives, consisting of 80 acres, he pur- 
chased of John Smith, of Arcauum, at a cost of $5,000. in 1872, with no buildings 
except a small log- house ; Mehaffie has since built a large addition to the house, 
and has built a fine large barn and other outbuildings for convenience and coin- 
fort ; has greatly improved and cleared up the land, till now he has a fine farm, 
with 65 acres in good cultivation; they have had born co them six children, 



732 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

all now living, viz., Horace W., William C, Margaretta, Elizabeth, Clara E. and 
Myrta, the oldest. Horace, being married and settled in life, and the others yet 
single and at home ; Mr. Mehaffie has never desired or taken any active part in 
political matters ; he is now, however, Township Clerk ; Mr. Mehaffie and wife are 
active members of the United Brethren Church, having been members of the same 
for twenty years. 

JOSEPH GORDON MILLER, carpenter and farmer, Sec. 2 ; P. 0. Poplar 
Ridge ; son of John Phillips Miller and Rachel Baldwin, was born about five miles 
northwest from Taneytown, Carroll Co., Md., July 12, 1824, and settled in Adams 
Township, September, 1845. Was united in marriage with Rachel Trowbridge, in 
Van Buren Township, Sept. 20, 1840 ; children's names — John W. T., David B. T 
Albert F., Eleonor J., Simon F., James H., Rachael M. J. In the fall of 1845, was 
examined by David Beers, John W harry and Dr. Briggs and from them received a 
certificate to teach school ; was elected to the office of Justice of the Peace August, 
1 859, and served six terms ; served five or six terms as Trustee of this township ; when 
the militia was organized, was elected Captain for this township, and received his 
commission. Has been a resident of Sec. 2, Van Buren Township, since 1822. 

JOHN J. OSWALT, farmer ; P. O. Arcanum ; a native of Germany ; was born 
in 1836 ; he is the son of Martin and Anna M. Oswalt. Mr. Oswalt came to 
America in 1852, when 16 years of age ; after being here about eighteen months, 
he returned to Germany for his mother and two sisters, his father being dead ; 
brought them here and located in Franklin Township, this county, in 1854. He 
was united in marriage in 1862, to Elizabeth, daughter of Elias and Mary Baker, 
who were both natives of Montgomery Co., Ohio ; they have had eleven children, 
all living, viz., Delilah, Elias, Sarah, Anna Magdalene, Mary Ellen, John Henry. 
Morton, Lydia, Elizabeth, Charles Ellsworth and William David ; they located upon 
the farm upon which they now live, the next spring after they were married, having 
at that time bought 80 acres all in the woods; this was the beginning in clearing up 
the land to make a home, and by industry and hard labor they have now a fine 
farm, having bought 80 acres more, making in all 160 acres of good land, and about 
115 acres in a good state of cultivation ; this has all been accomplished, together 
with raising a large family of children, by diligent and earnest labor, coupled with 
good management and frugality ; and we are pleased to place this record upon the 
pages of this history, as a bright and shining example which may be read by his 
children's children, and all future generations, in all time to come. 

ALLEN PEARSON, farmer ; P. 0. Jaysville ; one of the old pioneers of 
Darke Co.; was born in South Carolina in 1806, and when about 6 years of age, 
came with his mother (his father having died when he was but an infant), to 
Ohio and settled in Warren Co., where he remained till about 15 years of age, 
when they settled in Darke Co.; at the time Mr. Pearson came here, it was a 
perfect wilderness ; in most directions there were no settlers within twelve to 
fifteen miles of him, and many Indians roamed through the forests ; at that time, 
they would pack their corn to mill for a distance of twenty miles or more. Mr. 
Pearson was united in marriage in 1827, to Mary, daughter of Moses Arnold, also 
from South Carolina, who came here prior to Mr. Pearson, hence making them 
among the very oldest settlers of Darke Co. ; to them eleven children have been 
born, of whom only four are now living, viz., Maria. Mary Ann, Edney and 
Westley ; the children are married and settled in life, the three daughters in this 
county, and Westley in Illinois. Mr. Pearson and wife are among those indus- 
trious old pioneers, who came here poor and endured all the hardships incident to 
such life, in fact, endured perhaps more than most of other residents ; as an illus- 
tration — when they came here they constructed a little log hut, with an opening 
to answer for an entrance, and hung up an old quilt for a door ; this was early in 
the summer of 1818 ; the floor of the house was the "mother earth ;" they had 
no chimney, but built their fire on the ground, in the middle of the room ; in this 
manner, they lived till fall, when some little improvements were made ; from this 



VAN BUREN TOWNSHIP. 733 

commencement, step by step, they advanced along life's journey, gradually making 
such improvements as their wants and means demanded and would justify, till, at 
the present time, they have 200 acres of land, and about three-quarters of it under 
cultivation, a good brick house, good barns, etc., with all necessary comforts of 
life, thus being an example to rising generations of what industry, coupled with 
frugality, will accomplish. 

WILLIAM ROBESON, farmer ; P. 0. Jaysville ; was born in Huntingdon 
Co., Penn., in 1817 ; came with his father to Ohio in the same year, being only 2 
months old ; his father, David Robeson, located first on the Miami River, about 
eight miles below Dayton, where he remained about sixteen years, when, in 1833. 
he° moved to Darke Co. and located in Butler Township, where he lived till his 
death, which occurred three years after, or in 1836. Mr. Robeson, the subject of 
this sketch, resided on the home place about seventeen years. He was married to 
Esther Don^an in 1849 ; she was the daughter of Isaac Dongan and was born in 
Butler Co. in 1828. In 1852, Mr. Robeson bought the farm upon which he now 
resides and moved on to it the same year, there being about 30 acres cleared and 
a small cabin erected upon the same ; by hard labor and industry, he now has a 
fine farm of 140 acres, 85 acres being under cultivation. There have been thirteen 
children born to them, and only four of them now living, viz., Isaac D., Eliza D. r 
Mary Ann and Ida Ellen May ; two are married, and two remain single at home. 
His wife died in May, 1874, since which time his daughters have taken charge of 
his household affairs. Mr. Robeson has accumulated all his present wealth by 
dint of his own exertion, with the exception of 40 acres, which he received from 
his father ; he gave his only son a start in life by giving him 44 acres of land ; he 
is now married and settled upon the same. Mr. Robeson is now past 62 years of 
age, and enjoying good health, and may live many years to enjoy the fruits of his 
labors, and, perhaps, to add to his possessions. 

PATRICK SHIELDS, farmer ; P. 0. Delisle ; was born in Preble County, 
Ohio, in 1831 ; his parents, Isaac and Elizabeth Shields, had born unto them 
thirteen children, of whom ten are now living ; his father and mother were natives 
of Preble County. Mr. Shields was the second child of his parents, and came with 
them to Darke County in 1838, and located in Van Buren Township, where he has 
lived to the present time, with the exception of three years, in which he lived north 
of here about fifteen miles. In 1853, Mr. Shields was united in marriage with Mary 
J., daughter of Caleb and Mary Brown ; to them have been born eight children, 
all of whom are now living, three boys and five girls, viz., Nancy, Mary Alice, 
Caleb, Elizabeth, William L., Laura May, Ada and Donovan F. Mr. Shields, 
though not one of the oldest, but yet an early settler, says he remembers well of 
the many hunts after wolves, bears and various kinds of game, which were then so 
plentiful ; Mr. Shields commenced farming twenty-seven years ago, with a capital 
of $80, one cow and half a dozen chickens, and from this small beginning has, by 
industry, frugality, skill and management, advanced step by step toward success, till 
now he is the owner of 221 acres of land, all under cultivation, and as good land as any 
in the township ; has a good, two-story frame house, nearly new, and everything con- 
venient and comfortable. During all this labor, Mr. Shields paid in support of the 
war of the rebellion about $1,600 ; he is still a man in middle age, and. with the 
fine competency he has obtained, the ability with which he handles his means, the 
industrious habits, and interesting family he has to help him on, he will in _ all 
probability arise to a prominence among the residents of the county ; he is a 
living example in correct business habits for his children and future generations 
in time to come. 

ISAAC M. SHIELDS, farmer ; P. O. Arcanum ; was born in this county and 
township in 1846 ; his parents were Isaac and Elizabeth Shields, natives of Preble 
County, further record of whom is made in sketch of Patrick Shields. Mr. 
Shields was married in 1864 to Ellen, daughter of Mathias and Amanda Weaver, 
further record of whom is made in sketch of Amanda Weaver. Mr. Shields 



734 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 

has always followed farming, having bought and sold several farms, upon which 
he lived for longer or shorter times, until, in the spring of 1874, he bought the 
farm where he now lives, and moved on to it in spring of 1875, since which he 
has built a large brick house, a very tine barn and made other improvements, and 
has now one of the finest residences in the township. When Mr. Shields started in 
life, he had no capital of any amount ; he is now owner of 280 acres of land, 220 now 
under good cultivation ; this large property with all improvements he has become 
owner of by hisown activity, industry and shrewd management, and is still a young 
man of 33 years of age, just in the prime of life ; and, should his health be spared, he 
has every prospect of becoming one of the wealthiest men of the township. He is 
the father of seven children, six being now living, viz., Amanda E., Isaac Mathias, 
Susanna. Minnie llosella, Elva Mariah and William Ray. He was one of those who, 
at the call of his country during the rebellion, allowed his patriotism to carry him 
forward to its defense ; he enlisted early in the war in 1862, in the 110th Regi- 
ment, in Company B, 0. V. I., and served through the war, returning safely to his 
loved ones at home. In this sketch, we are pleased to put upon the pages of the 
history of Darke County one of its citizens, a young man whose record shall 
stand a bright and shining light of industry, success and true patriotism to his 
children and children's children, and all future generations, as a worthy example 
to follow ; and if they do follow it, it will lead to the sure road to success and 
prosperity. 

WILLIAM TOWNSEND, farmer; P. 0. Jaysville ; was born in Neave 
Township in 1830 : his father, James Townsend, was born in South Carolina, and 
emigrated to Ohio in an early day, and located in Greene County, where he 
remained a few years, then moved to Darke Co., Neave Township, where he lived until 
his death ; his settlement in the county was in the days of the pioneers, there 
being but few settlements in the neighborhood ; he was the father of six children, 
four of whom are now living. William Townsend, the subject of this sketch, was 
the youngest of the family ; he lived with his father till his death, which occurred 
when he was about 17 years of age ; then he remained with his mother till after 
her death. He was united in marriage in 1854, with Elizabeth, daughter of Jonas 
Hartzell ; she was born in Pennsylvania, and came to this county with her father 
when she was about 2 years of age ; since their marriage, they have been blessed 
with six children, all of whom are now living ; Mr. Townsend has followed the 
honest and honorable occupation of farming during his life, with the exception of 
about three years, in which he was engaged in the milling business ; he has, by 
his own labor and industry, with a small inheritance from his father, obtained a 
competency, having a fine quarter-section of land, mostly under cultivation. He 
is a prominent and active member of the United Brethren Church, with which he 
has been connected for five years, and has had the pleasure of seeing the three 
oldest of his children become worthy members of the church. Thus, while working 
and accumulating this world's goods, he is also in the higher and uobler work of 
trying to lay up treasures in heaven, and training up those under his charge in the 
• : nurture and admonition of the Lord." 

A LFRED TOWNSEND, farmer ; P. O. Jaysville ; was born in Van Buren 
Township in 1834. on the place now owned by William Townsend ; his parents 
were Jonathan and Susanna Townsend. He was married in 1856, to Mary A., 
danghter of Isaac and Elizabeth Shields ; she was born in 1833 in Preble Co., 
Ohio, and moved with her parents to this county in 1836, being then about 3 years 
of age ; she is the third in a family of ten children. Mr. Townsend was of a family 
of four children, having two sisters and a half-brother, he being the youngest of 
the three first born. After Mr. Townsend was married, he followed farming on 
rented farms till 1868, when he bought 80 acres, on which he now lives ; he added 
40 acres to it in 1875, making him now owner of 120 acres. They are the parents 
often children, four boys and six girls, all of whom are living, and ranging from 
3 to 23 years of age, viz., Sarah E., Andrew J., William H, Ida May, Mary Bell, 



VAN BUREN TOWNSHIP. 735 

Isaac Edward, Josephine, J]ffaretta, George Alfred and Martha Ford. Mr. Town- 
send is one of those who has had his " ups and downs ; " he was early thrown upon 
his own resources, but had been favored with a good education ; has followed 
teaching school nearly every winter ; he first taught school before he was 16 years 
of age ; he has now a good farm of 85 acres in cultivation, with good build- 
ings, very comfortable and convenient ; he has held several township offices, such 
as Assessor. Clerk and Trustee, thus showing that not only has he been successful 
in life, but has the confidence of the community in which he lives by the trusts 
confided in him. Mr. Townsend is one of those who, during the late war — the 
rebellion — took up arms in the defense of his country's rights and its flag, having 
enlisted in the 152d 0. V. I., Co. I., entering as Orderly Sergeant, in which 
capacity he served four months : he was then promoted to First Lieutenant in the 
O. N. Cr., in which he served till honorably discharged, thus proving himself a true 
soldier and a patriot in time of his country's danger. 

AMANDA WALKER ; P. O. Arcanum ; was the wife of Mathias Weaver, 
who was born in Preble Co., Ohio, in 1821, and Amanda Weaver was born 
in Butler Co.. Ohio, in 1828 ; his father, Larkin Weaver, was a native of Virginia ; 
Mrs. Weaver's father, Lewis Blackmail, was a native of England, who came to this 
country at an early day. Mathias Weaver was married to Amanda Blackman in 
1844, and moved to Darke Co., Van Buren Township, about 1845, and located on 
the place upon which she now lives ; the land was then all a wilderness ; they 
cut away the timber and built a little log house, so as to shelter them from the 
weather, with a few boards up in the loft, where they kept their meat and provis- 
ions, etc ; from this beginning, they labored on until 1873 ; they then had a good 
farm of about 100 acres, nearly all in cultivation. Mr. Weaver was taken sick, 
and died Oct. 20. 1873 ; since which time she has remained a widow, and carried 
on farming with industry and ability, which has enabled her to keep her family 
together with her, and to enjoy the home and comforts which they had by their 
united efforts and industry obtained prior to his death. They were the parents of 
nine children, all of whom are living, viz., Ellen, Emma, Maria, Mary Jane, Susan, 
Lydia Ann, Lucinda Josephine, Lewis Edward and William Harve}' ; four are 
married and settled in life ; the other five single and at home with their mother, 
to cheer her on her way through the journey of life. We should mention that they 
had accumulated 180 acres of land prior to Mr. Weaver's death, 80 acres of which 
has been divided among the four married children—thus giving them a capital on 
which to begin their business life. 

WILLIAM WEAVER, farmer ; P. 0. Arcanum ; was born in Madison Co.. 
Va., in 1812 ; his parents were Larkin and Susannah Weaver. Mr. Weaver came 
to Preble Co., Ohio, with his parents in 1820, and then moved to Darke Co., Van 
Buren Township, and entered 80 acres of land, where he now lives. He was mar- 
ried in 1835 to Maiy, daughter of Charles and Jemima Harriman, natives of 
Scioto, Ohio ; when they came to Darke Co. upon their land, there was not a stick 
of timber cut ; they made the first opening and built a small log house ; worked 
and toiled on from year to year, enduring all the hardships incident to that day ; 
from year to year they were enabled to see the forests disappear and the various 
improvements take their place ; plenty and comfort take the place of want anil 
scarcity, till now he is owner of 100 acres of excellent land, for which at one time he 
was offered $100 per acre. They are the parents of eight children, four boys and 
four girls, six of whom are now living, viz., Daniel, Eliza Jane. Jemima Ann, 
Susan Etta, John H. and William Allen, all being married and settled in life, 
except Susan Etta, who, having lost her husband, is at home keeping house for 
her father, Mr. Weaver's wife having been dead thirty-two years, dying in 1848. 
Mr. Weaver is now 68 years of age, is enjoying good health, has been a widower, 
as stated above, for thirty-two years ; he is a very popular auctioneer and cries a 
great many sales through his neighborhood ; he is one of those jovial and jolly 
old pioneers, who is kind hearted, notwithstanding his mam- odd ways ; in fact has 

EE 



736 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

been too kiml and accommodating for his own good, having had to pay $800 
security money, and would warn his children and future generations to be guarded 
on these points, and to take him as an example as to industry, frugality and hon- 
orable way of providing for life's interests. 

EL I 111 WEAVER, farmer, See. 2 ; P. 0. Gettysburg ; a son of Henry and 
Susan Weaver : was born in Adams Township. Darke Co.. in the year 1832 ; was 
united in marriage with Sarah Weaver, of Adams Township, Darke Co., 1807 \ 
they have two children — Edward and Harry. 



JACKSON TOWNSHIP. 



WM. ARCHARP, farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 20 ; P. 0. Union City. The sub- 
ject of this memoir was born in County Limerick, Ireland, Nov. 12, 1835 ; when 7 
years of age, he was left an orphan, and at 10 years of age, he came to America 
with his uncle. Thomas Hoar, who located in Cincinnati, and placed William at 
school, where he remained two years. At 12 years of age, he obtained employment 
in the grocery trade, and followed the same for several years ; in 1851, he went to 
Piqua, and, after clerking there some four years, he associated with his employer 
as partner, and located in Union City in 1855. This partnership continued some 
seven years, when Mr. Archard disposed of his interest and engaged in farming, 
which business he has since followed, owning 325 acres of land adjacent to Union 
City ; in 1874, he laid out 40 acres of his farm, now 7 known as Archard's Addition 
to Union City ; in 1877, he was elected and served one term as Trustee of Jackon 
Township, and in 1878 was elected County Commissioner, which office he now 
holds ; he is one of the self-made men of DarkeCo.; he commenced life without 
capital ; upon arriving in Piqua, in 1851, his capital consisted of 25 cents, but he has. 
since, by his own hard labor and correct business habits, placed himself among the 
large landholders and successful farmer's of Darke Co. His marriage with Maiy 
A. Mauzy was celebrated in Union Cit} T in 1857 ; they have one child by this- 
union — Josephine, now Mrs. Webster Brandon. 

JACOB BEERY, retired farmer ; residence Sec. 15 ; P. O. Union City ; one 
of the oldest settlers of Jackson Township ; born in Fairfield Co. Oct. 16, 1816 ; 
at 18 years of age, he commenced in life for himself, and learned and worked at 
the cabinet and carpenter's trade until 1855, when he came to Darke Co., Ohio, and 
located in Neave Township, and in 1865 came to Jackson Township and purchased 
160 acres of land upon Sec. 13, where he has since lived ; he has now rented his 
old homestead and is erecting a residence upon Sec. 15, which he intends making 
his future home ; he is Democratic in politics, but has never been an aspirant for 
office, and has held none, save the office of Township Trustee ; for three years, he 
has taken a deep interest in the cause of religion, having, with his wife, been 
a member of the German Baptist Church for upward of thirty years. His mar- 
riage with Esther Voght was celebrated in Fairfield Co. in 1838 ; she was born in 
the above county ; ten children were the fruits of this union, of whom six are 
now living, viz., Aaron, Mary, Simeon, Absalom, Jacob F. and Almeda. The 
deceased were Jemima, Leah, Sarah C. and Isabella. 

AMOS COOK, farmer. Sec 3:5 : P. O. Union City ; one of the early 
pioneers of Darke Co. ; born in Chester Co.. Penn., in 1800 : came to Darke Co., 
Ohio, in 1849, and purchased his present place of 120 acres, where he has since 
lived lor a period of upward of thirty years ; upon locating here, his present well- 
improved place was a wilderness ; he has since, by his own hard labor, cleared 90 
acres, which he lias placed under a good state of cultivation ; at the above date, 
deer, wolves, bears, wild turkeys and other game was here in abundance ; he hauled 
his productions to Pickaway, where he disposed of his wheat at 50 cents per bushel. 



JACKSON TOWNSHIP. 737 

and loaded back with groceries, salt, etc. He has been twice married, his first wife 
was Elizabeth Knofsinger ; she was born in Preble Co. ; nine children were the 
fruits of this union, of whom six are now living, viz., Henry, Eli, Daniel, Amos, 
John and Mary ; his second wife was Jane Davidson, also a native of Preble Co. ; 
they have two children by this union, Harvey and Noah. Mr. Cook was a son of 
Henry Cook, who was born in Germany, and married Catharine Fouch. also of 
German descent ; they both died in Pennsylvania ; Mr. Cook now owns 200 acres 
of land in Jackson Township ; commencing with a capital of $35, he has since 
accumulated all of the above by his own exertions ; the energy and perseverance 
displayed by Mr. Cook are well worthy of example 1)}- the young men of the present 
day. 

JOSEPH EICHELBERGER, farmer and Justice of the Peace, Sec. 15 ; 
P. 0. Union City. The subject of this memoir was born in Cumberland Co., 
Penn., Feb. 22, 1820 ; at 13 years of age, he engaged as clerk in the hardware trade 
at Harrisburg. which position he filled until lie attained his majority ; he then fol- 
lowed farming in Pennsylvania until 1869, at which date he emigrated to Ohio, and 
located upon Sec. 15, Jackson Township, where he now lives ; he owns 160 acres 
of land with good farm buildings, which he has accumulated by his own hard labor 
and correct business habits. Of township and school offices, he has had his full 
share, having held the office of Township Trustee two years, School Director nine 
years and Justice of the Peace three years, which office he now holds. His mar- 
riage with Caroline Brenizer was celebrated in Cumberland Co., Penn., upon the 
12th of November. 1843 ; she was born in the above count}* ; they were the par- 
ents of nine children, of whom seven are now living, viz., Mary M., Joseph E., 
Washington L., Jane A., James B., Laura V. and Cora A. 

DR. BENJAMIN W. EVANS, farmer and physician. Sec. 3; P. O. 
Union City ; one of the early pioneers of Darke Co. ; born in Delaware Co., Ohio, 
Feb. 28, 1815 ; his father, Montgomery Evans, removed with his family from Dela- 
ware to Williams, now Defiance Co., Ohio, in 1817, and was the first white family 
that settled in the Maumee Valley, and here he took up land, upon which he lived 
until his decease, which occurred in 1847 ; he suffered all the privations and hard- 
ships of frontier life ; his milling at first was done at Pickaway, a distance of up- 
ward of 100 miles ; his marketing being done in the same place ; the Doctor lived 
with his parents until 1843, when he removed to Miami Co., and in 1847 came to 
Darke Co., and is consequently one of the old settlers of this count} 7 . In 1846. 
Mr. Evans commenced the study of medicine in Shelby Co., and was one of the 
first physicians in the north part of that county, and has always followed his pro- 
fession, and has not yet given it up ; he was one of the organizers of the first 
Medical Board of Darke Co., and remained a member for many years. Upon Nov. 
14, 1863, he enlisted as a private in the 124th I. V. I., and went forward to battle 
for the Union ; after serving as private a short time, he was promoted to hospital 
steward, which position he held until the close of the war ; during his term of serv- 
ice, he was never absent from duty nor received a furlough ; he served in the 
Atlanta campaign, under Sherman, and was with the above General in North 
Carolina at the surrender of Johnston ; he, with his sons, are strong Republicans, 
and, to use the Doctor's expression, he always votes as he fought ; his first vote for 
President, was for William H. Harrison. His marriage, with Rebecca E. Peters 
was celebrated May 11. 1848 ; she was born in Hawkins Co., Ohio. Dec. 26, 1826 ; 
they were the parents of six children, of whom five are now living, viz., Zeletta F., 
Ida Z., Segisamar L., Aaron L., Mahlon O. ; the deceased, Ella E., died at 3 years 
of age. The Doctor is a very genial gentleman, and manifested toward the writer 
a very liberal spirit of hospitality, which is characteristic of his nature as well as 
of frontier life. 

DR. JAMES H. FAHNESTOCK, physician and surgeon, Sec. 21 ; P. 0. Union 
City. The subject of this memoir was born in Miami Co., Ohio, Feb. 14, 1842 ; 
he was the son of Ephraim Fahnestock, who was born in Perry Co., Penn., in 1812, 



738 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES- 

and came to Ohio with his parents when quite young, and is now retired from 
active labor, with a residence at Dayton ; he married Elizabeth Billingsby Jan. 6, 
1836 ; she died July 29, 1873. Dr. James H. obtained a common-school educa- 
tion, and. at 13 years of age, commenced the study of medicine, to which he gave 
his attention for six years ; at 19 years of age, he entered the Eclectic Medical 
Institute at Cincinnati, and graduated from the same in 18G3, and, in 1865, he 
graduated from the Southern Medical Institute, at Memphis, Tenn. ; he then gave 
his attention to farming until 1874, when he located in Darke County, and, in 1877, 
commenced the practice of medicine, which profession he has since followed, with 
a rapidly increasing practice ; the Doctor called the attention of the writer to a 
curiosity in the shape of an old-fashioned clock, manufactured in Germany in 
1753, which has been handed down from generation to generation, until it now has 
become the property of the Doctor, who places great value upon the same as an 
heirloom. His marriage with Margaret Benson was celebrated in Randolph Co., 
Ind., in 1868 ; she was a native of Maryland ; they have six children, viz., Clare 
E , Dona M., Charles B., Elizabeth A., George W. and Carl. 

WILLIAM R. HAND, farmer, Sec. 33 ; P. 0. Union City ; one of the early 
pioneers of Jackson Township ; born in Somerset Co., N. J., Dec. 6, 1820 ; about 
the year 1840, he, with his father, Gilbert R. Hand, emigrated to Ohio and located 
upon Sec. 33, Jackson Township, where he has had a continuous residence of 
nearly forty years, and is consequently one of the oldest settlers ; about the year 
1862. the decease of his father occurred, since which time the subject of this 
sketch has lived upon the old farm and devoted his attention to agricultural pur- 
suits. He married Mary Bolin, and they have two sons — William, born Sept. 29, 
1864, and Joseph, Nov. 30, 1868 ; he now owns upward of 60 acres of land, under 
a wood state of cultivation. 

' ROBERT S. HARTMAN, farmer, Sec. 3 ; P. O. Union City ; born in Cler- 
mont Co., Ohio, Dec. 2, 1824; his father, Samuel Hartman, was born in Middlesex 
Co. N. J., March 19, 1790 ; in 1795, he emigrated with his parents to Kentucky, 
and in 1801, came to the Territory of Ohio and located in Clermont County ; he 
died May 13, 1862, upon the old homestead, where he located sixty-one years 
previous- his first wife was Sarah Dunham ; she died in Brown Co., Ohio, in 1841, 
leaving eight children, of whom two now survive. The subject of this sketch was 
raised to farm labor until 1 8 years of age ; the following six years he devoted to 
farming and carpentering ; in February, 1856, he came to Darke County, and is 
classed among the old settlers, having been a resident for nearly a quarter of a 
century. He married Abigail Jones in 1849 ; she died in 1860, leaving one child- 
Franklin D. His marriage with Mary E. Marsh was celebrated in Darke County 
Jan. 23, 1862 ; she came to Darke County with her father, William Marsh, in 1853, 
where her father died after a residence of ten months. The children of Robert S. 
and Mary E. (Marsh) Hartman were eight in number, of whom four are deceased ; 
the living are William T., Nancy E., Robert M. and George W. The great-grand- 
mother of Robert S. Hartman, Ann Hutchinson, born March 16, 1700 (old style), 
was the mother of William Hutchinson, whose daughter Mary married Christo- 
pher Hartman in April, 1777 ; William Hutchinson was born Dec. 13, 1724; Cath- 
erine (Vohn) Hutchinson, his wife, was born May 17, 1731 ; their children were Mary, 
born March 24, 1755 ; William, March 12, 1757 ; Hannah, Aug. 9, 1759 ; Robert, 
July 26, 1763 ; Sylvester, April 20, 1765 ; Aaron. May 17. 1767 ; Ezekiel, Oct. 18, 
1769: Ann, July 8, 1772 ; Catherine, Jan. 3, 1775. The grandfather of Robert S. 
Hartman was Christopher Hartman, born May 6, 1750 ; Mary Hutchinson, his 
wife was born March 24, 1755 ; they were the parents of eight children — William, 
born Feb. 17, 1778 ; Isaac, Sept. 2, 1779 ; Rebecca, June 3, 1781 ; Elizabeth, May 
22, 1783 ; Katharine, Sept. 27, 1785 ; Samuel, March 19, 1790 ; Fanny. March 5, 
1793 • Rachael, Dec. 29, 1796. Samuel Hartman, the father of Robert S. Hartman, 
was twice married ; his first wife was Sarah Dunham, who was the mother of 
Robert S. ; she died in Brown Co., Ohio, in 1841 ; of eight children, only two now 



JACKSON TOWNSHIP. 739 

survive ; his second wife was Mrs. Elizabeth (Huntington) Browning, married Oct. 
17,1844; four children were born to them — Sarah F., born Aug. 4, 1845; Jane 
A., May 12, 1847 ; Emily C, April 10, 1849 ; Nancy E., April 13, 1851. 

JACOB HUNCHBERGER, merchant blacksmith and farmer, Sec. 14; 
P. 0. Union City ; the gentleman whose name heads this sketch, was born in 
Lancaster Co., Penn., Feb. 8, 1824 ; his father, Jacob Hunchberger, Sr.. was born 
in the same county in 1784, and is now living in Montgomery Co., Ohio, at the 
advanced age of 95 years ; he married Mary Dravenstadt who was born in the 
above county, and died in Fayette Co., 111., at 60 years of age. The subject of this 
sketch followed farming in Pennsylvania until 19 years of age, when he learned and 
worked at the blacksmith trade in Wayne Co., Ohio, three years ; he then followed 
the blacksmith trade for himself in Ashland Co., until 1858, at which date he came 
to Darke Co., Ohio ; in 1870, he located upon his present place, where he has 66 
acres of land, with blacksmith-shop, store and farm buildings ; in 1874, he connected 
the merchandise trade with his other business, devoting his personal attention largely 
to this branch of his business, while his son, who is a first-class blacksmith, 
attends to that branch of his business. He was married in 1851, in Ashland Co., 
Ohio, to Mary Crouse. They Avere the parents of nine children, of whom three 
daughters and one son are now living, viz., Cornelius D., Florence, now Mrs. J. C. 
Boze ; Loa D. and Hattie. 

CHARLES NEGLEY, farmer ; P. 0. Union City ; the subject of this memoir 
is one of the representative men of Darke Co.; he was born in St. Louis, Mo., in 
1839 ; he came to Ohio when 6 years of age and located in Jackson Township, 
Darke Co., and after a residence of two years removed to Preble Co., where he was 
engaged in the stone-cutting business until he attained his majority ; in 1861, he 
returned to this county and located in Union City, where he was engaged in various 
mercantile and real estate speculations until 1875 ; he was then elected by the Sen- 
ate, Assistant Sergeant at Arms of the State Senate, serving 1874 and 1875 ; he was 
re-elected to the same office and served through the term of 1877 and 1878 ; in 1877, 
he was elected Mayor of Union City, Ind., and in 1879 was elected representative to 
the State Legislatui'e of Ohio, which office he now holds. His marriage with Mar- 
garet Gard was celebrated in 1861. in Union City ; they have eight children — Iuka, 
Frank, Rockey C. Kerby R,, Katie. Charles Webber, Clara. Casshie. 

WILLIAM PARENT, farmer,' Sec. 32 ; P, O. Union City. Ind ; one of the 
early pioneers of Darke Co.; born in Monmouth Co.. N. J., Nov. 15, 1804 ; he emi- 
grated to Ohio, with his parents, about the year 1812, and located in German 
Township, Darke Co.; in 1824, he entered 120 and purchased 160 acres of land at 
Hill Grove, in Washington Township ; in April, 1858, he came to Jackson Town- 
ship and purchased 116 acres of land, where he has since lived. Mr. Parent com- 
menced in life without means ; he purchased his first land from the proceeds of his 
labor at cutting and splitting rails at 25 cents per hundred ; he now owns upward 
of 350 acres of land, with good farm buildings, secured by his own exertions ; he 
has suffered all the hardships and privations of frontier life, has frequently hauled 
oats, wheat, and pork to Cincinnati, selling oats at 10 and wheat at 60 cents per 
bushel, and pork at $1.25 per one hundred pounds, loading back with groceries, 
salt, etc. His marriage with Hannah Elsten was celebrated Feb. 18, 1829 ; she 
was born in Orange Co.. N. J. and died Oct. 22, 1875, at the advanced age of 64 
years 10 months and 22 days ; they were the parents of eight children, of 
whom seven now survive, viz., John, George, Sarah, Elizabeth. Samuel. Harri- 
son and Ameiy ; the deceased, Accha. lived to grow up and become the mother of 
three children. 

FREDERICK C. SCHNEIDER, car inspector of the G, C, C. &I. R. R. ; Union 
City, Ohio ; born in Hamburg, Germany, Jan. 30, 1826 ; when 14 years of age, he 
commenced the carpenter's trade, and followed the same until 1 853. when he emi- 
grated to America, landing in Quebec, thence to Buffalo and Cleveland, where he 
was employed in the car shops of the L. S. & M. S. R. R. for several months, then 



740 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

to Galion for two years, manufacturing cars, and in 1855, he came to Union City, 
Ind., and has since been Car Inspector of the C, C, C. & I. R. R. for upward of a 
quarter of a century ; he attends to the inspection of all of the cars of the above 
road with the assistance of eight men under his charge. He married Elizabeth 
Jacoby in October 1855 ; she was born in Prussia Jan. 10, 1837 ; they have two chil- 
dren by this union — Charles, born Dec. G, 1856, now conductor on the Bee Line, and 
William, born April 21, 1859, now brakeman on the D. & U. passenger. Mr. 
Schneider was a son of Frederick H. Schneider, who was born in Mecklenburg, Ger- 
many ; was a baker and grain dealer, died in 1869, in Hamburg; he married Anna 
Gotshe, born in Altona, near Hamburg ; she died in 1848 in Hamburg ; they had four 
sons and two daughters, of whom the subject of this sketch was the oldest son. 

DAVID W. SIGLER, Sec. 21 ; P. 0. Union City ; firm of Sigler, Fahnestock & 
Co., proprietors of the Buck Horn Saw-Mill. The subject of this sketch, though a 
young man, may be considered an old settler ; he was born in Iowa, near Iowa 
City, upon the 19th of October, 1840 ; when less than 2 years of age, his father died, 
and he, with his mother, removed to Preble Co., Ohio, residing seven years. In 
1849, they came to Darke Co., his mother died two years later, and he was left an 
orphan, to carve out his own way in life ; his first employment was at a hotel at 
Hill Grove, where he remained three }'ears ; he then obtained employment upon a 
farm until 1863, at which date he was employed in the above mill, and two years 
later he purchased an interest, and in 1876, the above firm was formed with Mr. 
Sigler as superintendent ; their mill is one of the oldest steam saw-mills in 
the county, and has a wide reputation. He married Jarusha L. Benson, in 1865, 
in Jackson Township, she was born in Maryland, and came to Ohio, with her 
parents, at an early day ; they have four children now living, having lost one by 
death ; the living are Effie V., Mordecai 0., Jarusha J. and Mary ; the deceased, 
Mary, died in infancy. 

J. H. SNOOK, brick, tile and wagon stock manufacturer ; Union City ; 
born in Frederick Co., Md., Jul}' 2, 1829 ; at 19 years of age, he learned the tan- 
ner's trade, which he followed for seventeen years in Washington Co., Md. ; he 
then followed farming several years, and in the spring of 1875 he emigrated to 
Ohio and located in Union City, where he engaged in the manufacture of brick, 
and the first two years made upward of 700,000, for which he found a ready sale ; 
in 1877, he purchased the tile factory of George Dutro and connected the same 
with his other business ; the quality of his tile is equal to any manufactured in 
Darke Co., his sales amounting to $5,000 yearly, of tile alone ; he has also erected 
a building 30x80. two stories high, for the purpose of manufacturing wagon 
stock, to which he has added an engine room 30x40, with an engine of fifty-horse- 
power. Mr. Snook is one of the most enterprising and active business men of 
Union City and gives employment in his brick and tile factories to thirteen men. 
which will be largely increased when his factory for the manufacture of wagon 
stock is in full operation. In 1853, he married Sylvia Keyser ; she died in 1803 ; 
his second wife was Lydia Dutro, a native of .Maryland ; eight children by each 
union, of whom nine sons and two daughters are now living, all of whom are 
living at home, except the second son, who is a blacksmith at Hill (irove. 

ELIAS !!. STRAIT, farmer and stock raiser. Sec. 13 ; P. O. Ansonia ; one of 
the old settlers ; horn in Jackson Township. Darke Co.. Ohio. Aug. 1, 1839 ; his 
father. Richard Strait, was born in Bedford Co., Penn.. Sept. :S. L796, and in 1829 
he came to Darke Co. and located upon the very place where Elias now lives and 
where tie entered land, upon which he lived for nearly fifty years, until his decease, 
which occurred Oct. 15. 1878; he married Kachael Jennings ; she was horn in 
Bedford Co., Penn., and died Deed. 1878 ; they were the parents of ten children. 
The subject of this sketch continued to live with his parents until he attained his 
majority, and kindly eared and provided for them until their death ; he now lives 
upon the same place where he was horn, upon which he has just completed a new 
frame residence ; he also owns 120 acres three-fourths of a mile from his home 



JACKSON TOWNSHIP. 741 

farm, now rented to a son-in-law. He married Mary Peters in 1859 ; she died in 
1865, leaving three daughters — Rachael, Martha and Ellen. In 1866, he married 
Sarah Boerstler ; they have four sons and one daughter by this union, viz., Ira. 
George, Amy, Harry and Levi. Mr. S. is a Republican ; has been Township Trus- 
tee two years ; has been a member of the Christian Church twenty years ; his 
wife and three elder children are also members of the same church. 

JOEL STRAIT, farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 13 ; P. 0. Hetslerville. Among 
the early pioneers of Jackson Township we find the names of Richard and Joel 
Strait, who loeated here in 1829. Richard Strait was the father of the subject of 
this sketch, and was born in Pennsylvania in September, 1796. He married 
Rachael Jennings in Pennsylvania, and at the early day above mentioned, located 
in Darke County, where he took up Congress land upon which he lived 
until his death, which occurred Oct. 15, 1878, aged upward of 82 years. Joel 
Strait was born in Perry Co., Ohio, upon the 6th of October, 1823; he lived 
upon the farm of his father until after his marriage, when he located upon 
Sec. 13, Jackson Township, where he has lived for a period of thirty-seven 
years ; he now owns 110 acres of well-improved land, with good farm build- 
ings ; his fine brick residence was erected in 1874 ; he is probably the oldest 
continuous resident of Jackson Township, having lived here for upward of half a 
century. He is a strong Republican ; has never been an aspirant for office, but 
has held the offices of School Director, Constable and Township Trustee ; has 
taken a deep interest in the cause of religion, having, with his wife, been member 
of the Christian Church for twenty-two years, and has been a Deacon of the same 
for twenty years. His marriage with Hannah Teeter was celebrated in 1843 in 
Randolph Co., Ind. ; nine children, of whom five are now living, viz., Francis M., 
Richard W., Milton 0., Joel F. and Alfred ; of the deceased three died in infancy, 
and Harvey enlisted in the 94th O. V. I. for three years, and lost his life at Bowl- 
ing Green while in defense of his countr}' . 

MARTIN YANDEN, retired manufacturer, merchant and farmer; P. O. 
Union City, Ind. ; residence, Union City. Ind. ; one of the old settlers of Darke 
Go. ; born in Gallia Co., Ohio, Feb. 23, 1809 ; at the age of 18, he commenced to 
learn the trade of wagon and plow maker, and, after working at the same until 1833. 
he engaged in the above business on his own account, and continued the same for 
a period of thirteen years ; in 1846, he engaged in the mercantile trade at Gallip- 
olis, continuing the same until 1858, when he emigrated to Ohio and located at 
Union City, Darke Co., and has been a continuous resident of Darke Co. for 
upward of twenty-one years. When Mr. V. located here, there were only two 
buildings upon Elm street ; he has witnessed the marvelous change of seeing 
the same become the business street of the place, and his own residence and 
store are built upon a part of his purchase of four lots, for which he at that time 
paid $30, now worth $1,000 : at the time of the purchase, however, they were 
located in a pond of water. Upon the 1st of August, 1833, he was united in 
marriage with Rebecca Guy ; she was born in Virginia Aug. 3, 1806 ; six children 
were the fruits of this union, of whom three are deceased ; the living are Margaret 
A., Sarah J. and Julia M. 

THOMAS B. WENRICK, farmer and minister ; P. 0. Union City ; residence 
Sec. 26. This gentleman was born in Dauphin Co., Penn., upon the 26th of March. 
1818 ; at 2 years of age, he removed with his parents to Cumberland Co., Penn.: 
in 1836, he came to Montgomerj- Co., Ohio, and in 1838 located in Miami Co. ; in 
1841, he came to Darke Co., and, after a residence of six years, came to Darke Co. 
and located in Jackson Township in the year 1847, where he has lived thirty-two 
years within a distance of three-fourths of a mile ; in 1853, he commenced preach- 
ing, and has since continued the same in connection with farming ; he now has 
220 acres of land, with good farm buildings. Mr. Wenrick was a son of Thomas 
and Esther (Brant) Wenrick ; his father was born in Pennsylvania, and died in 



742 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

.Miami Co., Ohio, in 1853 ; his mother was also a native of Pennsylvania, and died 
a few years after the death of her husband. 

SOLOMON yOUNGr, farmer, grain merchant and ice dealer; P.O.Union 
City j tnd. ; one of the old settlers of Darke Co. ; born in Maryland Feb. 12, 1827. 
his lather. Joseph Young, emigrated from Maryland to Pennsylvania in 1829, 
and in 1834 came to Darke Co., Ohio, and located some three miles east of Gettys- 
burg; at 16 years of age Solomon Young obtained employment in the woolen- 
mills in Miami Co.. continuing the same seven years ; in 1852, he built a house in 
Union City, placing the four corners of the same upon stumps ; he opened the 
first butcher shop in Union City, Ohio, which he run for several years, a portion 
of which time he also conducted the grocery and baker trade ; in 1868, he located 
upon his present place, and for three years engaged in the saw-mill business, in 
connection with farming ; he has cleared 240 acres of land during the past eleven 
years ; his home farm consists of 80 acres of well-improved land, with good farm 
buildings, one-half mile from Union City ; he has held the office of Assessor, and 
is now Land Appraiser. In 1864, he enlisted in the 152d 0. N. C, under the call 
for 100-days men ; was elected and served as Second Lieutenant for the full term of 
service of four months ; in 1877, he connected the ice business, and is now also 
largely engaged in buying and shipping grain to the Eastern markets, his ware- 
house being located between the tracks of the C, C, C. & I. and the P. C. & St. L. 
R. R.'s. He was united in marriage with Hulda Reed, at Versailles, Darke Co. ; 
she was the daughter of Allen Reed, one of the early pioneers ; they were the 
parents of nine children, of whom Amanda, William T., Gertrude, Lincoln, Petulia 
and Solomon F., are now living ; the deceased were John, Mary E. and one who 
died in infancy. 



RICHLAND TOWNSHIP. 

JAMES RAILEY, retired farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 4 ; P. 0. Stelvidio . 
was born in Bedford Co., Penn., June 16, 1814; his father, William Bailey, was 
born in Pennsylvania June 20, 1776. and married Mary Imel ; she was born in 
Maryland June 20, 1782, and now resides in Preble Co., Ohio ; he died April 13, 
1861. James, the subject of this sketch, moved to Darke Co. in the fall of 1839, 
and lived in Brown Township until he moved to where he now resides, in Richland 
Township, and has always followed his present avocation. He married Mary Ann 

Teegarden Sept. 24, 1839, in Greenville ; she died (?)by this union were ten 

children, viz.: Julia Ann, born Sept. 16, 1840 ; Catherine, born Dec. 29. 1841 (deceased) 
William H., born Jan 1, 1844 (deceased) ; John F., born Oct. 6, 1845 (deceased) Ste- 
phen H., born July 18, 1847 ; Moses E., born July 25, 1849 (deceased) ; Mary, born 
Nov.l, 1851 (deceased); Paulina, born Dec. 25, 1852 ; Ann M., born March 7, 1855 : 
A si lerry B., born March 14, 1 857. His second marriage was with Mrs. Julia Ann Cop- 
pess, widow of Daniel Coppess, who died June 10, 1858 ; Mr. and Mrs. Coppess were 
married April 7, 1850, and had live children, viz.: Martin D., born March 3, 1851 : 
Erven, born Aug. 17, 1852 (deceased): Allen, born June 18, 1854; Rhoda A., 
born July 20, 1850, and Mary C. Feb. 1, 1859. Mr. Bailey's marriage with Mrs. 
Coppess occurred April 28, 1862 ; she was a daughter of Sebastian Martin, and 
was born Felt. 29, 183- ; by this union seven children were born, viz.: Isabelle 
and Presetta M., bom Oct. 15, 1863 ; Harvey F., bom Sept. 15, 1866 (deceased) ; 
Cordelia, born Jan. 16, 1868; Minola R. B., born July 15, 1875; two died 
unnamed. Mr. Bailey owns a line farm of 249 acres, and a good home. 

ALEXANDER B. BRANDON, farmer and stock-raiser. Sec. 27 ; P. O. Ver- 
sailles ; was born in Wayne Township, Darke Co., Dec. 14, 1820 ; his father. James R.. 



RICHLAND TOWNSHIP. 743 

was born in West Virginia April 14, 1792, and married Anna Hole, Sept. 15, 
1818 ; she was born in Butler Co., Ohio, Jan. 22, 1798 ; he came to Darke Co. 
with his sister Elizabeth in 1818. Mrs. J. R. Brandon's father, Zachariah Hole, 
moved to this county the same year. Mrs. Anna (Hole) Brandon died near Hill 
Grove, in 1857, and J. R. Brandon died Feb. 24, 1876, in this township. Alex- 
ander, the subject of this sketch, has always worked hard to dig out a home for 
himself and family ; since 1846, he has cleared, almost lone-handed, upward of 
60 acres of heavily timbered land ; by his untiring industry, aided by his good wife, 
he is blessed with a good home, and a favorable promise of comfort in their declining 
years. He married Anna Shafer, April 9, 1846, daughter of John Shafer (see Job 
M. Shaffer's biography in this work) ; she was born in Bedford Co., Penn, April 30. 
1826; they have had ten children, viz.: John T., born March 24, 1847, and died 
while in the service of his country, at Cumberland, Md„ Aug. 22, 1864 ; Rilev M.. 
born March 18, 1849 ; Job S., born Aug. 25. 1851, and died Aug. 8, 1866 ; Doro- 
thy A., born Jan. 29, 1854, and married Nathaniel Kershner ; Eugene, born Nov. 
29, 1856 ; Aaron, April 20, 1859 ; James F„ Oct. 9, 1861 ; Noah. Feb. 2, 1864 : 
Arthur M., born July 12, 1866, and Retha Belle, born April 7, 1872 ; he owns 212 
acres of good land and a fine home. 

JOHN E. BREADEN, farmer and stock-dealer, Sec. 34 ; P. 0. Greenville ; 
was born near Glendale, Hamilton Co., Ohio, June 17, 1828 ; his father, Jeremiah 
Breaden, was born in Ireland, and married Epenetus Sorter in New Jersey, where 
she was born ; both died in Springfield, Ohio. John E. Breaden, the subject of 
this sketch, learned the profession of druggist with his brother William, in Ham- 
ilton, Ohio ; their father was an educated physician, and practiced medicine and 
surgery during his lifetime. John E. came to Greenville in 1850, and engaged in 
the drug business on his own account for three years, then moved to Brown 
Township, and engaged in farming ; he returned to Greenville in 1862, and 
engaged in clerking for John Hufnagle, Esq., in his dry -goods store ; in March. 
1865, he removed to the farm where he now resides. He married Anjumila 
Hufnagle May 29, 1851 ; she was born in Dauphin Co., Penn., May 19, 1832, and 
is a daughter of John Hufnagle, Esq., President of the Greenville Bank, also 
merchandising in Greenville. Mr. and Mrs. Breaden have had three children, viz.. 
John Edward, born July 28, 1852 ; he is an attorney at law in Greenville, and 
obtained his education mainly at the Chickering Institute, in Cincinnati, where he 
graduated in 1873 ; he read law with Calderwood & Cole, in Greenville, and was 
admitted to the bar in 1870 ; Maria Evie, born Feb. 8, 1854 (deceased) ; and Lil- 
lian Vincincia, born Dec. 30, 1861, now at "St. Mary of the Springs Convent.' 
near Columbus. Ohio, completing her education. 

SAMUEL S. COLLINS, wagon-maker and farmer, Sec. 20 ; P. 0. Dawn : 
was born in Warren Co., Ohio, June 26, 1819, his father, Levi Collins, was born in 
Lewis Co., Va., in 1795, and married Elizabeth Snell in Warren Co. Ohio : they 

moved to in 1821, and to Shelby Co., Ind., in 1830, where he died in 1852 ; 

she died in Troy. Miami Co.. in 1830. The subject of this sketch served an ap- 
prenticeship of two years in Morristown, Ind., then returned to Miami Co.. Ohio, 
and made his first lumber wagon, and sold it for $5, not on account of the beauty 
of its workmanship : he followed the business twenty-five years, and has the 
reputation of doing first-class work ; he settled permanently where he now resides 
in 1855, and bought land in 1865 ; he erected for himself a good brick residence. 
Last September, he had the misfortune to lose his left arm by accident. He mar- 
ried Jane M. Cairns March 7, 1844 ; she was born in Ireland Aug. 14, 1818, and 
died in August 1850 ; they had four children, viz.. Jennet E., born April 23. 1845. 
deceased ; Laura L., born Oct. 3. 1846 ; she married John Lehman ; Albert M., 
born July 6, 1848, died May 3, 1872, and Geo. A., born July 10, 1850 ; his second 
marriage was with Mrs. Elizabeth McDowell, Nov. 27, 1851, widow of William 
McDowell, who died June 10, 1849, in Brown Co., Ohio : they had one daughter, 
Lucinda J., born Jan. 7, 1850, and died June 24, 1865 ; by this union they have 



744 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

had five children, viz., John W.. born Jan. 23, 1853, died Sept. 30, 1854 ; Charles 
F., born Oct. 11, 1856 ; Jason H., Sept. 12, 1859 ; Franklin E., Sept. 6. 1863, and 
Joseph C, Dec. 17, 1868. Mrs. Collins' father, Adam Ulery, was born in Prussia. 
Germany, March 24, 1787. and married Mary C. Witty in 1819 ; she was born in 
1798 ; in 1811) hi- was drafted into the army, and served nine years under Napoleon. 
I, they came to Baltimore, Md., in 1820, in 1826 the family, consisting of himself 
wife and four children, and all their earthly effects in a one-horse wagon left Penn- 
sylvania for a new home in Miami Co., Ohio ; his cash assets all told were $13. 
lie died March 7, 1876, and she died March 14. following, and at their decease 
they had accumulated a handsome fortune worth $15,000. Mr. and Mrs. Collins 
are members of the Methodist Episcopal Church ; he owns 366 acres bordering on 
the village of Dawn ; in politics, is a Republican. 

REBECCA G. DAVISON, widow of Edwin R. Davison, deceased ; Sec. 24, 
P. 0. Ansonia. Edwin R. Davison was born in Greene Co., Ohio, Aug. 6. 1830 ; 
and died in Richland Township July 30, 1878, after several months of suffering 
with cancer. His father, Robert Davison, was born in Bourbon Co., Ky., April 8, 
1798, and married Mary Stratton, March 26, 1829 ; she was born May 23, 1807, 
and died March 22, 1847 ; he now resides in York Township, Darke Co., with his 
daughter, Louisa Oliver ; he moved to Darke Co., in 1831 ; by trade was a tanner 
and currier ; he bought land in this township in 1830 and settled here, and engaged 
in farming, which he has ever since followed ; he now owns 117 acres of his original 
purchase, and other lands in Brown Township. He married the second time, Aug. 8, 
1847, Mary Brown ; she died Aug. 16, 1865, leaving no issue ; but by his first union 
were seven children, viz., Edwin R., the subject of this sketch; Louisa, present wife 
of David Oliver ; Mary A. and Sarah A., twins ; Mary A. deceased ; she married 
James Deardoff, Sarah A. married Adam Coppess ; Oscar A., Amanda F., who 
married Isaac Deardoff ; Emily, married Irvin Warvel, both are deceased ; and 
Mortimer, deceased ; Edwin Davison, deceased, was raised a farmer, and always 
followed it ; he married Rebecca G. Warvel, Jan. 27, 1853 ; she was born in Rock- 
ingham Co., Va., May 4, 1832, is a daughter of John Warvel (See George H. 
Warvel's biography in this work. ) Mr. and Mrs. Davison have had six children, 
viz.: Sarah J., born June 28, 1853. she married Riley Brandon ; William H., born 
Sept. 4, 1855 ; Robert, Nov. 4, 1860 ; Iola M., Nov. 7, 1862 ; Luella, Jan. 17, 1866, 
died Oct. 4, 1867 ; Seymour, born Oct. 17, 1868. She owns 146 acres of land and 
a good home. 

OSCAR, F. DAVISON, tile manufacturer at Nevada, Sec. 20 ; P. 0. Dawn ; 
born in Richland Township Oct. 16, 1837 ; his father, Robert, was born in Bour- 
bon Co., Ky.. and married Mary Stratton, of Greene Co., Ohio, and moved to Darke 
Co. in 1829. The subject of this sketch was raised a farmer ; he engaged in mer- 
chandising during the year 1866, but sold out before he had been in business a, 
year, and returned to farming and dealing in live stock ; has been Township Assessor 
of personal property. Supervisor, Trustee, etc.; in 1877, he erected tile works, 
and now gives his attention to this business. He married Sirena Plessinger, 
daughter of David Plessinger, in March. 1861 ; she was born Jan. 28, 1838, and 
died Nov. 29, 1865, leaving no issue; his second marriage was celebrated with 
Sarah .lane Plessinger, daughter of G-eorge Plessinger, whose biography appears in 
this work, Feb. 20, 1868 ; she was born Dec. 20, 1847 : they have had five children, 
viz. . George R., born Jan. 4, 1869, died Sept. 19, following ; Tepa H, born Oct. 5. 
1872: Mary (',.. July 8, 1874 : Claude E., Jan. 6, 1877. and Cora May, Oct. 21. 
1878. lie owns 1 13 acres of land, two good houses and his tile works, which arc 
extensive. 

JOHN W. DICK WALL, merchant and grain-dealer. Nevada; P. (). Dawn; 
was born in Montgomery Co.. Ohio. Sept, 27. 1840; his father. Win. Duckwall, was 
born in Virginia Aug. 15, 1808, and married Caroline Bruner ; she was born in 
Virginia Jan. 27. 1820 ; they moved to Montgomery Co., Ohio, where they now 
reside ; on his 70th birthday, the family had a very gratifying surprise, six sons 



RICHLAND TOWNSHIP. 745 

and two daughters with their families, by pre-arrahgement, came together under 
the old roof-tree to congratulate the old people. John W., the subject of this 
sketch, at the age of 19 commenced teaching school ; this he continued up to 1878, 
though at times engaging in other business, receiving at Oberlin much of his 
education. In August. 1862, he enlisted in the 112th 0. V. I., which consolidated with 
the 63d Regiment, and served until the close of the war ; he participated in the 
battles of Resaca, Atlanta, Kenesaw Mountain, and many others ; on Sherman's 
march to the sea, he was never captured, or received a wound ; entered as Sergeant, 
and was Orderly Sergeant at the close, and was so familiar with the names of his 
company that, he could always call the roll without the " roster ; " he engaged in 
merchandising in this place in Ma} 7 , 1878, also in the grain business. He married 
Jennie Maxwell, July 15, 1869, daughter of Samuel and Jane M. (Furguson) Max- 
well, who reside in Frederick Co., Md. ; she was born May 25, 1841 ; they have 
three children, viz.: Carrie J., born June 10, 1870 ; Samuel W., born Oct. 6, 1873, 
and Francis C, born May 14, 1876. 

PHILLIP HARTZELL, farmer, stock-raiser, steam thrasher and corn-sheller, 
Sec. 36 ; P. 0. Beamsville ; was born in Adams Township, this County, May 23, 
1843 ; his father, John J. Hartzell, was born in Pennsylvania Dec. 1, 1815, and 
married Nancy Westfall ; he died in September, 1852, and she died in 1865, in 
Richland Township ; they were among the earliest settlers of Darke Co. The 
subject of this sketch was raised a farmer ; in 1864, he traveled West, and 
followed teaming between Omaha, Neb., and Denver City, for about a year and 
a half ; then returned to where he resides, on the homestead of his father ; last 
year, he erected for himself a fine residence ; has only one brother, David, who 
lives in Rossville, Kan. Phillip Hartzell married Caroline Dill in October, 1868 ; 
she was born in Beamsville Sept. 14, 1851 ; her father, John H. C. Dill, was born 
in Germany, and came to this country in 1832 ; he married Martha C. Siegmunt, 
in 1834, in Butler Co., Ohio ; she died March 7. 1858. in this county. In Germany 
he learned harness-making, and followed it awhile in Trenton, Ohio ; afterward 
in Beamsville, where at the same time he kept a hotel, also engaged in merchan- 
dising ; he moved to Dallas and engaged in merchandising, but at the decease of 
his wife, was farming, but was in the mercantile business at the time of his death, 
in April, 1865. Mr. and Mrs. Hartzell have two children, viz., Rosetta, born Aug. 
3, 1869, and Charles D., born May 22, 1875 ; he owns a fine farm of 115 acres, 
part of which was the homestead. 

JESSE B. JOHN, farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 20 ; P. 0. Dawn ; was born 
in Montgomeiy County, Ohio, March 2, 1833 ; his father, Jacob B. John, was born 
in Franklin County, Penn., May 7, 1789, and married Eleanor Phillips, of the same 
county ; she was born June 2, 1791 ; in the spring of 1810. moved to Montgomery 
County, Ohio ; he served in the war of 1812, and was honorably discharged ; 
afterward served two years as Captain of militia company ; moved to Darke 
County in 1837 ; there he served two years as Township Trustee, and was Justice 
of the Peace six \ r ears ; he died Feb. 19, 1868, and she died June 28, 1871, in this 
township ; the following extract from an obituary was published on the demise of 
Mrs. Elenor John, relict of David John, the grandmother and grandfather of the 
subject of this sketch, at her decease, June 22, 1848. aged 81 years 4 months and 
12 days : " She was the second of a family of eight children of the Rev. Joseph 
Powell (Baptist), settled in Bedford County. Penn., being the only clergyman in 
those parts then ; solemnized 845 marriages up to 1804, the time of his death ; on 
the 25th of January, 1785, she married David John, of Little Cove, Franklin Co., 
Penn., and became the mother of thirteen children ; in the spring of 1810, they 
emigrated to Montgomery County, Ohio, where she died ; her husband died Nov. 
10, 1812, leaving her in a new country, with the charge of a large family, to 
encounter the privations of such a situation as she best could : but being a woman 
hale and industrious and with a confiding trust in God, she was enabled to bring up 
her family respectably and to see them settled in life ; at the time of her death her 



746 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

children numbered thirteen, her grandchildren seventy -one, her great-grandchildren 
thirty-seven, making her descendants 121." Jesse B. John, with his parents, 
moved to Montgomery County, Ohio, in 1810, and to Darke County in 1837 ; he 
was raised a farmer and has always followed the business ; he has been Township 
Trustee, Supervisor, and eight years School Director. He married Abbie J. 
K:i\ lor Oct. 4, I860 ; she was born April 29, 1835, in Logan County, Ohio ; her 
father, Reuben Kaylor, was born Oct. 31, 1805, in Rockingham County, Va., 
and married Elizabeth Warvel ; she was born June 19, 1807, and died March 25, 
1876, in Bellefontaine, Logan Co., Ohio, where he now resides. Mr. and Mrs. Jesse 
B. John have three children, viz., Bowen Wesley, born Aug. 4, 1861 ; Lillie Dale, 
June 29. 1864 ; and Willie Barnett, Sept. 3, 1868. Mr. John owns a farm of 80 
acres, the old homestead ; his mother died with cancer after long and terrible 
siiflerinu;. 

HENRY C. KESTER, tanner and stock- raiser, Sec. 30 ; P. O. Beamsville ; 
was born in Hesse Shaumburg, Germany, Oct. 12, 1826 ; his father, Henry F. 
Kester, was born in the same place June 16, 1800, and married Justina Meyer ; 
she was born in 1802 ; his father and mother were Frederick and Leonora (Meyer) 
Kester. Henry C., the subject of this sketch, landed in New York July 6, 1852. 
and arrived in Darke County July 14 following, with his parents ; his mother died 
Aug. 11, 1862, and his father is living with him on the farm, where the}' moved 
in the fall of 1852 on the banks of Stillwater Creek, near Beansville ; in 1849 r 
Henry C. was drafted into the German army ; he served three years, but was 
granted a government passport to leave before his time expired ; he is Township 
Trustee, has been Supervisor, also School Director ; he had two sisters and one 
brother, viz. : Willmena, born Jan. 26, 1829 ; she married a Henry Kester ; Caro- 
line married Louis Kuckenberg, and Ferdinand ; the last two are deceased. 
Henry C. married Christina W. C. Schulte July 16, 1851 ; she was born in the 
same place as himself Feb. 7, 1826. They have had eight children, viz. : Caroline 
W. C, born April 25, 1852. deceased ; Charlotte, born Aug. 3, 1855 ; Willmena. 
May 15. 1857 ; Christian H., Aug. 12, 1859 ; Henry F., March 2, 1861 ; Fredrick 
C. L.. Oct. 24, 1864 ; Harmon F., June 20, 1869, and a twin to Charlotte died 
unnamed. He owns a fine farm of 180 acres, where he resides. 

ISAAC N. McFARLAND, carriage trimmer, carriage and wagon maker, black- 
smithing and general repairing, under the firm name of McFarland & Bro.. 
Nevada ; P. 0. Dawn ; Sec. 20. * Was born in Richland Township, Nov. 7, 1849 ; 
is a son of James McFarland, whose biography appears in this work ; he learned 
his trade in Dayton, Ohio, mostly ; in 1871, engaged in business on his own account, 
in Versailles, Darke Co.; in 1876, he located where he now resides, and is now 
copartner with his brother, James A. He married Mary J. Bashiain March, 1872. 
in Darke Co.; she is a daughter of Joseph and Mary Ann Bashia ; her father was 
born in France and her mother in Indiana, and now reside near Versailles, in this 
county ; Mrs. McF. was born July 30, 1854 ; they have three children, viz.: Tracey 
<i . bom April 22, 1874 ; Rachel A., born Sept, 7, 1876, and Genevieve, born July 
14. 1879. He is the leader of McFarland's Brass Band, of Dawn. 

JAM ES MfFARLAND, blacksmith and wagon-maker, also general repairing ; 
Sec 20; P. O. Dawn. Was born in Greene Co., Ohio, May 8. 1822; his father,' 
Isaac McFarland. married Susanna Stephenson, May 29, 1817; she was born in 
Boone Co., Ky.. Nov. 18, 1798 ; he died in Greene Co., and she moved to Darke Co. 
in 1837 ; they had two sons, viz.. William, born in May, 1818, and James, the sub- 
ject of this sketch ; William was always highly respected and honored for his gener- 
ous, pious and gentlemanly qualities ; he died in September, 1874 ; lie served through 
the late rebellion in a regimental band. James, the subject of this sketch, was 
bound apprentice to the blacksmith's trade in Greenville, Darke Co., Ohio, at the 
age of 13. and served until he attained his majority, getting six months' schooling 
in the mean time ; he then moved to Beamsville and started business on his own 
account ; in 1844, he bought 80 acres, and in 1850, 80 more, where he now resides, 



RICHLAND TOWNSHIP. 



747 



and on which is a part of the village of Dawn (Nevada) ; he has been honored 
with all the offices of Richland Township, and is now Assessor of real estate ; 
Aug 25 1863 he was elected Colonel and commissioned by Gov. lod, ot the 6a 
Regiment O M., of Darke Co.; he holds this office, also that of Regimental Drum 
Maior which he has held thirty-five years ; he has in his possession a cavalry 
sword' an epaulet, and an English knife, owned and used by his grandfather 
James McFarland, during the Revolutionary war of 1776. He married Rachel 
John Jan 2, 1845 ; she was born Nov. 25, 1823, in Montgomery Co., Ohio ; they 
have had nine children, viz.: William, born April 6, 1846 ; Isaac N born Nov. 7, 
1849 • Susan E.. born April 22, 1852, she married Charles Beadle ; James A born 
Julv 20 1854 ; one unnamed, born Sept. 8, 1856 ; Thomas H. ; born Jan. 11, 1858 ; 
John C. born June 28, 1860 ; Jacob M„ born Aug. 8, 1865, and Dora Belle born 
Sept 28 1867 Six of the boys and the father constitute the McFarland Brass 
Band. Mr. McFarland is a member of the order of A, F. & A. M., and has filled 
all the subordinate offices of his lodge. 

AUGUSTUS W McNIGHT, farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 19 ; P. O. Dawn. 
Was born in Bracken Co, Ky., March 20, 1817. His father, Alexander McNight 
married Sarah Lemon, of Pennsylvania ; he served as a private during the war ot 
1812 • they moved to Cincinnati in 1830 ; he was a blacksmith and worked at his 
trade'there about a year ; the family, being too poor to hire a conveyance, walked 
all the way to Connersville, Ind, where they stayed until 1833, then moved to 
Butler Co' Ohio, but moved to Darke County and settled in 1835, where he died 
iu 1843 ■ she died in 1846. in Van Buren Township ; they had managed by the 
time they came here to save enough money to buy 80 acres in the wilderness but 
that was all, and for years they had a hard struggle to gain a livelihood ; the first 
winter they lived in a little log cabin, the floor was the earth ; the woods were full 
of wild animals and game. The subject of this sketch killed a noble buck with 
his ax. one of a drove of twenty-seven ; at the age of 13, he got employment at 
five bushels of corn per month ; he worked out for wages until he was 22 for his 
parents- after that for himself; at the age of 26, he learned to make half-bushel 
measures, and made money enough to buy two lots in Sampson ; he sold them and 
bought 3 acres, improved, near the town ; he sold this in 1851, for $150 ; he then 
traded for 80 acres in Jay Co, Ind.; that he traded for 25 acres m Neave Town- 
ship, this county ; that he sold, and bought 42 acres in Richland Township; this 
he sold for $1,300; he then bought 84 acres m Wayne Township ; sold this and 
bought 80 acres improved in the same township ; this he sold for $2,600 in 186d ; 
then he bought 70 acres in Neave Township, and paid $1,700 ; sold this the next 
year for $2 500 ■ he then bought 102 acres improved, with a brick house, near 
Versailles ;' sold that in 1873 for $6,200 ; then he bought 40 acres improved m 
Adams Township ; sold that in 1877, and bought where he now resides and owns 
126 acres of as fine farming land as lies in the county, and worth at least $8,000, 
all this from hard digging ; and he has raised and educated a large family, but he 
himself never learnedVread or write his own name, even, and he don't owe ; any 
man a dollar. He married Sarah Shevidecker, of Preble Co, Ohio, Sept. 16, 1841, 
where she was born in 1823 ; she died in Darke County in 1846 ; by this union 
were three children, viz.: Alfred, born July 4, 1842, and died Feb 21, 1862 ; 
Sarah born May 20, 1843— she married Leonard Shoutz ; she died in Lllmois, and 
Catherine A born Feb. 8, 1845. His second marriage was with Susanna Nys- 
onger, of Greene Co., Penn, Feb 2, 1848 ; she was born Sept. 29, 1826 ; by tins 
union were twelve children, three of whom died young— James A, bom Nov^ 1., 
1848, deceased; Margaret E, born Oct. 7, 1850; Anna E Dec 4 1852 ; Mary 
J Sept 24 1855; Lydia, March 16, 1858 ; Lucinda, Oct. 12, 1860 ; Isabelle, May 
20 1863 ; Evarilla M, Oct. 7, 1866, and John C, Oct, 11, 1871. 

ROBERT A. MORRISON, M. D, Beamsville ; was born in Franklin Co, 
Penn March 28 1832 ; his father, Aaron Morrison, married Nancy McClintock ; 
she resides in Piqua, Miami Co, Ohio ; he died in Darke Co, Dr. R. A. Morrison 



748 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

read medicine in Covington, Ohio, and in Gettysburg, Ohio, and graduated in 
Cincinnati, in the Ohio Medical College, in 1850; commenced the practice of 
medicine in Gettysburg, this county, where he practiced five years; moved to 
Laura, .Miami Co.; remained there two years; he then returned to Gettysburg ;; 
moved to Horatio, 1866, and to Stelvidio in 1868; on the 11th of June, 1872, he 
was thrown accidentally from his sulky, receiving almost fatal injury, causing 
paraplegia of his left side, from which he has not. nor will he recover, though in 
full possession of mind and memory, and good practice, having the confidence of 
the community and fraternity, and is in full membership in the Darke County Medical 
Society. He married Sarah A. Shade. March 15, 1859, at New Harrison ; she was 
born Jan. 27. 1 S:i7 ; by this union were six children, three of whom are deceased ; 
the living are Mary Alice, Robert Sheridan and Jim ; his second marriage was with 
Sarah liartel, Aug. 21, 1879 ; she was born April 2, 1844 ; her father, Jacob Hartel. 
Jr.. was born in Pennsylvania Aug. 14, 1802, and married Elizabeth Curtner ; she 
was born -June 24, 1802 ; he died Oct. 2, 1873 ; his father, Jacob Hartel, Sr., was 
born Oct. 5, 1770, and his wife, Elizabeth (Snavely), was born Oct. 18, 1778; his 
second wife was Catherine Spade ; she was born June 6, 1702 ; his third wife was 
Susanna Cooley, born April 12. 1701. This family was among the earliest settlers of 
Richland Township. See George Plessinger's biography, which appears in this work 

ELLEN PECK, widow of Charles L. Peck, M. D., deceased ; Sec. 32 ; P. (). 
Beamsville; he was born near Brighton, Aug. 25, 1837, and was a son of Lewis 
and Electa (Kelsey) Peck, who reside in Bloomfield, Conn.; Dr. Charles L. Peck, 
soon after he graduated, moved to Beamsville, Darke Co., and commenced the 
practice of medicine, which profession he followed with eminent success, and 
in all the walks of life, he was loved and esteemed for his gentlemanly deportment, 
kind and generous acts and energetic business enterprise, bj' which, in his short life, 
he accumulated and left to his devoted family a handsome competency ; he read 
medicine in Hartford, Conn., where he graduated May 11, 1857 ; besides his med- 
ical practice, he engaged in merchandising and farming ; he died Feb. 10, 1876, 
leaving for his family 200 acres of fine farming land, with good farm buildings, 40 
acres of which are adjoining the village of Beamsville, wherein he also owned two 
dwellings ; he married Ellen Brown, Aug. 21, 1850 ; she was born in Brownhelm. 
Loraine Co., Ohio, Sept. 9, 1841 ; her father, Jeremiah Brown, was born in New- 
York State, and married Bridget R, McLaughlin, daughter of Robert and Ellen 
McLaughlin, who came from Pennsylvania in 1824 ; Jeremiah Brown died April 
13, 1844 ; his widow, Ellen, married William Kelsey ; they reside in Richland 
Township; Mr. and Mrs. Dr. Peck have had three children by their union, viz.: 
Clifford Lewis, born Nov. 12, 1860 ; Rachael Edith, born June 19, 1865, and Frank- 
lin Orator. Nov. 16, 1871. 

GEORGE PLESSINGER, farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 22; P. O. Dawn; 
was born in Bedford Co., Penn., Dec. 15, 1815 ; his father, Philip, was born in 
Maryland, near Harper's Ferry, Feb. 18, 1784, and married Faith Fish ; she was 
born in New Jersey March 16, 1781 ; they moved to Montgomery Co., Ohio, in 
the fall of 1817. and to Darke Co. in March, 1820, and settled in Richland Town- 
ship ; he died July 4, 1861 ; she died in January, 1860. The subject of this 
sketch came here with his parents ; when they came there were but three white 
settlers in the township, viz., James Stephenson, David Riffle and Jacob Hartle. 
Mr. Plessinger's family endured all the privations and hardships of frontier pioneer 
life for many years ; wild animals and game were numerous and troublesome ; 
Mr. Plessinger was a successful hunter ; killed but one bear, but hundreds of deer, 
wild turkeys, etc. He has had his share of township offices. He married Mary Har- 
mon Nov. 1. 1842 ; she was born in May, 1821, in Adams Co., Penn., and came to 
Darke Co. with her uncle, Philip Hartzell. in 1836 ; they have had twelve children, 
viz.: Joseph IL, born Nov. 10, 1843, and died March' 1. 1849 ; Faith, born Sept. 
20, 1845, married George H. Winbigler ; Sarah J., born Dec. 20. 1847, married 
Oscar Davison ; Emma, born Dec. 18, 1849, married Walter Snyder; Anna M., 



RICHLAND TOWNSHIP. 749 

born Feb. 23, 1851 ; Lawson, born Feb. 19, 1853, died July, 1854 ; Almeda. born 
Dee. 28, 1854, died May 12. 1879 ; Lucy E., born Jan. 18, 1856, died Feb. 22, 
1860 ; George A., born Oct. 17, 1858 ; Phillip E., born Oct. 8, 1860 ; Ezra, born 
Feb. 16, 1864 ; Clara N., born July 28, 1866. He owns 200 acres and a good 
home. 

JOB M. SHAFER, farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 27 ; P. 0. Versailles ; was 
born in Bedford Co., Penn., Sept. 4, 1830 ; his father, John Shafer, was born in 
the same county, July 17, 1802, and married Dorothy Mann Feb. 24, 1824, of the 
same count}' ; she was born Feb. 20, 1804 ; his father, Sickfrit Shafer, was born 
in Virginia, and married Mary Hess ; Mrs. John Shafer' s father, Jacob Mann, was 
born July 27, 1763, and married Dorothy Hill June 13, 1786 ; she was born May 
2, 1761 ; Mr. Jacob Mann died Nov. 5, 1830 ; Dorothy, his wife, died Aug. 6, 
1845; John Shafer moved to Darke Co. in 1837; they had five children, viz.: 
Anna, born April 30, 1826, married Alexander B. Brandon ; Mary, born June 9, 
1828, died June 20, following ; Job M., the subject of this sketch ; Margaret, 
born Oct. 7, 1833 ; died Sept. 5, 1841, of the milk sickness, and Jacob, born 
Dec. 10, 1835, died Dec. 11, 1845. John, the father, resides where he first settled 
in Richland Township ; his wife died April 11, 1875. Job M., the subject of this 
sketch, has always followed farming on the old homestead, where he now resides ; 
he was elected Justice of the Peace in April, 1856, and served three years, and 
has been Township Trustee. He married Elizabeth Brandon March 20, 1851 ; 
she is the daughter of James R. Brandon, and was born in Darke Co. (see Alex- 
ander B. Brandon's biography in this work) Oct. 10, 1831 ; they have six children, 
viz.: Dennis, born Dec. 24, 1851 ; Margaret A, born March 11, 1855, married 
Cyrus White ; John C, born May 13, 1858 ; Allen W., born March 30, 1862 ; 
Mary, born March 24, 1866, and Bertha, born Jan. 31, 1872. He owns 263 acres 
of land and a good home. 

DAVID J. STAHL, farmer, Sec. 34 ; P. 0. Versailles ; was born in Adams 
Township, Darke Co., Ohio, Nov. 17, 1850, and is a son of Jacob K. and Sarah 
(Limber) Stahl ; he was born in Pennsylvania in 1812, and died in Greenville 
Township in November, 1861 ; she resides with her daughter, Mrs. John C. Hill, 
in Newton, Miami Co., Ohio ; he came to Darke Co. among the early settlers, with 
his father, Henry Stahl, therefore the family is identified among the first settlers 
of the county ; he was noted for his enterprise and industry ; he accumulated a 
large property ; at his death he owned the grist and saw mills, with 40 acres of 
land in Coletown, a large landed property in Greenville, 266 acres in Adams 
Township, and the homestead farm, where the subject of this sketch resides, in 
Richland Township. David J. has always followed farming, and has resided in 
this county, except six years, during which he worked his mother's land in Miami 
Co., Ohio. He married Sarah Curtis Aug. 19, 1872 ; she was born near Fredericks- 
burg, Miami Co., Ohio, July 16, 1850 ; her father, William Curtis, married Anna 
Feece ; she was born Jan. 7, 1832 ; they reside near Troy, Miami Co., Ohio. 
Mr. and Mrs. Stahl have three children, viz.: Leonia Belle, born Oct. 4, 1873 ; 
Daisy, born Dec. 6, 1875, and William Allen, born Oct. 14, 1877. He owns one- 
half of the homestead, containing 235 acres — the first land his father settled on in 
this county of his own. 

GEORGE H. WARVEL, farmer, Sec. 6 ; P. O. Beamsville ; was born in 
Rockingham Co., Va., July 27, 1829 ; his father, John Warvel, was born in the same 
county, May 29, 1798, and married Delilah Lepe, June 14, 1829 ; she also was born 
in the same place May 1 3, 1807, and resides with her son, the subject of this sketch ; 
they moved to this place in the fall of 1844 ; John Warvel died Jan. 31, 1866, and 
was always a strong, robust farmer up to a year or two before he died. The subject 
of this sketch has always pursued the avocation of farming, except for a short time 
he followed carpentering ; has been Trustee in this township, is a member of the 
order of A., F. & A. M. He married Mary Simes Nov. 6, 1856, daughter of Henry 
P. Simes, she was born Jan. 12, 1838, and died Aug. 17, 1865 ; by this union they 



750 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

had three children, viz.: William A., bom Sept. 2, 1857 ; two died in early infancy ; 
his second marriage was with Lizzie Hartzell, Nov. 22, 1866 ; she was daughter of 
George Eartzell, deceased, and born June 8, 1845, in this county, and died March 
16, 1868, leaving no issue living ; his third marriage was with Susan M. Earhart, 
April 24, 1870 ; she was born Nov. 28, 1840, and was sister of his second wife, 
Lizzie; she died Feb. 10, 1875 ; by this union two children were born, viz.: Lilley 
Bell, born April 11, 1871, and died March 3, 1878, and John H., born May 4, 
1872. Mr. Warvel owns 65 acres of land and a good home bordering Beamsville. 

DANIEL WARVEL, farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 32 : P. O. Beamsville ; was 
born in Warren Co.. Ohio, Sept. 5, 1834 ; his father, Christopher, was born in 
Rockingham Co., Ya., Feb. 27, 1796, and married Charlotte Lilly ; she was born in 
the same county June 4, 1799 ; he died March 18, 1851, and she died March 14, 
1855 ; they are buried in the cemetery on the old homestead on Sec. 13, in this 
township ; they moved from Virginia to Warren Co., Ohio, and thence to Mont- 
gomery^ Co., and came to Darke Co. about 1839 ; when they endeavored to buy 
something to eat, on their arrival in Warren Co., tlie}^ offered the last $5 they 
possessed, and found it to be counterfeit, consequently they began life in Ohio 
with nothing ; when they got to Darke Co. they had sufficient to buy their first 160 
acres in the woods ; they had nine children viz.: John H., William L., Sarah A., 
George C, Elizabeth, Mary, Adeline, deceased, Daniel and Margaret L. ; Sarah A. 
married D. R. Hathaway ; Elizabeth, Solomon Beam ; Mary, Daniel Hartzell ; Ade- 
line, Andrew Coppess, and Margaret married Linas Hathaway. The subject of 
this sketch was raised a farmer, and remained at home with his parents until his 
mother's decease, he then made a trip to Virginia, and worked at farming and 
miscellaneous employment, for wages, by the month ; at the age of 21, he bought 
40 acres, and began a home for himself ; has been honored with various township 
offices, was Township Clerk, Trustee, etc., was Justice of the Peace three years, and 
retired last spring. He married Catherine Ann Kay lor Jan. 1, 1856 ; she was 
born in Logan Co., Ohio, May 7, 1837 ; she died Feb. 3, 1857 ; they had one child, 
Joseph C, born Jan. 28, 1857 ; he is still living ; his second marriage was cele- 
brated March 21, 1858, with Sarah Powell ; she was born in Monroe Co., Ohio, 
Jan. 27, 1836 ; they have five children, viz.: Mary A., born Dec. 18, 1858, she mar- 
ried Abraham Eley ; Lucy E., born May 9, 1860 ; Laban, Dec. 10, 1861 ; Amos A., 
June 11, 1864, and Clement L., July 20, 1873. Mr. Warvel owns a good home and 
227 acres of land. 

JOHN B. WERTS, merchant and Postmaster at Dawn, Sec. 20 ; was born in 
Preble Co., Ohio, June 20, 1848 ; his father, William Werts, was born in Preble 
Co., Ohio, Dec. 25, 1826, and married Lydia Willson, who was born in Darke Co., 
June 20, 1827 ; he moved to Darke Co. in 1855, and engaged in coopering in this 
township ; Mrs. Lydia Werts died Nov. 21, 1878. John B., the subject of this 
sketch, commenced clerking, with Creager Brothers, in Horatio, Darke Co., at the 
age of 10 years, which he followed until he moved to this place, in April 1873, 
where he engaged in business on his own account ; he was appointed Postmaster 
Sept. 30. 1875, he is also express agent ; he was Township Clerk six years in York 
Township. He married Mary J. Winbigler of Brock, this county, Oct 15, 1872 . 
they have one child. Minnie Claudia, born Nov. 15, 1874. 



WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP. 751 



WASHINGTON TOWSHIP. 

PETER E. ARMSTRONG, farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 10 ; P. 0. Hill Grove ; 
was born in Greenville Township, Darke Co., Ohio, Nov. 21, 1831, and is the son 
•of John and Jane (Elston) Armstrong ; at the age of 18, he was living in Jackson 
Township, this county ; about that time the first church edifice was built there — a 
little log house, b} r the Methodists ; his early education was obtained in a very 
poor log hut, of small dimensions, but from his father he obtained good sound 
knowledge, as he was an educated gentleman before he emigrated into the wilder- 
ness ; he was an attorney at law, and in this county was Associate Judge of the 
Common Pleas a number of years, and Justice of the Peace twenty-four years 
he was one of the most highly respected and prominent men of the county during 
his lifetime. The subject of this sketch, Peter E., is Treasurer of this township ; 
has assessed the chattel property of this township five years : a Trustee, etc. ; is a 
strong Union man, and a Republican. He married Catherine Henning July 25. 
1851 ; she was born in Montgomery Co., Ohio, Nov. 22, 1830, and came to Darke 
Co. in her youth, with her parents, Jacob and Rebecca (Stiner) Henning ; they 
have four children, viz. : David, born Aug. 11, 1855 ; Sarah Jane, born Nov. 23, 
1856 ; she married Andrew C. Rickel ; Hugh Lincoln, born June 15, 1860, and 
Mary Isabelle, born Nov. 29, 1867. Mr. Armstrong owns 148 acres, where he has 
resided twenty-four years ; this he has procured by his own unaided efforts and 
self-reliance ; himself and wife are members of the German Baptist Church. 

ANDREW BICKEL, farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 15 ; P. 0. Hill Grove ; was 
born in Brush Valley, Centre Co., Penn., Sept. 2, 1805 ; moved to Montgomery Co., 
Ohio, with his parents in 1811. His father, Andrew Bickel, was born in Pennsyl- 
vania, and married Catherine Gloss, born also in Pennsylvania ; he died in St. 
Joseph Co., Ind., in 1854, and she died here on Sec. 15 in 1858; he was drafted in 
the war of 1812, but hired a substitute. Andrew, the subject of this sketch, 
moved to this place, where he now resides, March 2, 1831, having entered 80 acres 
in August before ; he built his cabin of logs in the woods, without windows or 
doors, but in the fall he procured a plank, of which he made a door, using wooden 
pins for nails, being too poor to buy nails, or latch, or hinges, but his latch-string 
has always been out for a friend ; in 1838, he built a hewed-log house and weather- 
boarded it ; in this he still resides, a good, warm, substantial habitation ; he sold 
forty bushels of corn of his own raising for 25 cents a bushel, and every year since 
has had corn to sell ; and in the early days he never refused a neighbor a sack 
of corn whether he had the money or not ; in the first twelve years alone he cleared 
50 acres ; after that his boys were old enough to help him, and thej" did. He 
married Nancy Moyer Ma}' 30, 1830 ; she was born in Rockingham Co., Va., Aug, 
27, 1810. Mr. and Mrs. Bickel have had ten children, viz. : Henry, born Jan. 2. 
1831 ; John, bom Feb. 23, 1832 ; William, born Oct. 10, 1833, died Nov. 22, 1853 : 
Catherine, born Feb. 9, 1839 ; Daniel, born Oct. 21. 1837 ; Sally, born Dec. 2, 1839. 
died March 30, 1843 ; Elizabeth, born Jan. 3. 1842 ; Abigail, born Jan. 19, 1844. 
died March 20, 1853 ; Mary, born April 25, 1847, died May 21, 1847, and Andrew, 
born June 15, 1852. Catherine married Henry Blocher ; Elizabeth married John 
J. Norris. Mr. Bickel is hale and hearty, and says at the age of 60 he could cut 
and split from the stump 200 rails, or cut and put up two cords of hard wood in a 
day. He voted for Andrew Jackson in 1832. He now owns the old homestead 
of 120 acres, where he resides. 

DANIEL W. BICKEL, farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 17 ; P. O. Hill Grove ; 
was born in Clermont Co., Ohio, Nov. 11, 1838, and is the eldest son of Tobias 
Bickel, of Sec. 18, Washington Township, who was born in Centre Co., Penn., May 



f52 BIOGRAPHTCAL SKETCHES: 

c. 1811, and married Elizabeth McAdams, of Hamilton Co., Ohio, in June, 1837 
she was bora in that county Nov. 15, 1815. Tobias Bickel moved to where he 
now resides in 1848 : he followed teaming in Cincinnati until he was 25 years of 
age : he had no advantages for an education in his youth, but has given all his 
children good opportunities, which they have improved ; they have had eleven chil- 
dren, viz. : Daniel, Margaret. Hamilton A.. Sarah lv. deceased ; Catherine, deceased : 
John .1.. Nancy J., Joseph, Elijah. Stephen R., deceased, and Marcus P. Mr. T. 
Bickel has been a successful and thrifty farmer ever since he came to Darke Co.. 
and owns, free and clear. 240 acres, which he has redeemed from a wilderness of 
swamps, by open and blind ditching, as well as clearing of heavy timber. The 
subject of this sketch, at the age of 20. commenced teaching school, and followed 
it four years ; has been Assessor of the township for two years, and Clerk one 
year. He married Rebecca Chenoweth, daughter of John Chenoweth. deceased. 
of this township. Sept. 28, 18G1 ; she was born May 25, 1838. They have had 
three children, viz.: the first died unnamed ; John H., born Oct. 29, 1863, and Ira 
E., born Feb. 28, 1866. He owns a tine home and 15G acres of land : himself and 
wife are members of the Methodist Church. 

HENRY M. BICKEL, farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 8 ; P. 0. Hill Grove ; 
was born Jan. 2, 1831, in Montgomery County. Ohio, and came with his parents 
to Darke County in April following ; his father, Andrew Bickel, was born in 
Centre Count}', Penn., Sept. 2, 1805, and married Nancy Moj'er, who was born in 
Virginia Aug. 27, 1810 ; both, hale and hearty, are now living on the farm they 
bought in 1830, at that time in an unbroken wilderness, in Washington Township, 
though they experienced all the hardships and privations so well known to all the 
early settlers of this portion of Ohio, but now, instead of the wilderness, amid the 
most fertile and productive agricultural land of the State, Henry M., the subject of 
this sketch, has owned the farm (234 acres) where he lives twentj'-three years ; 
this also has he redeemed from wilderness and swamps to bountiful productive- 
ness, being among, if not the very first man to £i blind tile," which is the making 
of the fine farms in Darke County ; now he is surrounded by abundance and com- 
fort ; at 21 years, he was not worth a dollar, and possesses to-day the first silver 
dollar that he earned, by cutting eight cords of hardwood. June 12, 1856, he 
married Mary Crumrine ; she was born in Darke County July 8, 1839 ; they have 
had six children, viz., John C., Lucy C. (deceased), Mary A., Dora (deceased), 
Harrison C. and Henry I. 

SAMUEL W. BLOCKER, farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 23 ; P. O. Greenville ; 
is the youngest son of Samuel Blocher, of Washington Township, and was born in 
this township Oct. 20, 1845 ; was raised a farmer, and has continued to follow 
it successfully, and has just erected for himself one of the finest brick residences 
in this count}'. He married Catherine M. Glunt. daughter of Joseph Glunt, 
deceased ; they have three children, viz. : Ira. born July 22, 1873 ; Hugh, Feb. 12. 
1876 ; and Myrtle, Aug. 6, 1878. Mr. B. owns 183 acres of fine farming land 
adjoining the homestead of his father. 

THOMAS F. CHENOWETH. farmer and brickmason, Sec. 32 ; P. O. Darke ; 
was born in Franklin County, Ohio, July 17, 1808 ; his father, John Chenoweth, 
was bom in Virginia, and married Betsey Foster; she was born in Maryland July 
16, 1788 ; he died in Tippecanoe County. Ind.. in 1865 ; she died in Darke Count}-, 
Ohio, in ISTCi ; the family moved to this section in February. 1818. (See biog- 
raphy of Jacob B. Chenoweth.) The subject of this sketch attended school with 
about an equal number of white and colored children, as the Clemens (colored) 
settlement was made soon after they moved here ; up to the age of 21, Mr. 
Chenoweth followed farming, then learned the brickmason's trade, which, with 
farming, he has ever since followed ; w:is elected Justice of the Peace in 1852. and 
served until 1879 (twenty-seven years). He married Christina Thomas Nov. 10, 
1831 ; she was born in Anderson County. Tcnn., Feb. 1, 1810 ; her father. John 
Thomas, married Catherine Albright Oct. 31. I7!»it : she was born March 14. 1784 : 



WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP. 753 

both were born in North Carolina and died in Preble Comity, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. 
Chenoweth have had the following children, viz., Lewis A., born Aug. 6, 1832, 
died April 4. 1836 ; John, born Nov. 19, 1833 ; Louisa, Dec. 16, 1835 ; Nelson T., 
Oct. 8, 1837; Emeline. Dec. 7, 1839, died Feb. 18. 1840 ; Catherine, born Jan. 13, 
1S43 ; Joel T., Dec. 29, 1844 ; Mary Jane, Sept. 18, 1848 ; and Benjamin F.. Sept, 
27. 1852 ; Louisa married Milton Jefferis, Catherine married Daniel Clapp. Mary 
Jane married George McClure. In the winter of 1830 and 1831, Mr. Chenoweth 
hauled with a four-horse team out of Greenville all the wheat that was marketed 
there at that time, i. e., two loads a day, twenty-five bushels to the load ; it was 
sold for 374; cents per bushel in merchandise. He owns a good farm of 160 

£LCI*6S 

JACOB B. CHENOWETH, farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 17 ; P. 0. Hill Grove ; 
was born in Pike Co., Ohio, Ma}' 13, 1824, and came with his parents to Washing- 
ton Township, where he now resides, in December. 1829 ; his father, John Cheno- 
weth, was born in Pike Co., Ohio, Nov. 7, 1797, and is said to be the first white 
child born on the Scioto River in that county ; he married Mary E. Barger April 
13, 1820 ; she was born in Virginia in 1797 ; her father, Jacob Barger, was born 
March 13, 1769, and married Susan Barger, who was born in Germany ; he died 
Sept. 7, 1822, and she died Oct. 24, 1845. Jacob B., the subject of this sketch, 
began life poor ; he worked for small wages, farming up to 1850 ; his limited educa- 
tion he procured here in a hut built of round logs, small and so low a big boy 
could barely stand upright ; in place of glass window-lights was greased white 
paper, through which only dim knowledge could be obtained. He married Sarah 
Wagemon Sept. 10, 1857 ; she was born in Darke Co., Sept. 8, 1837 ; her father, 
William Wagemon, was born in Pennsylvania, and married Mary Baker, of Virginia ; 
he died in Wabash Co., Ind.,in the winter of 1867 ; she died in Randolph Co., Lid., 
in March, 1876. Mr. and Mrs. Chenoweth have four children, viz.. John W., born 
Sept. 6, 1858; Mary A., Oct. 21, 1860 ; Flora J., March 30, 1863; and Ira 0., 
March 15, 1874. He owns 100 acres and a good home ; he has been Supervisor, 
Trustee, School Director, etc., but has never aspired to public office. 

JOSEPH COLE, Jr., retired farmer, Sec. 33; P.O. Darke; was born in 
Washington Township, Darke Co., Dec. 29, 1823 : at the age of 17, he began 
teaching school in the first schoolhouse erected in Washington Township, and fol- 
lowed teaching most of the time until he was 30 years old ; he built and managed 
a saw-mill about three years ; he went into merchandising in Coletown and 
followed it four years ; he since has followed dealing in live-stock and farming ; he 
has never been a political aspirant ; he is now Secretary of the Darke Count}* Pioneer 
Society. His father, Samuel Cole, was born in Sussex Co., N. J., July 3, 1787, 
and married Mary Elston, of the same county, in 1812 ; she was born Nov. 27, 
1792 ; his father, Samuel Cole, was born on the Hudson River, near New York City, 
Nov. 5, 1751. He first married Janey Davis ; she was born Jul}* 2, 1755 ; his second 
wife was Anna Rider ; she was born Oct. 25, 1760 ; his father was David Cole, a 
descendant of the Coles who were among the first settlers of New York City or 
New Amsterdam ; Samuel Cole, the father of the subject of this sketch, moved to 
Washington Township in March, 1817 ; his father came the next year and died here 
Jan. 8, 1829 ; Samuel, father of Joseph, the subject of this sketch, died in Greenville 
Township, this county, Feb. 21, 1866 ; he was a farmer but taught the first school 
in Washington Township ; he was the first Justice of the Peace, and was Township 
Clerk in 1823; his widow Mary, died Aug. 10, 1831 ;they had eight children, viz.: 
William, born July 25, 1813, in New Jersey, died April 3. 1836 ; Asa. born July 
26, 1815, in New Jersey, died May 29, 1857^ Jane, born April 20, 1817 ; the fir<=t 
white child born in Washington Township ; she married Leonard Wintermute. and 
now resides in Greenville Township ; Betsey, born March 23, 1819, died Feb. 6, 
1872 ; she married George Fllston, deceased ; Samuel, born April 5, 1821 ; Joseph, 

Dec. 29, 1823; Policy,- 18, 1826, died Sept. 25. 1831, and Henry. June 20, 

1829; he is a Christian minister and resides in Kansas. Joseph, the subject of 



754 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

this sketch, married Sarah Ann Shively April 6, 1850 ; she is the daughter of 
Daniel Shively, and was born May 14, 1831 ; they have had seven children, viz.: 
Arthur born Jan. 18, 1851, died .March 16, 1852 ; Wallace S.. bora April 6, 1853 ; 
Flora A., born March 20, 1855 ; she married P>. F. Chenoweth ; William H., born 
Dec. 10, 1859 ; Mary C. born April 23, 1802 ; Charlie W., born Oct. 12, 1800, and 
Benjamin F., Nov. 12, 1874. 

JAMES B. CREVISTON, school teacher, Sec. 4; P. O. Hill Grove; was 
born in Washington Township. Darke Co., Ohio, Jan. 17, 1820. His lather. Henry 
Creviston, was born in Bedford Co.. Penn., in February. 1780, and married Mary 
Burnham, of North Carolina ; they moved to Darke Co., Ohio, in 1808, and settled 
near Greenville ; he mainly followed farming, but was a noted hunter, as game 
was abundant and the country a dense forest; he was in the war of 1812, and 
acted as scout for Gen. William H. Harrison, from Ft. Greenville to Tippecanoe 
and other points in the Northwest, among the Indians ; he died in September, 
1855 ; his wife survived him until Februar}-, 1805. James B. Creviston com- 
menced teaching school at Hill Grove, wdiere he now resides, in 1840, and has con- 
tinued up to this time, within the four adjoining districts, and is now the oldest 
native teacher in the county, and if not the first, he was the second, white child 
born in this township. In April, 1801, he enlisted in Co. 1, 11th 0. Y. I. ; went out 
as first Lieutenant, and on Sept. 9, following, was appointed Adjutant of the 40th 
Ohio Regiment under Col. Jonathan Cranor, and served until discharged, on 
account of inflammatory rheumatism ; he was commissioned Captain of Co. G. of 
the 193d Ohio Regiment of Infantry in February, 1805, and served until the sur- 
render of all the rebel armies ; was mustered out in September, 1805. He married 
Maiy Older Aug. 29, 1849 ; she was born in this township Sept. 23, 1849 ; they 
have had four children, viz., Kate, born Jul}' 1, 1851 (she married Henry Cook) ; 
Bruce, born Sept. 20, 1859 (died Nov. 7, 1800) ; Johnny, born Oct. 18, 1807 (died 
Aug. 21, 1808) ; and Mary Agnes, born July 22, 1872. Himself and wife are 
members of the Presbyterian Church ; in politics, he is a Republican. 

JOHN FLORY, farmer and stock-raiser. Sec. 9 ; P. O. Hill Grove ; was born 
in Palestine, Darke Co., Ohio, Oct. 21, 1841. His father, Daniel Flory, was born 
in Montgomery Co., Ohio May 13, 1817, and came with his parents to German 
Township, in Darke Co.. in his youth ; he learned the tinner's trade, and was the 
first, and for many years the only tinner in Washington Township, which was his 
principal business during life. He died on his homestead in Sec. 10, Washington 
Township. Nov. 4, 1873, where he owned 182 acres of land. He married Eliza 
Wise, of Darke Co., who died about 1849 ; by this marriage were six children, all 
of whom are now living. His second marriage was with Elizabeth Morgan, of 
Maryland, in December, 1851, by whom were nine children, three of whom only are 
living — John Flory learned the tinner's trade also, which he followed only for a 
short time, giving his attention mainly to farming ; he married Rebecca Friend 
Oct. 19, 1805 ; she was born in Darke Co., Ohio June 15, 1849; they have six 
children, viz., Rachel, born Oct. 30, 1867 ; Emma, born Nov. 13. 1870 ; Sirrilda, 
born July 20, 1872; Sarah, born May 20, 1874 ; Jesse, born Sept. 15, 1876, and 
Joseph E., born Aug. 5, 1878. He owns 73 acres of land ; Mr. and Mrs. Flory 
belong to the German Baptist Church, of which he is a Deacon. 

ELIZABETH (CRUMRINE) GLUNT, widow of Joseph Glunt deceased, 
Sec. 17 ; P. 0. Union City, Ind. Her husband, Joseph Glunt, was born June 5, 
1822, and departed this life May 1, 1878, after a lingering illness, which he bore 
with patience and Christian fortitude ; he had been a member of the German 
Baptist Church for seventeen years. They commenced life in a very poor little 
log hut, which now stands in the rear of the pleasant home, and is used as ;i 
stable. The gentlemen and ladies of to-day would hardly desire to make such a 
beginning, but from such beginnings have grown all the wealth and prosperity of 
this countiy. This hut was erected in the wilderness, but is now surrounded by 
beautiful and productive farms. Mr. Glunt. when married, had only a cow, two 



WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP. 755 

horses and a few farming tools, thus showing what untiring industry and indom- 
itable will will accomplish. The farm consists of 427 acres of excellent land. 
Mr. Grlunt married Elizabeth Crumrine, daughter of Moses Crumrine, one of the 
earliest settlers of this county, June 7, 1849 ; she was born in Darke Co., Ohio, 
July 22, 1832 ; they have had five children, viz.: Catherine M., born March 21, 
1850 ; she married Samuel W. Blocker ; Mary E., born Sept. 18, 1852 ; she mar- 
ried Samuel Mote ; Isaac N., born Sept. 18. 1856 ; Harrison, July 11, 1863, died 
Aug. 27. 1863. and Harvey M.. born Dec. 11, 1864. 

FREDRICK HOUPT, retired farmer, Sec. 33 ; P. 0. Darke, Ohio ; was born 
in Lebanon Co., Penn., Aug. 10, 1814 ; his father, Fredrick Houpt, was born in 
Schivylkill Co., Penn. The subject of this sketch, at the age of 12, went to work 
on a farm and worked five years for his board and clothes ; he then learned the 
cooper's trade ; moved to Dayton, Ohio, in 1833, worked at farming in summer 
and in winter at his trade ; in the spring of 1846, he moved to where he now 
resides ; the first land he owned was 25 acres, which he bought in the wilderness 
in the eastern part of Darke County, for $275 ; he sold it for $1,000 in 1856. He 
married Sarah Wilds April 2. 1844 ; she was born in Ohio, Aug. 16, 1815, and 
died Feb. 7. 1879 ; they have had four children, viz.: a little boy, died unnamed ; 
John, born Feb. 16, 1849, died Nov. 5, 1869 ; David, born Nov. 4, 1851, and Sarah 
Ann, Dec. 27, 1854 ; she married Calvin Young ; David resides at home ; he 
married Almira Heck April 10, 1873 ; she was born in German Township, Darke 
Co., March 28, 1855, and died March 30, 1876 ; they had one boy, William F., 
born Nov. 19, 1873, died Feb. 6, 1875. His second marriage was with Phoebe 
Rodgers. Dec. 26. 1878 ; she was born in Washington Township April 21, 1858. 
Fredrick Houpt owns a good home and 623 acres of land, and other good houses 
and buildings. 

SAMUEL HUFFER, farmer, Sec. 2 ; P. O. Hill Grove, Ohio ; who is a son 
of Jacob and Barbara (Bechtel) Hnffer ; was born in Mainland, Sept. 24, 1799 ; 
the father moved to Montgomery Co., Ohio, in the fall of 1830, and to Darke 
County in 1838, to Harrison Township ; in 1844, they moved to where a portion 
of the family now reside, in Sec. 2. Washington Township ; he died Feb. 15, 1873; 
his widow, Catherine, died Feb. 16, 1879; they had seven children, viz.: Aaron, 
born April 19. 1830 ; Jacob. Jan. 6, 1832, deceased ; Elizabeth, born Dec. 19, 
1834, deceased; Samuel (the subject of this sketch), born March 31, 1836; 
Reuben, April 13, 1839 ; Magdalena, July 13, 1844 ; she married Jonathan Hart; 
and Malinda, born June 7. 1846 ; he followed farming during his lifetime ; two of 
his sons, Aaron and Samuel, and son-in-law, J. Hart, established a tile factory on 
the old homestead in 1874, where they are turning out large quantities of tiie of 
excellent quality. Aaron and Samuel remain unmarried and live in their paternal 
residence with Howard and Rebecca Hart, and own 200 acres of land which their 
father and his sons have converted from a wilderness to fine productive meadows 
and fields ; their first residence here cost, erected and covered. $6, which exhausted 
their exchequer ; in this they resided four years ; in 1852, the present home was 
built ; all the privations and hardships of pioneer life have been experienced b} r 
this family. Elizabeth Hurler married Ambrose Green, whose daughter, Rebecca 
A. (born June 19. 1858). married Charles H. Hart, born in Berks Co.. Penn.. July 
11, 1855 ; they have one child. Mary Myrtle Hart, born July 1, 1879. 

ISAAC KAUCHER, farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 9 ; P. O. Hill Grove; was 
born in Patter's Township. Center Co.. Penn., Sept. 17, 1805 ; went with his parents 
to Montgomery Co., Ohio, in 1808 ; his father. Godfrey Kaucher, was born in Berks 
Co., Penn., Sept. 1, 1774, and married Christina Fay ; she was born in the same 
county Aug. 14. 177:! : he died Nov. 13. 1850. and she died April 13. 1855; both 
are buried on the old homestead. The family moved to Washington Township, 
Darke Co., in 1831 ; in his early days, Godfrey Kaucher followed milling, but, after 
he came here, farming. Isaac, the subject of this sketch, obtained only three 
months' schooling in his youth, and then in a German school ; previous to 1830, 



756 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

he followed distilling; ever sinew lias followed farming. Be married Welshes 
Miller Dec. 30, 1835; she was horn in Tompkins Co., X. V.. Feb. 29, 1820; they 
have five children, viz. : Margaret, born Oct. 23, 1836; she married Alfred Bliccard; 
Elizabeth, Aug. 3, 1838; Washington, Oct. 17. 1840; Sarah. .March 27, 1843; 
John. -Inly 14, 1845. -John, the youngest, resides with his parents, and married 
Sarah Emrich Sept. 6, 1868; she is deceased, leaving two children -Cora and 
Isaac. Mr. Kaucher owns '.)."> acres of land and a good home. 

MICHAEL KAUCHER, farmer mid stock-raiser, Sec. 9 ; P. 0. Hill Grove ; 
was born in Montgomery Co., Ohio, A.ug. 13, 1813 ; has always followed farming: 
never attended any but a German school; his father, Godfrey Kaucher, was born 
in Berks Co., Penn., Sept. 1, 1774, and married Christina, Fay, who was born in 
the same county Aug. 14. 177)5 ; they moved to Montgomery Co.. Ohio, in 1808, 
and to Washington Township, Darke Co., in 1831 ; he died Nov. 13, 1850, and she 
died April 13, 1855 ; both are buried on the old homestead in Sec. ; they had 
nine children, viz., Jacob (deceased). Hannah (deceased), Elizabeth (she married 
William Oswald), Abraham, Isaac, Joseph, Christina, Michael and Rebecca; the 
three last are living on the old homestead. In his early days. Michael was quite 
a hunter of wild game, which was very abundant; he has killed, probably, fifty 
deer, and great numbers of wild turkeys and smaller game ; he owns the old home- 
stead, 91 acres, and a good home. 

JAMES McNEIL, merchant, Justice of the Peace and Postmaster, Sec 
34; residence. Darke; was born in Breckenridge Co.. Ky., Sept. 1 1835: 
moved to Darke Co.. Ohio, with his parents, in 1844 ; from 1856 to 1862, he fol- 
lowed school- teaching, then went into merchandising where lie now resides, in Sec. 
:!4 : in 1864, he volunteered for 100-days service in 152d 0. N. G. ; after render- 
ing his faithful and loyal service to his country, through much tribulation, he was 
honorably discharged ; he returned to his home and resumed his business ; was 
appointed Postmaster April 9, 1875, and elected Justice of the Peace in April. 
1879. He married Mary liarter Oct. 15, 1861 ; she was born in Darke Co., Ohio, 
April 6. 1843 ; they have had four children, viz.: William H., born March 23, 1862, 
died Feb. 6, 1868 ; Viola, June 14, 18G7 ; David R., Jan. 3, 1869; Linna May. 
Oct. 14, 1S73. David G. McNeil, father of the subject of this sketch, was born in 
Lancaster Co., Penn., in 1796, and his mother, Harriet (Lav) McNeil, in Fairfax 
Co.. Va.. .March 8. 1808. 

JAMES X. MORRISON, Justice of the Peace and farmer, Sec. 4 ; P.O. Hill 
Grove, lie was born in Montgomery Co.. Ohio. July 28, 1834, and moved 
to Darke Co. with his parents in 1S41 ; his father, Nathaniel Morrison, was born 
in Virginia, and his mother, Catherine (Ludy) Morrison, in Maryland; they first 
settled iii Butler 'Township ; in 1863, James X. moved to Hill Grove and entered 
into general merchandising business ; sold out in the fall of 1865 and went into 
the live-stock business, which he followed two years, then went to farming and 
huckstering; at this time, in addition to his official duties, he gave his attention to 
farming; he was elected .Justice of the Peace in April. 1871; was appointed 
Postmaster at Hill Grove Feb. 2!!, 1S77. lie is a member of the church of United 
Brethren in Christ. Now 1. 1857, he was married to Amanda Nyswonger, daugh- 
ter of Daniel Nyswonger. of Butler Township, this county, and lias had ten chil- 
dren, viz., Frank D. John H. M.. Laura A.. Floretta I* 1 ., Charles Iv. Emma F. 
William G., James E. (deceased). Myrtle M. and George. 

HENRY SNELL, retired farmer. Sec. 27; P. 0. Darke. He was born in 
Hamilton Co., Ohio, Jan. 14, 1812; his father. .John Snell, was horn in Hag 
town. >bi.. in 1782, and married Mary Shivery, of Pennsylvania ; they moved to 
Washington Township, Darke Co., June I. 1817, making the first wagon track on 
the wesl side of the second branch of Greenville Creek, from south of what is 
now Nashville to "Sharp Eye;" the country was nil wilderness, and ibr six months 
Mrs. Snell never saw the face n{' a white woman, but Indians were numerous, and 
wild game of every description ; deer were more plenty than sheep are to-day : 



WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP. 757 

the first schoolhouse bad yet to be built, and for man}' years the first elements of 
education were bard to obtain. The subject of this sketch cast his first vote in 
Washington Township for Andrew Jackson, but ever since has voted on the Repub- 
lican side ; he began life with nothing, learned early the cooper's trade, and com- 
menced the business on his own account in 1831 ; followed it about fourteen years, 
until his health failed him, then he went to buying and selling live stock and farm- 
ing ; but for the last twenty years, he has rented out hisf arms and speculated in 
lands and houses. He married Mary Shively Sept. 11, 1836 ; she was born on 
Sec. 27. where they reside, Aug. 24, 1S18 ; they never had an}- children of their 
own, but have raised two sets, all of whom are doing well in business, and are well 
settled in independent circumstances ; Mr. Snell owns 438 acres, with good farm- 
houses and outbuildings. 

DANIEL SNELL, retired farmer, Sec. 28 ; P. 0. Darke. He was born in 
Warren Co.. Ohio, March 1, 1809, and moved with his parents, John and Mary 
(Shively) Snell, to the place where they now reside, June 4, 1817 ; they at once 
erected a log house, 18x20 feet, of round logs, with mother earth for the fioor ; the 
following winter, twenty persons found cover and home in this hut, not very com- 
fortably, either, especially after the old sow and her pigs were given quarters in 
one corner, to keep them from freezing ; four or five years later, they erected a 
more eligible house by adding another room ; Daniel Snell resides near the spot 
where they first settled. He married Maria Rush Nov. 8. 1834 ; she was born in 
a block-house or stockade on Mud Creek, three miles from Greenville, in this count}-. 
in May. 1813 ; her father and mother. Henry and Rachel (Creviston) Rush, came 
from Pennsylvania and settled on the Scioto River, and moved to Darke Co. in 
1808 ; she died March 14. 1852 ; Mr. and Mrs. Snell have had six children, viz.: 
Mary E., born Sept. 4, 1835, married Randolph Harrison ; Thomas R.. born July 
21, 1837, died March 5, 1852 ; Alonzo Y., born Feb. G. 1839, died March 9, 1872 : 
William H, born March 16, 1841, died in November, 1863; Rachel J., born Dec. 
17, 1844, married William Moyer, and John R.. born Oct. IS, 1850 ; he married 
Margaret E. Wenger, youngest child of Elias and Catherine Wenger, Oct. 26, 1872 ; 
she was born in this township Dec. 19, 1850 ; they live in the old homestead, and 
have four children, viz.: Estella, born July 26,. 1873 ; Katie M.. born May 5. 1S75 : 
Walter W., born Nov. 21, 1876, and Jennie, born Feb. 17. 1878 ; they own the first 
farm her father bought and part of the first his grandfather bought in Darke Co. — 
113 acres. 

THOMAS E. TEAL, grocer, Sec. 4 ; P. O. Hill Grove ; was born in Wabash Co.. 
Ind., May 6, 1837, and moved to this township in 1858 ; was raised a farmer, but 
has followed the grocery business from the time he moved to this county ; is and 
has been four years County Coroner ; was Postmaster many years, and is now- 
acting deputy ; the office is and has been in his store about twelve years : has 
been School Director a number of years, also railroad and express agent : when 
a boy in Wabash Co.. Ind.. his nearest neighbors and playmates were Indians ; thus 
fresh in his memory are the recollections of border life, the games, sports, and 
turbulence of semi-civilization ; his father, Walter Teal, settled there, on Eel River, 
in 1836 ; he was born in Vermont Dec. 11, 1784, and married Rebecca Stephenson, 
of Fairfield Co., Ohio (where she was born Jan. 7. 1807) ; he died Dec. 11, 1844 — 
she March 23, 1S78. Thomas E. Teal married Ellen Crouse, of Darke Co., Ohio. 
Feb. 1, 1862 ; she died Jan. 8, 1864. leaving one daughter, Olive R. ; his second 
marriage was with Lucetta Heckerman. of the same place (Hill Grove) Feb. 27. 
1868. 

CAPT. JAMES M. WHITE, farmer and school-teacher ; P. O. Mt. Heron ; 
born in Paterson, N. J.. March 11, 182S : when quite young, he emigrated with his 
parents to Kentucky, and in 1840 came to Ohio and located, in Ross Co. and com- 
pleted his education in the high school at Chillicothe, and the Academies at 
Lebanon and Delaware ; at 2<> years of age. lie engaged in school-teaching, which 
profession he followed until July. 1862, when he enlisted in the 91st O. A*. I. and 



758 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

went forward to battle for the Union ; he served through the campaign of Wes1 
Virginia ; after which he served under Gen. Sheridan during the campaign of the 
Shenandoah Valley, and was mustered out of service as Captain of Co. F of the 
above regiment, al Cumberland, Md., in July, 1865, having served in the Union 
army three years ; he then returned to Ross Co. and followed farming and school- 
teaching two years, and after a residence of five } T ears in Clinton Co. came to 
Darke Co. in 1872, purchased a farm in Washington Township, and has since 
devoted his attention to farming and school-teaching. In 1874, he organized the 
Mt. Heron National Guards, which formed a part of the 3d Regiment; was elected 
( laptain, which office he held until 1879, when, on account of physical disability, he 
received an honorable discharge. In 1854, he was united in marriage with Rachel 
A., daughter of John Chenoweth, one of the early pioneers of Darke Co. ; they 
have five children now living, having lost three by death ; the living are Mary. 
Jane. Annie, Elizabeth and Thomas ; the deceased were Alice, Sarah and Lucina. 
JAMES M. WASSON, farmer. Sec. 7 ; P. 0. Union City, Ind. ; was born in 
Butler Co., Ohio, Jan. 19, 1811 ; came with his parents to Darke Co. in 1816. His 
father, David Wasson, married Flora Graham in Pennsylvania; both were natives 
of Ireland ; when they moved to Darke Co. there were very few whites here, but a 
great man}- friendly Indians ; the country a wilderness and swamps ; their currency, 
mostly hoop-poles and the skins and pelts of wild animals, which were abundant ; 
and Mr. J. M. Wasson, the subject of this sketch, became a great hunter; three 
large black bears and many a noble buck and doe, and smaller game too numerous 
to remember, have succumbed to his unerring rifle ; his first 40 acres he bought 
from the Government, and paid for it with the proceeds from furs and pelts of his 
own killing ; this land has never changed title, and he owns altogether 200 acres ; 
at the age of 25, he could neither read nor write, but began then to educate him- 
self, and soon obtained sufficient for all ordinary business affairs. He married 
Christina Hover July 14, 1835 ; she was born in Pendleton Co., Va., March 14, 
1816 ; they have had seven children, viz., Mary Ann, David F., deceased ; Luther 
N., deceased ; Peter C, Flora J. and Elizabeth A. Mr. and Mrs. Wasson are 
and have been members of the Presbyterian Church for forty years. 



PATTERSON TOWNSHIP. 

JOHN DAY, farmer, Sec. 17 ; P. 0. Willow Dell. Solomon Day, the father of 
John, was born in Loudoun Co., Ya., on the 17th day of December, 1812 ; he moved 
with his parents to Penns3*lvania when about 3 } T ears of age, after which he came 
with his parents to Belmont Co., Ohio, in the year 1828, where he remained about 
two years, thence with his parents to Darke Co., in 1832 ; he then went to Piqua, 
Miami Co.. and drove team for David Jordon, drawing crockeiy and building stone 
for one }'ear, after which he returned home ; he was united in marriage with Sarah 
Myers, in Shelby Co., near Houston. Dec 4, 1834 ; she was born in Miami Co. Aug 
I. L816 ; he then moved upon his father-in-law's place and farmed one season, 
during which time he entered 4o acres in Darke Co., Patterson Township ; this was 
in the 3'ear 1835; he then erected a nice little cabin, and moved into it in the 
spring of 1836; tapped a few sugar trees and went to his father-in-law's, Leaving 
hi- brave wife and one child in charge of the cabin ; she tended the sugar cam}' 
while he was away through the week, and on Saturday nights he would return am! 
boil sugar water : this lie continued to do for about three weeks, the distance being 
ten miles of which he would walk home Saturday night and return Sunday morn- 
ing, and for the fruits ^l' this labor, their sirup and sugar that they made was 
equal to the best in the State ; his industrious and hard-working wife cleared off, 
made and planted garden in his absence ; they remained on this place some fifteen 



PATTERSON TOWNSHIP. 759 

years, meeting with good success, and in 1848 he bought 85 acres in Sec. 17, in the 
same township, where he built a hewed-log house, his wife helping him to saw out the 
windows and doors, and also to clear off a garden spot, moving into the house in 
April, 1851 ; while raising his house, he came very near being killed by falling 
from the top joist to the ground below ; in this house he continued to live until his 
death, which occurred June 13, 1872, with cerebro-spinal meningitis ; Mr. and Mrs. 
Day passed through the many struggles, trials and incidents common to pioneer life ; 
was a member of the Christian Church some thirteen years, and lived a devoted 
and consistent Christian till the angel of death came and relieved him of this 
earthly tenement ; Mrs. Day is still living in the old home farm, enjoying good health, 
and is 63 years of age ; nine children was the fruit of this union, of which four are 
living, viz.: Rhoda, born May 27, 1837, now Mrs. J. W. Puterbaugh ; May J., born 
May 29, 1839, now Mrs. S. J. Hixon ; John, born Feb. 17, 1849, and Solomon J., 
born Jan. 13, 1857 ; Mr. Day had his full share of offices, being Justice of the Peace 
for nine years : Township Clerk one year ; Treasurer one year, and Trustee one 
year. Our subject was born in Darke Co. on the 17th day of February, 1849, and 
lived with his parents and worked on the farm and attended the district school in 
the winter till he was 16 years of age, after which he did not attend school but 
four days, but by his own exertions has obtained a good common-school education ; 
he continued to work at home until he was 21 years of age, and at that time he 
came to the conclusion to remain on the home farm, where he has since lived ; he 
bought 80 acres of land in Sec. 18, pajing $1,300, in the year 1871 ; sold out in 
1873, for $1,600, and in 1874 bought 64 acres in Sec. 17, paying $1,508, and in 
1876 sold this place for $2,500, and during the same } T ear he bought 77|- acres in 
Sec. 17, paying $3,500, and in 1879 sold 60 acres for $2,200 ; has been Trustee one 
year, and Supervisor two 3*ears, and is a Republican in politics ; Mr. Day was 
employed in the boat-yards at Wheeling, Va., with the Skags Brothers, building 
boats, working about two years altogether. 

STEPHEN A. GREER, physician ; P. O. Willow Dell. Aaron, the father of Ste- 
phen A., was a native of Kentucky, born in Bourbon Co. on the 23d day of November. 
1785 ; Elizabeth, his wife, whose maiden name was Reed, was a native of Ohio, born 
in Chillicothe in August, 1792 ; they were united in marriage in Montgomery Co.. 
Ohio, and in 1816 moved to Darke Co.. where they resided till death called them 
from earth to heaven ; he departed this life in March. 1848, being 62 years 11 
months and 23 days old ; she sank peacefully to rest March 5, 1871, at the ripe 
old age of 79. Stephen A., the subject of this memoir, was born in Darke Co., 
Ohio, on the 8th of June, 1817, being the first white child born in AVayne Town- 
ship ; he spent his boj-hood days on his father's farm, assisting in the clearing and 
the cultivation of the soil, during the summer months, and in the winter season he 
attended the district school, which was held in an old log cabin, thereby obtaining 
a good common-school education ; he commenced to read medicine under Dr. L. 
Houston, of Shelby Co., Ohio, when he was 22 years of age ; taught school during 
the winters and read medicine till his funds ran out, then he would go to work, and 
managed in this way till he had gained sufficient knowledge of medicine to prac- 
tice ; he now came to the conclusion that he would take in a partner for life, and 
on the 19th day of September, 1839, he celebrated his marriage with Miss Huldah 
Brandon, in Versailles, Ohio ; she is a native of Ohio, born in Versailles, on the 
11th day of October, 1823 ; her mother, Lydia, was a native of New Jersey, born 
on the 12th of September, 1803, and departed this life Feb. 28, 1877 : her lather, 
Vincent (t. Brandon, was born in Virginia on the 31st of December, 1793. and 
departed this life, Jan. 5, 1870 ; after his marriage, he taught school and contin- 
ued the study of medicine ; in 1845, he moved to Ft, Recovery and opened an 
office, where he followed his profession, meeting with good success, remaining there 
about one year, after which he moved to New Harrison, Darke Co., in the spring of 
1847 ; he practiced here till 1848, when he moved to Patterson Township, and 
during the winter of 1849 and 1850 attended the Eclectic Medical Institute of 



760 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

Cincinnati. When he moved to Patterson Township, it was a gloomy outlook, as he 
moved into an old log cabin, covered with chipboards, and. as he says, "we did not 
have an overplus of furniture ;" he purchased 40 acres in Sec. 20, for which he 
paid $200, the tract being all heavy timber; he now built a hewn-log house, into 
which he moved his family, and commenced the task of opening up a farm, and, at 
the same time, practiced medicine; he would work in the clearing during the 
day time, and at night study medicine, and. as he says, "lam not done read- 
ing vet." The Poet or has accumulated a considerable amount of property by his 
hard labor, in which he has been nobly assisted by his good and amiable wife ; he 
is strictly temperate in all his habits ; he owns 140 acres of land in Patterson 
Township. 80 acres in Kansas, near G-arnett, the American House and City Livery 
Stable, in Versailles ; he is in no sense of the term a political aspirant, although 
he has tilled nearly every office in the township ; in the fall of 1855, he was elected 
County Commissioner, which office he filled for three years ; in 1870, was elected 
Land Appraiser ; served as Township Trustee for several 3 r ears, also Township Clerk, 
and is now filling the office of Land Appraiser. The}' are the parents of ten chil- 
dren, of whom eight are living viz.. Rachael J., born Sept. 16, 1856; Vincent B., 
May 19, 1844 ; Aaron R, Jan. 19, 1847 ; Lydia A. Sept. 15, 1849; Millnor, Dec. 
16, 1852; Stephen. Aug. 26, 1859, Mary B., Oct. 10, 1862; Elizabeth Irene, born 
Jan. 6. 1866. The Doctor was admitted to the bar of Greenville, Ohio, as an attor- 
ney and counsellor at law, on the 12th day of May, 1858 ; this acquisition he 
picked up himself by his own hard study, and it is said of him that he is an able 
attorney, a wise judge and a good pleader. 



YORK TOWNSHIP. 

JACKSON HOLLAWAY, farmer and school-teacher, Sec. 8 ; P. O. Dawn ; 
was born in Darke Co., Ohio. March 1, 1828 ; his father, John D. Hollaway, was 
born in Pennsylvania Feb. 1, 1795 ; when but a boy, he went to Warren Co., Ohio, 
with his parents ; he served as a Corporal under Gen. Winfield Scott during the 
war of 1812; he moved to Montgomery Co., Ohio, and in 1817, to Darke Co., 
Richland Township, and the same year married Catherine Miller, of Darke Co.; 
on his coming here, he camped on the banks of Stillwater Creek till he cut his logs 
and erected a two-story cabin, assisted by the Indians ; he afterward cleared off a 
large farm ; twelve years he served as Justice of the Peace ; in 1859, he moved 
to Beamsville and engaged in keeping hotel for four years, then moved back to 
his farm, which he sold in 1864 ; he then returned to Beamsville and engaged in 
merchandising; he died Sept. 6, 1866; his wife died July 10, 1871. Jackson 
the subject of this sketch, remained at home with his parents until he was 24 
fears of age; he then married Rachael Ann Stevenson; she was born Aug. 10. 
1828; her father. John Stevenson, was born in Boone Co., Ky., April 16, 1803 ; 
he moved to Darke Co. in 1818. and married Elizabeth Stan] ; he bought a farm 
in Richland Township, where he resided until his death, Feb. 4. 1S79 ; his widow 
resides on the homestead. Mr. and Mrs. Hollaway have nine children, seven of 
whom arc Living, viz.: Albert A. and Alice < ). (twins), born June 15, 1855; Eliza- 
beth C, born Oct. 11. 1857; Flora L. born Jan. 21, I860; Letina E., born Feb. 
13,1862; John 1'. S.. born Jan. 26, 1864 ; Edith M., born Oct. 8, 18(17. Mr. 
Hollaway served four months in the late rebellion ; has been Township Clerk one 
year; Constable three years ; School Director twenty-one years, and has taught 
school thirty years ; four of his family are now teaching, and he is Justice of the 
Peace, and has served since Feb. 12, 1877. 

DAVID LYON, farmer and stock-raiser, Sec. 9; P. 0. Dawn : was born in 
Preble Co.. Ohio, Dec. 15. 1814 ; his father, David Lyon, Sr..was born in Rocking- 



WABASH TOWNSHIP. 



761 



ham Co Va and his father was born in England, and in an early day emigrated 
to Virginia, but he started to return to England to secure a legacy, but was never 
heard from after; David Lyon, Sr, was bound out after his father left until he 
was 21 • in 1807, lie married Susan Black, and m 1808 moved to Preble Co, Ohio 
and was drafted, and served six months in the war of 1812 ; his wife died in April 
1846 • they had ten children, six boys and four girls ; he afterward married 
Rachael Rider (in 1850); he died in August, 1850. David, the subject of this 
sketch, remained at home with his parents until he was 22 ; he then mamed Cath- 
erine Grissom ; she was born Nov. 4, 1813 ; they had three children viz Jacob 
born Aug. 31, 1837 ; Susan, Feb. 25, 1840 ; Milton Nov 23, 1842 ■ his wife d ed 
\pril 12 1847 ; he then united in marriage with Mary Link, Oct. M, 1847 , sue 
was born in Virginia in September, 1820 ; by this union were eight children viz.: 
David Link, born July 23, 1848 ; Emily, Feb. 26 1850 ; Mary Ann Jan. 7, 1853 
William Henry and Sarah Jane (twins), May 30, 185a ; Isabe lie, June 8, 18o8 
John Calvin, Nov. 22, 1860; Barbara E., Aug. 1, 865. The subject of this 
sketch started in life without a dollar in the world ; he now owns 200 acies ot 
<rood land, and has helped his children to land. 

S \MUEL WILSON fanner and stock-raiser, S« c. 16 ; P. O. Dawn ; was born 
Feb 21 1829 ; Samuel Wilson, Sr, his father, lived in Greenville Township Darke 
Co 'and married Mary Frances Stoner in June 1829, whose father was killed by 
the Indians ; Samuel Wilson, Sr, was drowned in Greenville Creek ; his wife 
died in the year 1831. The subject of this sketch lived with his parents until 
their death ; "after that, he was compelled to go among strangers, and worked tor 
25 cents per day, until the age of 18, when he apprenticed himself to Ornn Cul- 
bertson as a carpenter, for $5 per month, until the year 1852, when he took ^ con- 
tracts for himself. In the year 1853, he married Mary E. Eyler ; Jacob Eylei hei 
father was a native of Maryland; he married Rachael Sataup; they moved to 
Darke Co Ohio in 1848, where thev now reside. The subject of this sketch owns 
one quarter-section of land, well improved, and, in the year 1877 erected a hand- 
some brick residence, and built a fine bank barn in 1879 ; they had eight children, 
viz, Cyntha H, born May 10, 1854 ; William J March 20, 1856 ; Minerva J 
June 13, 1860; lola Bell, Nov. 25,1864; Ida May, Dec. 27 ,1870 , Edith Ger- 
trude Dec 16 1873; Minnie Blanch, April 8, 1877. The subject of this sketch 
served as Treasurer in York Township, Darke Co, four years, Trustee one year 
and in 1879, was elected County Commissioner tor Darke County, for the term ot 
three years. 



WABASH TOWNSHIP. 

JOHN C BURNS, farmer and teacher, Sec. 11 ; P. O. North Star ; a son of 
Abraham and Elizabeth Burns ; was born in Richland Township, Darke .Co., Sept. 
: >5 1842 ; his parents settled on Sec. 9. of Richland Township in A 182 ^ Was 
united in marriage with Sarah E. Templeton in Greenville, Darke Co, Aug. 9, 18bb; 
thev have four children— Atta, Lulu. Cary F. and James H. 

HENRY J. BURNS, farmer, Sec-. 3 ; P. O. North Star ; a son of Henry and 
>-irah (Oliver) Burns ; was born in York Township, this county. July o, lb4b. 

JOHN H CAMPBELL, merchant; P. O. North Star; a son of D. C. ami 
Mary (Starr) Campbell ; was bom in Jamestown, Greene Co.. Ohio Aug. 8 1847, 
and settled in this county with his parents in 1850. Was mamed to Miranda 
Riegel at North Star April 3, 1870 ; she was born Jan. 5, 1852 ; three children- 
Mary T, born Dec. 31, 1870 ; Dora D, born Aug. 31, 18 <o ; James I, born Dec. 
19, 1878. 



762 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES: 

BENJAMIN F. GILBERT, manufacturer of tile ; P. O. North Star ; son of 
Benjamin and Jane (Lntz) Gilbert ; was born in Miami Co., March 11, 1838 ; came 
to this county with his parents in 1840 and settled in Adams Township. Was 
married in York Township, Sept. 7, 1866, to Hnlda Grissom, born Jan. 25, 1848 ; 
four children— Ida May. Lucy Belle, Mary Jane; Carlin, died Oct. 13, 1876. 

ABSALOM PEARSON, Physician and Surgeon; North Star; son of 
Isaac and Mary (Pemberton) Pearson ; was born in Miami Co., Ohio. Jan. 14, 
1838, and came to this county Sept. 1, 1871. Married Eliza A. Oaks in Troy, 
Ohio, Nov. 13, 1859 ; children— Mary Luella, born Sept. 8, 1860 ; Samuel Alvard. 
born Jan. 14. 1863 : Daisy Viola, born Oct. 11, 1874 ; Mazy Idella, born No\ 
1876. 

ISAAC N. MEDFORD, teacher, Sec. 5; North Star. The subject of 
this sketch was born in Licking Co., Ohio, Dec. 24, 1845, and is the son of James 
and Sarah (Miller) Medford ; his father was born in Virginia in 1802 and died in 
1861 ; his mother was born in 1812 and died in 1868. Mr. Isaac Medford came 
into this county with his parents in the spring of 1846 and settled in York Town- 
ship. He enlisted in the 152d 0. N. G. May 2, 1864 ; he then re-enlisted in the 
187th 0. V. I. Feb. 11, 1865, and was mustered out of the service at Macon. Ga.. 
Jan. 20, 1866. Mr. Medford was joined in the holy bonds of wedlock to Miss 
Annie Wagner in September, 1876, in Darke Co. ; his wife was born in Mercer 
Count}-" Feb. 18, 1858. He is a Republican in politics, and has been Justice of 
the Peace for two years, which office he now holds. 



MISSISSINAWA TOWNSHIP. 

JOSEPH DENNISTON, farmer; P. O. Union City, Ind.; son of Samuel and 
Sarah Denniston ; he was born in Jackson Township of this county, Feb. 7, 1836 ; 
the parents of Mr. D., settled in this county as early as 1807, and may be truth- 
fully termed "early pioneers." Mr. Denniston was married to Anna Money, in 
Jay Co., Ind., Sept 28, 1858 ; they have nine children, namely. Sarah J., Senath E., 
William C. L., Mary Olive, Azore C, David L., Nancy E.. Frederick and Joseph 
Roland. Mr. Denniston's farm of 268 acres is located in Sec. 28. 29 and 32, of 
this township, 180 acres of which are under cultivation ; his residence, built Feb- 
ruary, 1869, is located on Sec. 29. 

HARVEY HILL, Justice of the Peace and Township Clerk ; P. O. Rose Hill ; 
son of Nathan and Mary Ann Hill, was born near Batavia, Clermont Co., Ohio. 
June 15. 1838; he came to this township with his parents Oct. 1, 1854, and set- 
tled on Sec. 20, on land that his father occupied during his life, and now owned 
and occupied by our subject ; at the time this family settled here, the township 
was almost an unbroken wilderness, the woods abounding in nearly all kinds of 
game : deer and the wild turkey abounded on every hand; these early settlers were 
subject to the privations and hardships of pioneer life ; but the intervening years 
have brought about a happy change, and to-day this portion of the county is as 
promising as any in Western Ohio. Mr. Hill was united in marriage with Martin 
E. Matthews, of this county, Nov. 17, 1873 ; they have two children, to wit : Will 
iam .Jesse and Amy <!race. 

JOHN MLLLIG AN. tanner and stock-raiser, Sec. 32; P. 0. Union Citj ; 
was born in Perry Co., Penn.; he came West with his parents and settled in 
Shelby Co.; from there they moved to Randolph Co., Ind.; he came to Darke 
Co. in 1862. and settled on his father-in-law's farm, in Sec. 32, Mississinawa Town- 
ship : he then moved near Union City, and lived two years, then moved on to his 
present farm, in 1868. He married Miss Rominah Carter June 29, 1850 ; she wj - 
born in Hamilton Co.. Ohio; twelve children have been the fruit of this union. 



MiSSISSINAWA TOWNSHIP. 763 

seven of whom are now living, viz., Emeretta, Marguretha, Mary C, William F., 
Sarah P John W. and Ella K. Mr. Milligan owns 120 acres of fine land, which 
is situated in Sees. 28 and 32 ; he has been Township Trustee for twelve years, 
which office he now holds ; he has taken an active part in religion for the last six 
years, and is a member of the Methodist Church. 

GEORGE W. REICHARD, Sec. 8 ; P. 0. Rose Hill ; is the son of Israel 
and Sarah (Garland) Reichard ; Israel Reichard was born in Preble Co, Ohio ; 
Sarah Reichard, his mother, was born in Tennessee ; George W. Reichard was 
born May 26, 1851 ; he is a carpenter by trade, and works at his trade in summer 
and at coopering in the winter ; he is still unmarried. 

DAVID SMITH, farmer, Sec. 31 ; P. 0. Union City. The subject of this 
sketch was born in Clermont County, Ohio, April 8, 1809 ; he followed milling for 
about eight years before coming to this county, Oct. 3, 1847, since which time he 
has devoted his attention principally to agriculture. He was married Dec. 27, 
1827, in Clermont County, to Julia A. Riley ; she was bom in New Jersey ; the 
fruit 'of this union has been nine children, viz., Peter, Simon, Levi, Elisha R., John 
Z., James, Phoebe, Elizabeth A. and Eliza O. Mr. Smith held the office of Town- 
ship Treasurer for the remarkable period of twenty -two years in succession, and 
has had a surfeit of minor offices. He has a fine farm of 80 acres. 

DANIEL SNYDER, harness-maker and farmer, Sec. 14 ; P. O. Rose Hill. 
The subject of this sketch was born Jan. 20, 1842, in this township ; he is the son 
of John K. and Amy (Hidley) Snyder ; John K. Snyder was born in New Jersey, 
and died in this township in July, 1849 ; Amy Snyder was born in New Jersey, 
and is now married a second time ; Daniel Snyder's parents settled in this town- 
ship in 1839. Mr. Snyder was married Oct. 31, 1869, to Miss Lydia I. Winter- 
rowd • she was born in this township ; the fruits of this union have been five 
children, viz., Rolla W., James H., Amy J., Sallie and Clifford. He owns 40 acres 
of land in this township, which is under a good state of cultivation. He enlisted 
in the 187th O. V. I. February, 1865, and was mustered out at Macon, Ga., Jan. 
20, 1866 ; is a good strong Democrat, and is serving his third term as Township 
Treasurer. 

EDWARD LAWRENCE WELROURN, physician, Union City ; son of 
George Welbourn and Jane Lawrence ; was born in Marion County, Ohio, Jan. 11, 
1843. Mr. Welbourn graduated at the Eclectic Medical College of Pennsylvania, Jan. 
25, 1866. and began the practice of medicine at Union City, Ind., March 31 of the 
same year ; from the first, his practice was a grand success, and he made money 
rapidly, but owing to failing health he purchased a farm on Sec. 20 the next year, 
and turned his attention to farming and experiments in organic chemistry ; in the 
spring of 1870, he began the manufacture of a chemical antidote for rheumatism, 
and has been so successful in its introduction that it is known from Maine on the 
east to the Pacific Coast on the west ; at the same time the Doctor has an office 
practice one day each week at Union City, which he intends to continue in the 
future. The Doctor was married to Martha Levina Jones, of Harrison Township, 
Jan. 1, 1866. Two children were born to them, namely, Ulysses Edward Alaska 
and Oclasco Carlos ; Mrs. Welbourn departed this life Oct. 28, 1879. 



^Jo 




BUSINESS [REFERENCES. 



GREENVILLE. 

Allen William Attorney at Law. 

Allen & Devor, Attorneys at Law 

M. T. Allen. John Devor. 

Anderson, C. M., Attorney at Law 

Amann, Mrs., Restaurant. 

Baker Jacob, Attorney at Law. 

Bachman, Chas., Merchant Tailor 
and Clothier, a large stock of Men's and 
Boy's Clothing constantly on hand, also 
Gent's Furnishing Goods. Broadway. 

Biltemeier & Martini, Manufact- 
urers and Dealers in Boots and Shoes, 
full line of best stock always on hand. 
61 Broadway. 
Charles Biltemeier. J. G. Martini. 

Bireley, W. J., Dealer in Lime. 
Fourth St. 

B lease, J. J., Manufacturer and 
Dealer in Boots and Shoes, a full and 
complete stock of fashionable goods, 
always on hand. 9 Third St. 

Blottman, B>, Dealer in Groceries, 
Provisions, Queensware, Fruit and 
Country Produce, 15 Third St. 

Bornstein, H ., Wholesale and Retail 
Dealer in Foreign and Domestic Liquors 
and Cigars. Pure Liquors for Medical 
purposes a specality. 108 Broadway 
(opp. Turpen Housej. 

Breaden & Clark, Attorneys at law. 
J. E. Breaden, Jr. J. C. Clark. 

Brewer, A. N., Manufacturer of and 
Dealer in all kinds of Harness, Blank- 
ets, Lap-Robes, Trunks and Valises, 
No. 28 East Third St. 



Buchwalter, L. M., Physician and 
Surgeon. Office in Odd Fellows' Block 
Third St., west of Broadway. 

Calderwood & Cole, Attorneys at 

Law. 
Calkins, Chas., Attorney at Law. 
Calkins, H., Attorney at Law. 

Chenoweth, L. E., Attorney at 

Law. 

Conklin, F. T., Teller, Greenville 
Bank. 

Cox, J. W., Manufacturer of Boots 
and Shoes. Section 32. 

Deardourff, John M , Manufact- 
urer and Dealer in Boots and Shoes, 
Third St., east of Broadway. 

Deeter, Josiah B., P- O. Wooding- 

ton, Manufacturer of Drain Tile, 
three- fourths of a mile south of Wood- 
in gton. 

Devor, John, Attorney at Law. 

Devor E lijah, Attorney at Law. 

Dill, W. H., Merchant, Postmaster 
and Justice of the Peace. PikevilleP. O. 

Ditman, J. N., Merchant Tailor 
Odd Fellows' Block. 

Eidson, F. M., Dealer in Foreign 
and Domestic Leather, Shoe Findings 
Etc., No. 18 West Water St. 

Exchange Bank, Greenville, 
Ohio, South cor. Public Square. Re- 
ceives Deposits, Makes Collections and 
does Genera] Banking Business. John 
L. Winner, Propr. ; Jas. M. Lansdowne, 
Cashier. 



766 



BUSINESS REFERENCES. 



Fertick, B. F., Proprietor of Saw- 
Mill. Nearthe old D.&U. Freight Bepot. 
Card, I. N., Physician and Surgeon- 

Clander, D., Brewer. 

Cordon, John V., Manufacturer of 

Spukes and Hubs. 
CorSUCh, Wesley, County Clerk. 

Greenville Agricultural works, 

Manufacturers of and Dealers in Agri- 
cultural Implements. Special atten- 
tion given to Repairing. Factory and 
Office (in Martin St. 
A !\ Rush. W. H. Eby. 

Greenville Bank, Hufnagle, Allen & 
Co. Capital, #200,000; Officers, John 
Hufnagle, Prest.; Wm. Allen, Vice 
Prest; L. L. Beel, Cashier; Ex. Com. 
Jas. T. Meeker, John Devor, John 
llufna.uk'. Dank corner Broadway 
and Fourth St. 

Gregg BroS.,Matchett's New Build- 
ing. Dealers in Drugs, Medicines, Paints 
oils. Varnishes, Hooks and Stationery, 
Pure Wines and Liquors for Medicinal 
use. Farmers and Physicians from 
the country will find our stock of Medi- 
cines complete, warranted genuine, 
and of the best quality. 

Gutheil, August, Dealer in Im- 
ported and Domestic Wines, Liquors 
and Cigars, No. 82 Broadway. 

Hahn Amos, County Treasurer. 

Hall, & Co., Importers of French 
Norman and Clydesdale Horses. North- 
east side Public Square. 
J. W. Hall, Harrod Mills, James Esty. 

Harper, John, Photographer. A 
Specialty made of Copying and En- 
larging Pictures by a new Solar Proc- 
ess. 

Helm, Noah F., Merchant 

Henne, Daniel, Dealer in Grain and 
Seeds. Warehouse corner of Walnut 
and Third Sts. 

Hime & Hall, Livery, Feed and Sale 
Stable; Horses and Carriages supplied 
at short notice. Office and Stable 
Northeast corner of Public Square 
D. S. Hime, J. W. Hall. 



Huhn, Moses, Popular Clothier and 
Merchant Tailor. Hats, Caps and 
Gents' Furnishing Goods. Merchant 
Tailoring a Specialty. 68 Broadway, 
next to National Bank. 

Hunt, Washington, Milk Dealer, 
Jamison, D., Brick Manufacturer. 
Johnson, A. M., Photographer. 
Jones, Rev. Lewis E., Minister. 
Judy, Swan, Attorney at Law. 

Katzenberger, C. A. & Bro., 

Grocers. East Side of Public Square. 

Kemper, C. T., Catholic Priest. 

Kerlin, W. K., Ex-County Treasurer. 

K ester, Sol, Dealer in Dry Goods, 
Clothing, Notions, etc., Ladies and Chil- 
dren's Shoes; Merchant Tailoring a 
Specially. Broadway Store, formerly 
occupied by Wilson & Hart, Broadway, 

Kipp, Wm., Dealer in Pure Drugs 
and Chemicals, Paints, Oils, Varnishes 
and Brushes, Patent Medicines, 
Sponges, Shoulder Braces, Trusses, 
Fancy and Toilet Articles, Cigars and 
Tobacco, also Pure Wines and Liquors 
for Medical use; Prescriptions care- 
fully filled. Broadway and Public 
Square. 

Klee, Albert, & Co., Butchers and 
Dealers in Fresh and Salt Meats, Third 

St. 

Klinger, A. J., Proprietor of the 
City Mills and Elevator, and Dealers in 
Grain and Seeds; Mill and Elevator on 
Martin St., near D. & U. R. R. Depot. 

Knoderer, Christian, Butcher and 
Dealers in Fresh and Salt Meats; Third 
St., near Broadway. 

Knox & Sater, Attorneys at Law. 
J. R. Knox. John W. Sater. 

Laurimore, M. W., City Marshal. 

Lecklider & Ullery, Attorneys at 
Law. 

Limbert, L. F-, Attorney at Law 
and Notary Public. All business en- 
trusted to him will be promptlv at- 
tended to. Office, Anderson Building, 
opposite Turpen House, on Broadway. 



BUSINESS REFERENCES. 



767 



Limbert & Rati iff, Attorneys at 

Law. 

Leas, Jacob E., Merchant. 
Longenecker, John, Carpenter 
and Builder, Sec. 1. 

Ltldy, Samuel, Brick Manufacturer- 
Lynch, Elijah, Physician and Sur- 
geon. 

Lynch, I. H., Dealer in Gold and Sil- 
ver Watches, Clocks, Fine Jewelry, Sil- 
verware, Gold Pens, Spectacles, Musical 
Instruments, Notions, etc., etc. Re- 
pairing of every description and En- 
graving done to order. All Work 
Warranted. Please call. 61 Broad- 
way, next door to Kipp's Drug Store. 

McDaniel, M. & Son, Manufact- 
urers and Dealers in all kinds of Fur- 
niture. Store and Warerooms, corner 
Broadway and Fourth Sts. 

McCinnis, W., Contractor and 
Builder. 

Maher, P. H., County Recorder and 

Real Estate Agent. 
Martin, J. W., Merchant. 
Martin, J. H., County Clerk. 
Martz, J. T., Supt. of Public Schools. 
Matchett, W. H., Physician and 

Surgeon, Fourth St. 

Meeker, D. L., Judge of Court of 
Common Pleas. 

Miller, A. T., Architect. 

Mills, Harrod, Dealer in Farm Ma- 
chinery and Agricultural Implements, 
also Agent for the popular Buckeye 
Reaper and Mower, all the popular 
Breaking Plows, Walking Cultivators, 
Grain Drills, Corn Planters, etc. 

Moore & Winner, Dry Goods Mer- 
chants, corner Broadway and Third st. 

O'Coners, John, Carriage Man- 
ufacturer. 

Ollmetzer, Louis, Wholesale and 
Retail Dealer in Liquor, 14 Main st. 

Otwell, L. S., Barton, Physician 
and Surgeon. 

Otwell. E. W., Editor. 
Porter, Jacob M., Harness and 
Findings. 



Plessinger, Wallace, Butcher 

and Dealer in Fresh and Salt Meats. 
Broadway. 

Perry, O. C, Ex- Auditor. 

Reed, William, Proprietor of Reed's 
Saw-Mill, also Farmer, Sec. 16. 

Rehling, F., Dealer in Stoves, Tin and 
Hollow Ware, Roofing and Spouting, 
Plumbing, Gas and Steam Fitting, 
Pumps, Wood and Iron, Bath Tubs, 
Gas Fixtures. Wash Stands, Water 
Closets, Steam and Water Gauges, Iron 
and Lead Pipe, of all sizes, etc. All 
work warranted. 17 Third St. 

Requarth, Fred C, Dealer in all 
kinds of Building Brick; East Fourth 
Street. 

Roland, Chas., Editor. 

Runkel, Jery, Sheriff. 

Rush & Wei I Is, Carriage Manufact- 
urers. 

Rush, W. D.„ Fire and Life Insur- 
ance Agent. 

Schwable, John H., Proprietor 
Turpen House Billiard Hall and Sam- 
ple Room. 

Slenaker, H. J., Contractor and 
Builder, special attention given to the 
construction of Drains and Cisterns; 
Business solicited. 46, Fourth St. 

Smith, O. H., Dealer in Stoves, Tin- 
ware Roofing, Spouting and General 
Job Work, take in exchange Old Iron. 
Copper, Zinc, Rags, etc.; Third St., 
east of Broadway. 

Smith, A. J., BarberShop. Third St., 
west of Broadway. 

St. Clair & Co., Henry, Dealers in 
Groceries and Produce, 110 Broadway. 

Stein le, J., Manufacturer and Dealer 
in Cigars and Tobacco, Wholesale and 
Retail; a full line of Smokers' Articles 
constantly in stock; West Side Public 
Square. 

Stephens, John, Blacksmith 
Turner Bros., Wholesale and Retail 
Dealers in Foreign and Domestic Liq- 
uors, Wines and Cigars, etc. A quiet 
and retired Sample Room in the rear of 
the Wholesale Department, 31 Third St. 



768 



BUSINESS REFERENCES. 



Turpen,Wm. V., Proprietor Tuiprii 

House. 
Turpen, John C, County Auditor. 
Turpen, T. P., Hotel. 
Todd, W. J., Livery and Sale Stable. 

Third St. 
Troxell, J. W., Healer in Lumber. 
Voelkle, E. H., Carriage and Wagon 

Manufacturer. 

Wagner, Jacob, Proprietor Wagner 

House. Large Sample Rooms on the 
first floor ; Bath Room attached to the 
House; also Feed and Sale Stable con- 
nected with the same. 

Webb, Henry A., Healer in Fancy 
Articles, Confectionery and General 
Assortment of Cigars and Tobacco; 
also engaged in Portrait Painting. 

Webster, N. B., Healer in Groceries, 
Provisions and Country Produce; 
Fourth St., near Post Office. 

We ills, Herman, Manufacturer of 
Carriages, Buggies and Spring Wagons; 
special attention paid to Repairing. 
Shop corner Third and Walnut Sts. 

Winklebleck, & Co., Contractors 
in Supplies for P., C. & St. L. R. R., and 
Dealers in Timber, Wood, Bituminous 
and Anthracite Coal. Office, Martin St. 
A. Winklebleck, B. Johnson. 

Youart & Bro., Ice Dealers. Furnish 
Ice in any quantity. Residence and 
Ice House tj miles east of Greenville, 
on the Milton Pike. 
W II. Youart. S. Youart. 

Zimmerman & Crubbs, Dealers 

in all kinds of Grain and Seeds. 
1). Zimmerman. D. Grubbs. 

MISSISSINAWA TOWNSHIP. 

Hill, Harvey, Justice of the Peace. 
Township Clerk, and Fanner, Sec. 20; 
P. 0. Hose Hill. 

Richard, C. W., Cooper and Car- 
penter, Sec. 8, P. O. Hose Hill. 

Snyder, Daniel, Harness Maker, Sec. 
14, P. O. Rose Hill. 

WelbOUrn, E. S., Physician and 
Parmer, Sec. 20, P. O. Union City, Ind. 



RICHLAND TOWNSHIP. 

Collins, S. S., Wagon Maker and 
Farmer, Sec. 20. Dawn P. O. 

Dawson, O F., Manufacturer of 
Drain Tile, Sec. 20, Dawn P. O. 

Duckwall, J. W., Merchant, P. O 
Dawn. 

McFarland, James, Blacksmith, 

Sec. 20, P. (). Dawn. 

McFarland, Isaac, Carriage-Maker 

P. O. Dawn. 

Morrison. Robert A., Physician. 
Sec. 32, P. O. Beamsville. 

WertS, J. B., Merchant. Sec. 20, P. 
O. Dawn. 

MONROE TOWNSHIP. 

Cassel, William, Minister, Sec. 4, 
P. O. Arcanum. 

Hunt, Abraham, Blacksmith, Sec. 
4, P. O- Laura, Miami Co. 

Niswonger, David W. f Carpenter, 

Sec. 7, I'. O. Arcanum. 

Stutsman, Jesse, Minister and 

Farmer, Sec. 1, P. O. Arcanum. 



JACKSON TOWNSHIP. 

UNION CITY P. O. 

Arc hard, Wm., County Commis- 
sioner. 

Eichelberger, Jos., Justice of 

the Peace and Fanner, Sec. 15. 
Evans, 3. W«> Physician and Farmer, 

Sec. 3. 

FahenStOCk, J. H., Physician and 
Surgeon, Office and Residence, Sec. 
21, near Buck Horn Saw-Mill. 

Hunchbarger, Jacob, Merchant 
and Blacksmith, Sec. 14. 

Sigler, D. W., Pro]). Buck Horn Saw- 
Mill, Sec. 21. 

Snook, J. H., Manufacturer of Brick, 
Drain Tile and Wagon Stock, Union 
City. 

Wenrich, Thos. B., Minister and 

Farmer, Union City. 

Young, Solomon, Orain Dealer, 
Union City. 



BUSINESS REFERENCES. 



769 



BROWN TOWNSHIP, ANSO- 
NIA P. O. 

Anderson, L. C, Physician and 

Surgeon. 

Ansonia Stave Company, Man- 
ufacturers of Slack and Tight Barrel 
staves and Headings, also Crimped and 
('oiled Patent Hoops. J. H. Roush, 
Will A. Roush, Chas. A. Roush. 

Bertz, Schlemmer & Co., Dealers 
in Hardware, Stoves, Tinware, etc. AJso 
Agricultural Implements, such as 
Threshing, Reaping and Mowing Ma- 
chines, "Wagons, Corn Cultivators, and 
Breaking Plows, Pumps, Windmills, 
etc., etc. Corner of Main and Canal Sts. 
George Bertz, Henry Schlemmer, Wm. 
Baughman. 

Carver, L. C, Bakery, Confectionery, 
and Restaurant. Also dealer in Choice 
Family Groceries, Provisions, Glass, 
Queensware and Notions. Special in- 
ducements to Cash buyers. 

Hager, O. J,, Contractor and Build- 
er. 

Hostetter, S. A. & T. J., Dealers 
in Drugs, Medicines and Chemicals, 
Perfumery, Soaps, Combs and Brushes, 
Trusses, Supporters, Shoulder Braces, 
Fancy and Toilet Articles, Books and 
Stationery, Kerosene Oil, Lamps and 
Chimneys, Grass and Garden Seeds, 
Glass, Putty, Paints, Oils, Varnishes 
and Dye Stuffs, Pure Wines and 
Liquors for Medicinal purposes, Pat- 
ent Medicines, etc. 

Hulse, G.C., Grain Merchant. 

Hunter, D. F., Carriage Manufact- 
urer, Blacksmith, and dealer in Agri- 
cultural Implements. 

Miller, Henry E., Proprietor of Mil- 
ler's Hotel. 

Miller, I. E., Justice of the Peace 
and Farmer, Sec. 30. 

Riffle, Silas, Contractor and Builder. 

Roush & Son, Dealers in Grain and 

Seeds. J. H. Roush, J. A. Roush. 
Royer, John S., Teacher. 
Tullis, F. M., Manufacturer of Drain 

Tile. 
White & Co., General Merchants. 



Dealers in Dry Good, Clothing, Hats, 
( aj »s, Boots, Shoes, Groceries and Pro- 
visions etc. T. B. White, James S. Web- 
■ ster. 

TWIN TOWNSHIP. 

Bish, I., Grain and Tobacco Dealer. 
Arcanum. P. O. 

Bristly, H. C, Carpenter and Far- 
mer, Sec. 2 ; P. O. Arcanum. 

Clark, John D., Merchant, Arcanum. 

Cline, Michael, Cooper, Arcanum. 

Coons, Philip, General Merchant, 
Arcanum. 

Fasig, John, Merchant, Ithaca. P.O. 

Hamilton, J. C, Physician. 

Harsh, D. A., Dealer in Choice Gro- 
ceries and Provisions ; a full line of 
the best Teas, Coffees, Spices. Sugars 
and Syrup, Queensware, Glassware. To- 
bacco, Cigars, Notions, etc. ; Highest 
Prices paid for Produce, Arcanum. 

Ivester, George, Milling, etc., Ar- 
canum, 

Jackson, B. C, Teacher and Far- 
mer, Arcanum. 

Kepner, H.A., Merchant. 

Kraus & Clark, Dealers in Dry 
Goods, Notions, Clothing, Boots, Shoes, 
Hats, Caps, etc. ; also Grain and Coun- 
try Produce. 

Ozias, B. F., Freight and Ticket 
Agent of the D. & U. R. R., Arcanum. 

Parks, J. W., Teacher and Farmer, 
Arcanum. 

Rati iff, John R., Harness Manu- 
facturer. Arcanum. 

Smith, John, Dealer in Dry Goods, 
Boots, Shoes, Clothing, Groceries and 
Provisions ; also Dealer in Gram, etc., 
etc., Arcanum. 

Smith, A. F., Drugs and Medicines; 
Prescriptions carefully compounded ; 
also Dealer in Paints, Oils, Varnishes, 
Shoulder Braces and Trusses; also 
finest variety of Wines and Liquors; 
also Freiberg Bros,. Rye Whisky and 
Rock Candy, Arcanum. 

Smith, W. M., Dealer in all kinds of 
Grain, Meal, Live Stock and Tobacco, 
Southwest corner of Main and South 
Sts., Arcanum. 



770 



BUSINESS REFERENCES. 



Thomas, J. L., Hotel, Arcanum. 

Thomas, C. M., Carpenter, Arca- 
num. 

Wallace & Flory, Dealers in Hard- 
ware, Stoves, Tinware and Agricult- 
ural Implements, Arcanum. 

Wild, Martin, Clerk of Twin Town- 
ship, Arcanum. 

VERSAILLES. 

Burns, Thomas A. Attorney at 
Law. 

Dabe, Prosper, Proprietor of the 
Commercial Elevator; also dealer in 
Wheat, Corn, Oats, Barley and Rye; 
Salt for sale. 

Dunkel, A. ML, Meat Market. 

Fackler, John E., Physician. 

Cordon, J. P., Physician. 

Hess, John, Telegraph Operator, Ex- 
press and Railroad Agent. 

Hollis, C.W., Postmaster. 

Klipstine, L. C. v Teacher and Far- 
mer, Sec. 32; Webster P. O. 

Kusnick, Francis, Banker and 
Druggist. 

Lehman, Lawrence L., Teacher. 

Marker, Leonard, Furniture and 
Undertaker. Furniture at Lowest 
Prices. I am prepared to furnish, on 
short notice, latest styles of Burial 
Cases, Caskets and Wooden Coffins, 
either with or without Hearse. Call 
and examine my stock and prices. 
Main St., nearly opposite Brandon 
House. 

Murphy, Wm.H., Banker andLum- 
ber Dealer. 

Rike, Wm. H., Physician. 

Seibt, A., Dealer in Dry Goods, Gro- 
ceries. Boots, Shoes, Hardware and 
Drugs, Webster P. O. 

Simons, J . S., "Star Clothing House." 
Dealer in Clothing, Boots and Shoes, 
Gents' Furnishing Goods, Hats and 

Caps. 

Stevenson, L. M., Teacher. 
Stover, W. H., Merchant. 
Studabacker, Attorney at Law. 



Tillman, John C, Physician. 

Turpen, C. H., Dealer in Dry Goods, 
Groceries, Hats, Caps, Boots, Shoes, 
Notions, etc. Country Produce wanted. 

Turpen, A. H., Livery. 

Ward, J. T., Dealer in Groceries, 
Produce and Poultry. 

Williamson, J. C, Physician. 
Winbigler, J. J., Teacher. 
Worch, S., Hotel. 

HARRISON TOWNSHIP. 

Bacon, George, Hardware Mer- 
chant, New Madison. 

Bloom, T. J., Miller, New Madison. 
French, W. W., Physician, Sec. 10, 
Hollandsburg P. 0. 

Harter, Aaron, Dealer in Groceries 

and Provisions, New Madison. 

Hill, Harvey, Carpenter and Builder. 
Sec. 15, New Madison P. O. 

Lindner, Ferdinand, Undertaker, 
Greenville P. O. 

Moore, Wilkins, Justice of the 
Peace, Hollandsburg P. O. 

Noggle, Ceo., N., Mayor, New 

Madison. 
Otwell, C. W. M., Physician, New 

Madison. 

ROSS, Chas. C, Hotel, Greenville 
P.O. 

Rush. Clinton, Hotel, New Madison. 
Swisher, R., Grain Dealer, New 
Madison. 

Thomas, J. H., Dentist, New Madi- 
son. 

Townsend, N., Dealer in Dry Goods, 
New Madison. 

Weaver, A., Physician, New Madi- 
son. 

White, Jane, Hotel, Hollandsburg 
P.O. 

Williams, J. M., Physician, Hol- 
landsburg P. O- 

Worch, E., Merchant Tailor, New 
Madison. 

Zeek, M. y Edge Tool Maker, New 
Madison. 



BUSINESS REFERENCES. 



771 



ADAMS TOWNSHIP. 

Brown, Henry, Carpenter, Gettys- 
burg. 

Coblentz, Mrs. Mary E., the 

Wonderful Healer and Clairvoyant. 
Thousands acknowledge Mrs. Coblentz 
an unparalleled success, and hundreds 
have been cured with her remedies. 
Bradford P. O. 

Cruea, E . O., Meat Market, Bradford. 

Cauby, Jacob F., Manufacturer of 
Brick and Drain Tile, Bradford. 

George, Wm. E., Gettysburg, Pro- 
prietor of Railroad Hou se. Wholesale 
and Retail Dealer in all kinds of Grain, 
Field Seeds, Flour, Salt and Hogs. U. 
S. Express Agent, Ticket and Freight 
Agent of the P., C. & St. L. R. R. All 
communications by wire can be sent 
either to Bradford or Greenville. 

Harshey, Isaac, & Bro., Cabinet 
Makers and Undertakers, Gettysburg. 

Hershey, Emanuel, Minister and 
Farmer, Sec. 28, Gettysburg. 

Lecklider, Wm. C, Merchant, 
Horatio. 

Martin & Vogt, Grocers (Lecklider's 
old stand). They have the largest and 
most complete stock of Groceries ever 
brought to Gettysburg, and a complete 
stock of Choice Cigars, Smoking and 
Chewing Tobacco. Also a good va- 
riety of Notions and Hardware. 

Martin, J. M., Manufacturer and 
Dealer in Boots and Shoes, Gettysburg. 

Miller, P. B., Druggist, Gettysburg. 

Peiffer, Jacob, Blacksmith, Gettys- 
burg. 

PeitTer, Franklin, Blacksmith, 
Gettysburg. 

Reck, Wm. L., Miller and Grain 
Dealer, Gettysburg. 

Reck, Jacob, Grain Dealer, Horatio. 

Scott, John H>, Plasterer, Bradford. 

Wenrich, David C, Dealer in Agri- 
cultural Implements, Bradford. 

Wi I Hams & H unter, Grain Dealers, 
Bradford. 
A. P. Williams. J. A. Hunter. 



GERMAN TOWNSHIP, 

PALESTINE P. O. 

Calderwood, G. M. y Physician 
and Surgeon. 

Kester, George, Wagon Manufact- 
urer. 

McCabe, James, Lumber Manu 
facturer and Undertaker. 

McCabe & Smelker, Undertakers. 

McClure, Ira, Flouring-Mill. 

Putnam, David, Attorney at Law; 
special attention given to collections. 

Rush, A. B., Physician and Surgeon, 
two miles south of Palestine. 

Sater, C. C., Physician and Surgeon. 

Tennell, J. B., Physician and Sur- 
geon. 



BUTLER TOWNSHIP. 

Coblentz, Harrison, Justice of the 
Peace and Farmer, Sec. 21, New Madi- 
son P. O. 

Gi Ifl I Ian, Robert, Justice of the 
Peace and Farmer, Sec. 25, Castine P. O. 

Harter, E lem, Carpenter, Sec. 7, New 
Madison P. O. 

Harter, Elias, Blacksmith, Sec. 8, 
New Madison P. O. 

Minnich & Hamiel, Castine, Deal- 
ers in Dry Goods, Groceries, Boots, Shoes, 
Hats, Caps, Notions, Ready-Made Cloth- 
ing, Hardware, Queens ware, Stationery, 
Tobacco and Cigars ; highest prices paid 
for produce. 
S. B. Minnich. J. W. Hamiel, Sr. 



WABASH TOWNSHIP. 

NORTH STAR P. O. 

Burns, John C., Teacher and 

Farmer, Sec. 11. 

Campbell, John H., Merchant. 

Cilbert, Benj. F. Tile Manufacturer, 
Sec. 4. 

Medford, I. N., Teacher, Sec. 5. 

Pearson, A., Physician and Surgeon. 



72 



BUSINESS REFERENCES. 



VAN BUREN TOWNSHIP. 

Allread, S. W., Merchant and Farm- 
er, Delisle P. 0. 

Briney, Christopher, lustier of 
the Peace and Farmer, Sec. 38, Delisle 
r.o. 

Davis, William, Carpenter, Sec. 34 

Arcanum P. <>. 

Kelsey, Wm., Manufacturer of Drain 

Tile, Sec. 21, Arcanum P. 0. 

Marker, Ceorge, Gun Maker and 
Farmer, Sec. 2. Gettysburg P. (). 

Poyner, John H-, Manufacturer of 
Drain Tile. Sec. 23, Arcanum P. 0. 

NEAVE TOWNSHIP. 

Miller, Ceorge D., County Commis- 
sioner and Farmer, Sec. 16, Greenville. 
P.O. 

Schlechty, Ceo., Justice of the 
Peace and Farmer, Sec. 33, Weaver's 
Station P. 0. 

WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP. 

CrevistOtl, J. B., School Teacher, 
Sec. 4, Hill Grove P. 0. 

Huffer, Aaron, Manufacturer of 

Drain Tile and Farmer, Sec. 2, Hill 
Grove P. 0. 

McNeil, James, Merchant, Sec. 34, 
Darke P. 0. 

Morrison, J. N., Justice of the 

Peace, Section 4, Hill Grove P. 0. 



Teal, Thos. E., 

Grove P. 0. 



Postmaster, Bill 



White, Capt. Jas. M., School 
Teacher and Fanner. Mt. Heron P. 0. 



FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP. 

Croff, Joseph, Minister, Painter 

Creek, P. 0. 

Hyer, Jesse, Carriage Manufacturer 

and Undertaker, Painter Creek P. 0. 

Parson, Nathan S.jMerchant, R< d 
River P. (). 

Weills, Solomon, Minister, Sec. 20. 
Painter Creek P. O. 

Wright, Ceo. W., Postmaster, and 

Dealer in General Merchandise, Painter 

Creek. 

YORK TOWNSHIP. 

Holloway, Jackson, School Teach- 
er and Farmer, Sec. 8, Dawn P. O. 

PATTERSON TOWNSHIP. 

Creer, S. A., Physician, Sec. 20 Wil- 
low Dell P. O. 

WAYNE TOWNSHIP. 

Seibt, A., Dealer in Dry Goods, Gro- 
ceries, Boots, Shoes, Hardware and 
Drugs, Webster P. O. 

Klipstine, L. C, Teacher and 
Farmer, Sec. 32, Webster, P. O- 




*4f 



